Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

It can get along well with others, but refuses to let anyone touch it.

Huihui is an adolescent, and by next year, it will enter the initial stage of sexual maturity, meaning it could start looking for a female lynx to have babies with.

Yet it seems to have no such desire. When it encountered a female lynx hunting along the way, she stood quietly in the snow watching him, but Huihui passed by her without even a glance.

"Are you thinking of going back to the place you were born to find a mate?" Chen Ying scratched its chin, "If you want to go back, I can find a way to get you back."

"No need." Huihui calmly grinned, as if smiling, "I've already asked Aunt Leopard, once I become an adult, I'll claim a territory beneath the highest Snow Mountain."

It hesitated for a moment, lowering its voice, "Aow aow, actually it doesn't matter even if mom doesn't want to give birth, I can always stay by her side."

Generally, the female beast will drive away her grown-up children to make room for her next litter.

Jinya hasn't shown obvious signs of being in heat, which wasn't concerning at first, given that it was still young when rescued, and female beasts don't necessarily have offspring as soon as they reach maturity.

Like female giant pandas, many do not have their first offspring until halfway through their lives.

The success rate of mothers like Jinya in reproducing is relatively high, but individual differences exist; perhaps Jinya is one of those inherently slower to mature.

Though seeking reasons for Jinya's abnormal behavior, Chen Ying thought it was still necessary to conduct a check-up after returning to see what has caused its signs of heat to be so faint.

After patrolling the area, the conditions in the two animal maternity wards encountered along the way were decent.

They also discovered a litter of golden cats in the gully between Lotus Mountain and Mopan Mountain.

Based on observations, this litter of golden cats is about nine months old, ready to start independent life.

Their mother wasn't in the nest, presumably she was giving the cubs their final training before independence.

Seeing humans passing by, four little golden cats huddled together in a tree hole, poking out their tiny heads to watch warily.

(I can't draw a typical golden cat. Anyway, they're all cat cubs, everyone just imagine.)

It was Huihui's first time seeing golden cat cubs; curious, he looked at them for a while, only to be threatened by the hissing of one of the cubs.

Instead of backing away, Huihui seemed eager to take a closer look. Before Chen Ying could stop him, a golden cat with similar markings to Little Jin jumped down and bared its fangs at him.

However, that adult golden cat seemed to sniff something shortly after, drew closer for a careful identification, then softened its tone with two "meow aows," picked up the prey nearby, climbed back up the tree, and chased its own cubs back into the tree hole.

Huihui's throat produced a purring sound and for the first time did not heed the call to leave. About half an hour later, he came back with a small roe deer.

As Chen Ying and the others lived and cooked nearby, watching this scene, they laughed that perhaps Huihui, like his mother, wanted to raise a little golden cat.

During dinner, Chen Ying received a call from Dao Meihua, saying that her sister-in-law's zoo had obtained a license, and they were interested in introducing a batch of animals, asking if Chen Ying had time to help with an inspection.

Chen Ying initially wanted to refuse, but then changed his mind and agreed, arranging for Dao Meihua to pick him up in Jiamu Gully on the fifteenth of the first lunar month.

The trip went smoothly, and on the return journey, Huihui left for a while, presumably to check on the kittens again.

Back at the rescue station, Chen Ying called Professor Bai to discuss Jinya's situation. Professor Bai also felt a detailed examination should be conducted to determine if Jinya hasn't matured or if there's another issue.

"If possible, I actually suggest letting Jinya have a litter of lynxes. Its genes are excellent and could greatly aid the continuation of wild populations. But, of course, it's up to Jinya's own will. If it's really unwilling, don't force it."

They quickly arranged a series of examinations, not just for Jinya but also for Brother Leopard, Leopard Sister, and Little Jin.

The situation was quite positive, except for Leopard Sister who could no longer reproduce due to a previous injury to her uterus. She and Brother Leopard were in perfect health.

For Little Jin, it seemed the hormones were a bit off as it neared its estrus period.

