MTLNOVEL Chapter 351 Although the Tigress is Small, She is Strong
Roughly an hour later, the tender-bodied tiger cub was wrapped in a towel and placed on the mat of the neighboring animal shed.
Its keeper massaged it with great care.
The subadult tiger knew that it felt comfortable to be massaged as it had experienced it too.
It hid two-thirds of its face, revealing only the intact eye, stealthily observing its surroundings.
After a short while, a two-legged beast with a familiar scent came from next door and squatted in front of it.
"Little guy, why are you still unhappy? Look, I've found you a little friend to keep you company so you won't be lonely all by yourself as a tiger."
Chen Ying patted the tiger's head and then nudged its neck, gesturing for it to go to the other side of the barrier.
The subadult tiger hesitated for a moment but couldn't suppress its curiosity and reluctantly got up, took a few steps, and lay down beside the gate of the nearby railing.
The tiger cub had already caught its breath and was now pawing at the keeper for food.
It always felt terribly hungry after treatment, despite having snacks during the process.
Seeing Chen Ying come over, the keeper handed the little tiger over to him to watch and went to get a bowl of milk and fresh meat.
Since it hadn't officially moved in yet, all of the cub's food was in the nearby quarantine area's mixing room; the keeper needed to feed the cub first before he could move all those miscellaneous things.
After taking over the care of the little tiger and giving it a thorough massage to loosen it up, Chen Ying placed it on the ground, allowing it to roll around and play comfortably, planning to secure it in its wheelchair later.
The injured tiger from next door watched silently the whole time, looking like a peeping Tom.
The tiger cub stretched its body and finally showed interest in observing its new neighbor.
Dragging its hind legs, it crawled to the bars and curiously sized up the big tiger, which didn't look powerful at all.
"Woo woo, what's wrong with you, are you sick?"
The little one was a fast learner. Before coming, Chen Ying had told it that it would have a new neighbor, a big tiger, but one that was unwell.
The cub, putting itself in others' shoes, assumed the big tiger must also be unable to move freely like itself.
When the subadult tiger saw the cub's odd body and bright eyes, for some reason, it let out a howl, stood up, and ran away. It specifically turned its back to the cub and curled up against the wall.
"Wow, did I say something wrong?"
The tiger cub looked back at Chen Ying, innocently making a plaintive wailing sound.
"Nothing's wrong; it's just not feeling well and needs to be alone for a while. After you've had your fill, I'll take you out for a walk."
"Hmm, together with you?"
"Of course, you'll be with me until you're completely recovered."
He had submitted the treatment report that had been approved, and the documents he applied for had also been granted.
He was now the guardian of the tiger cub.
Hearing that it could go out with Chen Ying, the tiger cub got so excited. It slapped the ground with its big paws, trying to hurry the keeper to bring its meal quicker.
The keeper wasn't slow in arriving. The moment the bowl touched the ground, the cub pounced on it with an "awoo," almost burying its whole head in the bowl.
While it ate, it let out a mix of "awoo" and roars of delight, enjoying its meal immensely.
The subadult tiger, with its face to the wall, hearing these sounds, inexplicably became a bit hungry.
Without getting up, it scratched the ground with its paws and stealthily turned around to continue spying on the cub.
Hmm, that meat in its bowl looked so delicious!
What was that white thing? It smelled so good (╯▽╰)~~~~
From an unnoticed angle, the subadult tiger's drool had already wet the fur on its front limbs.
Chen Ying, who seemed to be looking at his phone, was actually monitoring the big tiger the entire time through the cameras inside the animal shed.
He didn't overlook its covetous drooling at the cub's meat either.
Amused and a little sympathetic, he got up, took the big tiger's ration from the nearby refrigerator.
"Come on, have some yourself."
He casually put the bowl with meat into its enclosure and then gently pushed it, nudging the big tiger's behind.
The big tiger stiffened for a moment, sneaked a glance at him, and still continued to spin around in place, hugging the bowl tightly and quietly starting to eat.
Its keeper, watching this scene on the monitor, clenched a fist and gave a little swing.
As long as it was willing to eat, that was a good sign; its body could be gradually nursed back to health.
The tiger cub, although devouring the meat, was small and didn't really have the best teeth. It hadn't finished eating, but the big tiger next door had already started to lick its bowl clean.
Sated, the tiger cub signaled the keeper to wipe its mouth, then trotted over to its wheelchair and patted it, "ah ah" calling out to Chen Ying, as if to hurry him.
Such a clever little brain tiger was loved by all.
The three staff members in the control room melted at the sight.
Chen Ying, together with the keeper, helped the cub get into its wheelchair and then opened the door of the animal shed, leading it outside.
This was a treatment reserved only for the youngest tiger cubs. After all, they were not so different from big cats in terms of fighting ability; it wasn't that they had none, it was just much weaker than even an underwhelming opponent.
Winning against enemies was all about being adorable.
Chen Ying took it to the public activity area of the Cub Garden, where two four-month-old Northeast Tiger cubs and one three-month-old albino Bengal Tiger were currently living.
