Chapter 41 part 2

The patterns on the little demon tiger’s forehead twisted fiercely, like a contracting star on the verge of explosion, showing not the slightest hint of knowing when to yield—as the wise should.  

Kong Bi waited for quite a while before Miaomiao finally climbed off her. Kong Bi wiped her face, then reached out and grabbed the little demon tiger that was trying to sneak away.  

This lively and active little fellow was quite clever and cunning. When dealing with creatures larger than itself, it would only attack when they were restricted in their movements, so Miaomiao wouldn’t be able to free her hands to deal with it. Just like before, she could only hold it down and wouldn’t have a free hand to smack it.

“Aowoo! –“

Let me down! I’ll bite you!

The little demon tiger waved its front paws around wildly, very dissatisfied that Kong Bi had suddenly picked it up. Kong Bi reached out and vigorously rubbed its belly for a while before contentedly saying, “From now on, your name will be Xinghe ^[1]Xinghe” (星河) translates to “Star River”, which is a poetic way to refer to the Milky Way or a galaxy in Chinese.”

“Aowoo?”

Unlike its stupid brother, the little demon tiger can already understand what Kong Bi said, but that was limited to relatively simple language. Now Kong Bi’s words to her were a bit beyond the scope, so it didn’t quite understand.

Kong Bi thought it was quite appropriate. The pattern on the little guy’s forehead was like a star. Although the patterns on tigers’ foreheads were different, Xinghe was probably the only one who could grow such a pattern.

And this name sounded better. Even if it grew up in the future, it shouldn’t be too repulsive.

Kong Bi had no idea what it would grow into in the future. After all, it was still small now, with a round head and short limbs, looking neither imposing nor beautiful, only cute. She wondered if it would become a beauty among tigers or a domineering Xinghe ?

Actually, names should have been given when they were born, but at that time, everything hadn’t settled down yet, so Kong Bi naturally wasn’t in a hurry to name them.

After all, compared with green peacocks and Spot-Bellied eagle-owls, South China tigers are undoubtedly the second most popular star after giant pandas. Wang Tianba’s appearance was only spread in a small range before, so it did not cause any competition, but South China tigers are different. When the news comes out, the zoo will undoubtedly be known to netizens across the country, and even CCTV will report it.

However, City C, where Kong Bi was located, was originally the development center of the south and counted as a tourist city. Naturally, it wasn’t willing to give up the South China tiger. In the end, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration determined its affiliation.

Saying it was an affiliation wasn’t quite right. After all, the wild tigers would eventually have to be released back into the wild. Moreover, everyone hoped to rely on Miaomiao to locate the tracks of other South China tigers in the wild. Not to mention that the loss of just one South China tiger in the wild could potentially lead to the extinction of the entire wild South China tiger population.

Their situation was already precarious.

For various reasons, and with experts staying here, the affiliation of the South China tiger was finally settled without dispute. However, Kong Bi seriously doubted whether Miaomiao, in her current state, would still be able to adapt to life in the wild two or three years later.

After all, it’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Miaomiao didn’t seem like the kind of tiger who wouldn’t yield to power or be corrupted by wealth.

As for the two little ones, tigers that grew up among humans from a young age, even with Miaomiao, their mother, raising and teaching them from childhood, it would be very difficult for them to return to the wild. The greater hope of everyone was actually placed on these two, hoping they could improve and enrich the current gene pool of captive South China tigers, so that they could be better prepared for rewilding.

The plan to release South China tigers into the wild had been proposed for a long time, but it wasn’t officially implemented until this year, with a release site selected in Xiang Province.

As the historical core distribution area of the South China tiger, Xiang Province had been preparing for this for over a decade. Nevertheless, they still didn’t have much confidence in the rewilding plan. After all, South China tigers had lived in zoos for decades, and the new generation of tigers had long lost their wild instincts. Moreover, due to inbreeding, even their health couldn’t compare to that of other tiger species in the world today. Therefore, they placed even greater importance on Xinghe and Kangkang.

So, they also put in effort this time, pre-booking Kangkang’s mating rights. By the time it grew up, the rewilding base in Xiang Province would be almost ready.

But no one expected that Kangkang would be a paralyzed tiger.

Although it is not impossible to extract sperm artificially, it is still a pity, because this situation also makes many people guess that perhaps the wild South China tigers that still exist in the wild today may also be inbred individuals, and may even be extremely close in lineage, otherwise how could they give birth to such unhealthy cubs?

This speculation has been widely recognized by the public. Although Kong Bi knows the reason, she remains silent.

Kong Bi had given the two little ones’ names after careful consideration. Otherwise, if they were called something like Peacock Mountain Number One, it would make Kong Bi feel rather uncomfortable.

Generally speaking, wild animals outside of zoos are often named after the place where they appear. If there’s a second one, it gets numbered as Two, and so on. If the animal stays in the wild and only appears occasionally, this naming method is naturally fine. However, for a tiger like Kangkang, which is destined not to survive in the wild, naming it this way would seem somewhat cold, as if it were just a heartless breeding machine.

Kong Bi didn’t mind them becoming ruthless eating machines and defecating machines, but she absolutely didn’t want them to become mere breeding machines.

After all, when human interests are at stake, even animal welfare—once a priority—can be brushed aside. Giant pandas weren’t immune to scandals, though such matters rarely surfaced publicly. Kong Bi wanted no such shadow falling over these tigers.  

Fortunately, for now, everything had turned out well.