"Teacher, I've sent you Jinya's scans, have a look." Staring at the medical records, Chen Ying frowned deeply, "The examination results showed abnormal development in Jinya's uterus and ovaries."

Externally and from biochemical tests, Jinya was perfectly fine, no one expected that its lack of heat and failure to have offspring would be due to the impact of injuries sustained during its youth.

The functions were there, but they were suspended at a stage before it reached adulthood, which means, after recovering from its injuries, its reproductive functions had halted development.

Chen Ying cast a complicated look at Jinya, who was still playfully bickering with Little Jin, and pinched his nose bridge.

On the other end, Professor Bai carefully reviewed the medical records and compared them with previous rescue documents.

"It's not complete absence of development but incomplete development. This situation is not uncommon; many similar cases occur in humans too. It might never have its own cubs, but there's also a chance, out of the blue, it might one day conceive."

Having worked for decades, Professor Bai has seen too much.

"Just let nature take its course; whatever happens, happens."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ying went to the middle of the woods, where the lynx cub Huihui was grooming Jinya and mentioned the litter of golden cat cubs.

Jinya thought for a moment and said that she knows that cat mom, familiar cat.

"Do you still remember Uncle Dajin? That chubby golden cat. He's the father of those cubs."

Jinya snorted, sneaking a glance at Little Jin, "Your Little Jin dad doesn't want to have babies with those golden cats. Other than your dad, the only one around here worth considering is that chubby guy."

Little Jin turned its head, lay down, and flicked its tail.

The weather was getting colder, and the peak breeding season for golden cats was approaching.

Even if it didn't like it, its instincts made it mark its territory.

The pheromones released in its secretions and urine attracted many single cats, leaving it overwhelmed these days, having to fight several battles each day.

In the past, there was Big Gold to help share the load. This year, Big Gold had wandered too far and probably wouldn't make it back. Around Jiamu Gully, it's the only male within a ten-kilometer radius, yet there are five single female cats!

Little Jin was quite irritable, torn about whether to seek help from Chen Ying.

Just as it couldn't resist taking action, a cat call came, causing all the fluffy ones at the rescue station to raise their heads and look at the intruder.

Slightly larger than Little Jin, with a familiar coat pattern, it was a spotted golden cat.

The golden cat jumped down the tree, lay beside Little Jin and Jinya, and rolled over, revealing its soft belly.

"Meow aow, dad, I came back to see you!"

Leopard Sister almost slipped, quickly turning to look at Little Jin.

How could it dare! To have a cub come looking for it!

Leopard Sister pressed her paw on Brother Leopard's tail, scratching and tugging, her eyes filled with excitement.

Little Jin shivered, jumped back half a step, and "awu awu" called several times, telling it not to shout.

Jinya tilted her head, watched for a moment, then suddenly trotted over and sniffed at the golden cat's rear.

"Aowr, it's the cub back!"

Seeing Jinya's excitement, Little Jin calmed down, regaining composure.

Carefully examining the other's fur, it suddenly pulled a memory of a similar kitten from its mind for comparison.

"No way, it was so small back then, how could it grow this big?"

Even Little Jin found it hard to recognize, and even Chen Ying was amazed.

Isn't this the little golden cat rescued the year before? After the rescue, it was sent to a rescue center for post-treatment and shelter.

At the end of last year, the center had attempted to release it. The location chosen was several hundred kilometers away from here.

"How did you manage to find your way back?" Chen Ying approached, giving its belly a pat; it was soft and warm, a delightful feeling.

"I didn't like the air over there; I picked a direction and just kept walking, until I walked back."

By now, it couldn't be called a little one. Its body length was nearly ten centimeters longer than Little Jin; with this build, among golden cats, it was a giant, comparable to a human over two meters tall.

This one's fierce-looking exterior disguised an inner child.

It surprisingly wriggled like a kitten worm on the ground, pushing and nudging until its head touched Jinya's hind leg, and its hind paws grabbed Little Jin's tail, making "hoo hoo" sounds, like a child who found a treasure.

For the first time, the lynx cub Huihui witnessed a tough guy acting cute, eyes wide with astonishment.