The tiger cub followed Chen Ying into the public area, where many people saw it, but nobody seemed surprised or disgusted.
There were even a few employees dressed as keepers who squatted down to greet the tiger cub.
Chen Ying did not stop them from approaching because, in the days to come, the cub would rely on human aid frequently, so it inevitably couldn't avoid contact with people like other release cubs would.
Perhaps it was the isolated life of the past month that made the tiger cub somewhat socially anxious—a social terror.
It didn't show any signs of shyness as it approached the keepers, even smelling the scent of food on their hands, sticking out its soft tongue for a lick—oh snap, nothing there!
It held its head high and made a "purring" sound towards Chen Ying, with a touch of slight grievance.
A round-faced keeper pulled out a small snack bag from his pocket, filled with chew sticks he made himself for the cubs to teeth on.
The tiger cub bit the chew stick, found it pretty good, happily rubbed his head against the keeper's hand, turned around to go back to Chen Ying's side, signaling Chen Ying to take the chew stick so it could play with it before eating it later.
Although the little fella was only maneuvering on two legs, he moved with a vigor that made the wheelchair's small wheels seem like they would turn into wheels of wind and fire.
Since their departure, there had been someone not too far away taking photos with a camera.
It was a comrade from Tiger Leopard Center responsible for publicity, capturing footage for materials.
The congenitally disabled little Northeast Tiger cub was rescued, showing unyielding spirit and always filled with vigor, living a wonderful life even if it had to rely on a wheelchair.
Walking forward for a while, on the grassland, three little tigers were playing on their own on either side.
The two tiger cubs were twin siblings from the same mother, and the other was a male little white tiger.
Chen Ying did not speak; he wanted to see how the tiger cub would choose on its own.
The tiger cub stopped not too far from them and observed for a while, noticing that the twin siblings were quite impatient and fought roughly.
The little white tiger, on the other hand, was languid, not showing much curiosity or fear when it saw the cub, comfortably lying on the ground.
After pondering for a while, the tiger cub headed toward the little white tiger.
Seeing it approach, the little white tiger remained motionless, just watching it until the tiger cub got very close, close enough for their noses to touch, before it quietly stepped back.
The curious tiger cub continued to lean in and even licked the other with its tongue.
The little white tiger froze completely, its beautiful blue eyes filled with stunned bewilderment.
The sibling duo who were roughhousing also noticed the tiger cub; they stopped their scuffle and charged over together.
The little male tiger roared and leaped at the tiger cub, but in the next instant, he was tripped by his sister and rolled three times on the ground.
Getting up, the infuriated male turned and pressed toward his sister, making "roar roar" sounds.
The female tiger was not timid, even as a cub, not intimidated at all.
Seeing her brother lunged at her, she stood upright and accurately bit the cheek fur of her brother.
The young male tiger, bitten and in pain, pushed his sister away and ran towards the keeper, feeling aggrieved.
He wanted to tattle, to get the two-legged beast to feed his sister less and him more, so he could grow bigger than his sister and beat her!
That stinky brother, he deserved every beating he got.
The little female tiger who had driven away her brother then turned to look at the tiger cub, circling around it twice.
"Roar roar, you seem like a lot of fun, I want it!"
Chen Ying, understanding the little female tiger's words, struggled to keep a straight face.
At that moment, the tiger cub puffed up its chest and roared loudly and proudly.
"Roar, this was made specially by my mom and the two-legged beast for me, you don't have one! If you want it, go ask your mom."
Here in Tiger Park, tiger cubs are usually raised by their mothers, but these two tiger cubs were hand-reared either because their mother had some issue or she had too many cubs to care for.
Upon hearing this, the little female tiger tilted her head, "Mom? What's that, is it tasty?"
The world turned upside down, would you dare eat your mom? Watch out for your mom, she'll chomp down a tiger cub in one bite!
The keeper responsible for looking after these three tiger cubs came over to Chen Ying and explained that all three mothers were first-time moms and with the artificial breeding in captivity, their maternal instincts weren't very strong.
So during the day, they would help take the cubs out to play, and at night they were put back to live with their mothers.
However, the Northeast Tiger cubs' mother was unable to care for her siblings due to old age and had to be completely hand-reared.
While they were talking, the little white tiger, who previously seemed as indifferent as a salted fish, suddenly reached out his paw, wrapped it around the tiger cub, and hung himself onto it.
What's this situation?
Not only were the tiger cub and the little female tiger puzzled, but several keepers including Chen Ying were also stunned.
What's with this little guy?
The tiger cub seemed to sniff out something, lowered its head, and sniffed vigorously several times on the little white tiger before looking up at Chen Ying.
"It seems like it's not feeling well."
Chen Ying also noticed that the little white tiger's lethargy was not because it truly did not want to move; it kept licking its own chest fur, as if something was there.
Chen Ying's expression grew serious, he picked up the back of the little white tiger's neck to reveal its belly pressed against the ground, spread apart the fur, and saw exactly as he had expected.
"It has ticks on it, you guys quickly check the other little tigers for any."