……

…………

Everyone was working hard on Kang Kang’s situation. Almost all the famous Chinese veterinarians in China were invited. Miao Miao also cooperated well. Even though Kong Bi often took Kang Kang out, she was no longer in a hurry to stop her. She just instinctively watched Xing He more closely when Kang Kang was not around, which made the conflict between the siblings worse.

For Xing He, she could not understand that Kang Kang was taken away to see a doctor. She only knew that every time Kang Kang left, she would be unlucky. This naturally made her very displeased with Kang Kang. The two tigers fought a lot, which not only gave Miao Miao a headache, but also gave Kong Bi a headache.

Faced with this situation, Kong Bi could only choose to divert the conflict.

Unlike Miao Miao, Kang Kang was not averse to other people because he had been in contact with people since birth. Therefore, after leaving the tiger cage, Kong Bi could hand him over to others to take him away, without having to supervise them in person to prevent him from hurting people.

Kangkang’s lethality was much smaller than Miaomiao’s.

However, bringing Kangkang to see the doctor now wasn’t for acupuncture. It was just for a simple massage. In fact, although they had the ancient books provided by Wang Ling’s family, everyone still hadn’t come up with a suitable treatment plan. They could all find some unsuitable aspects. After all, this kind of thing had to be handled with extreme caution, and it would be difficult to start treatment directly without convincing most people.

Even if they dared, Kong Bi wouldn’t dare.

She also wanted to be absolutely certain.

So, currently, when Kangkang was taken away, it was for conservative treatment, and it also made it easier for the doctor to observe his daily changes.

To prevent Xinghe from associating Kangkang with her own bad luck, after Kangkang was taken away this time, Kong Bi drove over the cage car that had been prepared long ago, driving it directly to the door, making it convenient for Miaomiao and Xinghe to go straight in.

Large wild beasts can never be as free as other wild animals in human territory. For example, if people encounter an owl on the road, most would dare to just grab it and take it to the police station. But who would dare to do that with a tiger? Even if it’s injured and looks half-dead, no one would dare.

Snakes and wild beasts are creatures that humans fear in their genes.

Kong Bi jumped out of the car and opened the door, saying to Miaomiao, “Come on, Miaomiao, come to Mama.”

“Roar!”

Miaomiao wasn’t afraid. She looked at the narrow cage car, sniffed it once, then turned back, picked up Xinghe in her mouth, and walked in.

Kong Bi couldn’t help but rub Miaomiao’s big face before closing the door.

For animals, every time they are put in a cage for a physical examination is a very troublesome matter, especially for animals that haven’t undergone proper socialization training from a young age. Fortunately, Kong Bi can communicate with them, so even without specific training, it’s not a problem.

Miaomiao lay on the cage car, curiously looking at the scenery outside. The world of steel and concrete was quite unfamiliar to her.

What was that square thing? Why was it wider than the biggest tree she had ever seen?

Eh eh eh? She hadn’t looked enough yet, why did it leave?!

Miaomiao couldn’t help but stand up in the cage car, trying hard to see the strange building that was moving further and further away.

Felines all have an uncontrollable curiosity, which humans see as “being nosy.” However, tigers living in the wild can restrain this instinct very well. But now it was different; the comfortable environment had made her curiosity flourish again.

Xinghe also looked around in amazement, looking left and right, as if she couldn’t see enough.

The flowers there are so pretty, I really want to take a bite.

What was that animal that ran past? I really want to have a taste!

Huh? Why did that bird come closer?

Xinghe had seen birds in the tiger enclosure, but they usually wouldn’t approach her at all. Even though Xinghe was just a small tiger, they would still be very cautious.

Sparrows are inherently timid. Those that don’t live in the city are naturally very alert and would never foolishly approach a creature many times their size.

Just look at its broad tiger paw; if it swatted down, wouldn’t that be fatal for the bird?

However, the sparrow in front of her was quite bold. Xinghe excitedly stood up and reached her paw out through the bars, trying to grab it. The sparrow flew a little further away, curiously watching this creature it had never seen before.

Is this also a cat? Why is it so much bigger than the one I saw before?

Miaomiao looked at Xinghe, noticed the approaching sparrow, and immediately roared to drive it away.

Although its tiny size didn’t seem like it could harm her cub, it was better to stay away from her cub no matter what!

The roar, like the roar of an imperial engine, instantly almost caused the unsuspecting Eurasian tree sparrow to have a cardiac arrest. It immediately flapped its wings forcefully to get away from this terrifying big guy.

Although it had never seen one before, a big creature that could make such a sound was too scary for a bird!

Xinghe was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but turn its head to look at Miaomiao, letting out a “waah!” sound.

Mom! How could you do this?!

Miaomiao crossed her front legs, narrowed her tiger eyes slightly, and remained still as if she hadn’t heard anything.

The cage car quickly pulled up at the Peacock Garden. The surrounding area had already been cleared as Kong Bi had instructed, which minimized potential safety hazards.

During Miaomiao’s pregnancy and delivery, the Peacock Garden had been undergoing renovations at an accelerated pace. The fence, which an adult could previously step over, had been replaced with wire netting. The green peacock could still fly out if they were bored, but humans absolutely couldn’t get in, which greatly ensured the safety of the green peafowl.

However, the landscaping inside hadn’t been completely finished yet, but compared to the tiger enclosure, the environment here was still much better.

Kong Bi opened the cage car, and Miaomiao immediately stepped out, looking around.