Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 512 - 468: 3 Otters Battle Alone with a Crocodile

"Brother Ying, look, the Protection Station's official account has issued a warning."

Chen Ying looked at his phone, noticing quite a few people cursing in the group chat.

Especially the two villages lower down immediately formed patrols and conducted comprehensive searches of the nearby waters.

Fortunately, last summer, during the flash floods, the town had installed protective nets along the sections of the rivers that passed through, especially those closer to the town.

Initially intended to prevent accidents where people risked their safety by going down to take photos during floods, now these measures were once again proving their worth.

Apart from notifying residents along the river banks to stay outdoors, the town's primary and secondary schools, along with kindergartens, received messages reiterating the strict prohibition against students swimming in the rivers unsupervised.

The hot weather, combined with narrow gullies and shallow rivers, made it a favorite spot for adults and children seeking relief from the heat.

Every year, people drown, and every year, the river is full of people.

To ensure residents could enjoy the water safely, the town constructed a water play area in a wider spot and arranged for a round-the-clock patrol with shifts.

Until the crocodiles were recaptured, the relevant town departments placed four large loudspeakers along the riverbanks, continuously reminding residents to stay away from the river.

"There are seven crocodiles in total, five big ones and two small ones. Two are female crocodiles, and the rest are males. Though crocodiles aren't usually aggressive when full, a sudden change in environment can trigger aggressiveness."

"Moreover, it's uncertain whether the runaway crocodiles have fed in recent days. If they get hungry, they might even eat their kind." Xiao Shen muttered while scrolling on his phone, "This boss is in for a big trouble."

In this situation, the town where Jiamu Gully is located wasn't the most affected; it was the neighboring Baisha Town that took the bigger hit.

Geographically, Baisha Town is a significant juncture point, with Jiamu Gully Nature Reserve to the left and the gully being one of three medium-sized reserves interconnected.

A little less than 30 kilometers to the right lies a hot spring town, and another 25 kilometers from there into the mountains is the Snow Mountain, reputed to be the closest to the city. In other words, Baisha Town, being at the crossroads of two major national scenic areas, often sees many visitors resting and playing.

This breeding farm is located north of Baisha Town, geologically nearer to Jiamu Gully.

Years ago, the town's main industry was a cold-water fish farm, substantial in size and well-equipped, claiming to supply one-third of the province's cold-water fish.

After an earthquake caused upstream river channels to divert and decrease in water supply, this farm had to move to another county, leasing a reservoir, while the original site was sold to the current breeding boss for raising Giant Chinese Salamanders.

This breeding boss turned out to have greater ambitions, with giant salamanders not satisfying his ambition as he also set his sights on crocodiles.

Fortunately, he was only experimenting and didn't bring in dozens or hundreds of them straight away.

Chen Ying and his friends, for the moment, had no interest in the crocodile incident, considering they still had Baby to take care of at home.

An hour later, the familiar voice of Mama Panda came through.

It sounded angry, with a distinct dog barking in the background.

Worried something was wrong, Chen Ying rushed to check it out, only to see two assistant keepers sprinting back frantically as he was about to go downstairs.

"Teacher Bai, Brother Ying, Mama Panda's incredible! She pinned the male panda and gave it a good beating, even bit its ear and made it bleed."

Whoa, is Moon Mother's temper really so fiery?

Chen Ying grabbed the first aid kit and ran after them. Just a few meters in, he saw the previously fierce male panda huddled pitifully into a ball, whining softly.

A few drops of blood had fallen on its face from its ear, the stark red against the white fur was quite striking.

Mama Panda stood beside it, baring her teeth at it before leaning in to lick the blood off its face.

The male panda took this opportunity to snuggle against Mama Panda, and predictably, it got another beating.

Xiao Shen and Professor Bai had followed along, watching the interaction between the two pandas from behind Chen Ying.

"My mom says there's a lot of short videos these days about CEOs falling for cleaning ladies, do you guys think... this could be a silver-haired romance?"

By age alone, it definitely counts.

After all, a giant panda reaching twenty years is considered senior.

Giant pandas in the wild that live into their twenties are said to die of natural causes, while captive ones live slightly longer, passing away around thirty.

Once Mama Panda had let off steam, Chen Ying made some noise indicating his arrival.

Mama Panda was still huffy but not as agitated as before, even stepping aside to let Chen Ying tend to the silly male panda's injuries.

As soon as Chen Ying touched the male panda's ear, it perked up, ready to bite Chen Ying, but before it could, a paw smacked its face and its other ear was bitten hard.

"Whimper, whimper!" The male panda trembled and curled up again.

Chen Ying couldn't help but want to laugh, but held it back, quickly tending to its wound.

It was a laceration that required a stitch.

Animals have a high pain tolerance, particularly wild ones, so Chen Ying didn't use anesthesia, quickly stitching it up and applying anti-inflammatory and hemostatic agents.

The hemostatic powder contained mild anesthesia and sedative components, and after a few minutes, the male panda's ear wasn't in such pain.

It tried to scratch it but was stopped by Chen Ying who held its arm down.

This time, instead of acting ferocious like before, it carefully let out a couple of bleats, seemingly in thanks.

Only after Chen Ying had packed up the first aid kit did Mama Panda release the other ear it had been biting.