I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 482 Pallas's Cat Hunting

Fang Ye held the "Aimbot Binoculars," constantly scanning through the mountains.

When the bharal had just appeared, the Aimbot Binoculars had subconsciously guided his gaze towards it.

To those who watch animals in the wild, this feature was nothing short of a dream come true.

For some reason, he always found himself looking instinctively in one direction, but couldn't spot anything.

At first, Fang Ye didn't notice, but after several occurrences, he guessed it was the Aimbot function of the binoculars reminding him!

He immediately started observing that direction more carefully.

Some animals, with their excellent camouflage, blended into the environment so well that one might not see them even when they were right under one's nose.

The direction the binoculars were aimed at was a grey rock bed about two or three hundred meters away from them!

Fang Ye looked for a long time, and finally discerned a hint of something, as if there was some greyish-blurry thing on the rock bed?

Yellow eyes, warily looking outside, wondering if it had detected them.

After making out what it was, he exclaimed in surprise, "Holy shit! Pallas's cat!"

The appearance of the Pallas's cat was quite distinctive, arguably the most peculiar-looking among the felidae.

It was about the size of a typical house cat, but had very short legs, dense fur, and a shorter and stouter tail than that of a house cat.

Its head was wide and flat, with ears not on top of the head but on the sides, a design for better concealment while hunting in open areas.

Some people thought the Pallas's cat's serious, flat face deserved a good smack, while others found it amusing and cute; of course, Fang Ye belonged to the latter category.

He quickly whispered to the group, "I see a Pallas's cat!"

Pointing out the location to the others, Duoji glanced over and laughed, "Congratulations, you're so lucky to see a Pallas's cat on your first day out!"

Lan Li, holding the binoculars, looked carefully and said in confusion, "Huh, I don't see it?"

The motionless Pallas's cat was indistinguishable from a dusty grey rock, its mottled light grey fur acting like a camouflage suit, truly difficult to spot.

Right then, the Pallas's cat started to move down the slope!

Lan Li finally spotted it and said in surprise and delight, "Wow, it's hidden so well!"

The Pallas's cat, after a search, fixed its attention on a nearby pika that was quite chubby and rotund.

This pika, oblivious to the imminent danger, was adorably looking up at the sky near the entrance of its burrow.

An uneventful day consisted of staying near the burrow, nibbling on grass, and gazing at the sky.

Occasionally, it would dart into the burrow and then come back out.

The Pallas's cat lifted its head, staring blankly at the grassland eagle growing distant, motionless, with a look of utter dejection.

My pika, oh my chubby pika!

Having witnessed this dramatic hunting episode, Lan Li couldn't help but feel sorry for the Pallas's cat, "Poor Pallas's cat, its meal was stolen right out of its mouth!"

Fang Ye laughed, "No worries, it can catch another pika, there are plenty of them around here!"

Lan Li couldn't help but laugh at the response, "I feel the unluckiest one here is the pika!"

Although they hadn't seen a snow leopard, spotting the Pallas's cat and such an exciting hunt was enough to satisfy Fang Ye.

After watching for almost three hours, they got back into the car and continued on.

On the way, Qunan spotted many birds circling near the middle of a mountain under the azure sky, and drove towards that mountain.

They could hear some hoarse cries, and rough "ah ah" sounds coming through.

After observing through binoculars for a few minutes, Fang Ye, watching Qunan's actions, guessed that he must have found something!

Indeed, Qunan rattled off a bunch, and Duoji translated, "There are many Himalayan vultures circling over there, and plenty on the ground, along with lots of crows calling out, possibly a snow leopard has caught its prey and is eating. But you can't get there by car; you'll have to climb the mountain. Can you climb?"

"Ok then, let's climb!"

Climbing a mountain in the highlands is much more tiring than climbing one in the plains!

This place's altitude is around 4000 meters.

Fang Ye and Lan Li, following Qunan, slowed their pace on the climb, both breathing heavily, but they felt much better after drinking some spiritual water.

They reached the slope of the mountain!

From a distance, through the binoculars, they could see clearly that on the ground was the carcass of a bharal.

Surrounded by a dozen Himalayan vultures, their wing feathers were light white, and their body feathers light brown, heads buried in the bharal's carcass, devouring it eagerly.

Every now and then they flapped their wings and hopped to intimidate the crows wanting a share.

After closely observing the surroundings with the binoculars, they found no trace of the snow leopard, presuming it had already eaten its fill and left.

Seeing no snow leopard, Qunan led them closer to examine the bharal carcass.

When the vultures saw people approaching, they took flight at once!

The bharal carcass had been largely devoured, with only some skin and bones left, and a bit of meat near the neck.

The Himalayan vultures, uninterested in these meager leftovers, flew away, except for a few that hadn't had their fill and settled back down to continue feasting once they left.

Although they didn't see a snow leopard, everyone's spirits were lifted with excitement!

This time, they must have been very close to the snow leopard.