Original: Li Liangsu
2022-10-6 07:50
Posted in Beijing
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Wild yak can survive in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau , such harsh natural environment and harsh climatic conditions, from the distant depth of history to today. This starts with the development structure of the wild yak and its magical adaptive evolution to the natural environment.
There is a buzzword that goes: You can’t change the world, then, change yourself!
This wild yak once defeated the siege of 5 plateau wolves alone
In order to resist the cold in high altitude areas, the whole body of the wild yak evolved was covered with thick fluff, and the belly was full of "skirt hair". Moreover, the middle of the wild yak hair is hollow and has strong warmth. In addition, the skin of wild yaks has evolved very softly, with developed subcutaneous connective tissue and fewer sweat glands, which can effectively reduce the body's heat dissipation and loss.
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a high altitude and thin air. In order to prevent hypoxia, wild yaks evolved from long and open ribs, with strong respiratory shape, deep and wide chest cavity, alveolar has a large area, and the blood contains red blood cells and a lot of heme. Therefore, wild yaks can eat and reproduce freely in a cold alpine environment with low air pressure, thin air, low oxygen content, and almost all year round.
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Although wild yaks and brown bears are called the two overlords on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they also have natural enemies.
The main natural enemy of wild yaks is the cunning and ferocious plateau wolf.
On the plateau, it follows like a shadow. Wherever there are herbivores, carnivores will follow. After entering the wild yak ditch for a few days, I rode around on horseback and took my hunting dog Batulu, and investigated and found that in the cave formed by the ice age, there was a wolf pack composed of more than 20 wolves living in a cave formed by the ice age.
During the inspection of the wild yak ditch, I have seen disputes and fights between wild yaks and plateau wolves many times.
Wild yaks are launching an attack
One afternoon, I was in the hidden part on the mountain, using the high-definition high-power telescope to observe a group of wild yaks. In the quiet valley, wild yaks, led by a cow, flew on the grass everywhere, eating grass quietly and leisurely.
Suddenly, I saw a group of tall plateau wolves rushing towards the wild yaks. The wolves blocked the front and the back, and surrounded the wild yaks.
I counted about it through the telescope. There were seventeen wolves, and the leader was a tall and strong male wolf with two ears standing upright, with bright fur.
When the wolves suddenly attacked, the wild yaks were also very experienced. Under the leadership of a cow, the wild yaks scattered around eating grass quickly gathered.
The cattle herd automatically formed a circle, calf and some old, weak, sick and disabled wild yaks were in the middle of the circle, young and strong adult wild yaks, with their butts facing inward, with their horns facing outward, guarding the outer edge of the circle. The entire circle surrounded by wild yaks is like a tightly defended and indestructible fortress.
Under the leadership of the head wolf, the wolf pack launched crazy attacks many times, trying to break through the defense line of wild yaks, but they were all broken down by the hard and sharp horns of wild yaks and failed.
The wild yak herd and the wolf pack fought fiercely for an entire afternoon. Finally, the leading male wolf was pierced by the sharp horns of the wild yak, and the blood in the body was flowing out and died; the backbone of the two wolf was kicked off by the powerful ox hooves of the male wild yak, and fell to the ground and never got up again. Other wolves who participated in the hunt were injured or fled to varying degrees. During the battle between
, none of the wild yak herd was injured and won a great victory.
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Adult wild yaks generally do not fear wolves. A healthy and strong wild yak, with its tall and strong body and sharp horns, can't do anything to one or two wolves, even ten or eight or even more wolves, are not their opponents and they can't do anything about it.
is the morning of the second day I entered the wild yak ditch for inspection.I was on the top of the mountain and searched and observed the wild yak ditch with a telescope. I saw eight tall plateau wolves surrounding an adult wild yak that was left alone for some unknown reason and was separated from the cattle herd.
This is a tall and strong male wild yak in its prime. Under the leadership of the head wolf, the wolf pack flapped its teeth and claws, shouted and took turns to launch fierce attacks on the male wild yaks.
Faced with the fierce attacking wolf pack, the male wild yak seemed to not take them seriously at all, and there was no trace of fear and tension. The male wild yak shook its huge head and two sharp horns on its head, still strolling leisurely.
While the wolves attacked it, the male wild yaks were busy stealing from time to time, and hurriedly gnawed a bite or two. The wild yaks growing on the cliff all like to eat needles thatch.
Wolves launched several waves of attacks on male wild yaks in succession. However, in front of the male wild yak's sharp horns and powerful cow hooves, they were resolved one by one and failed one after another. With the vigorous resistance of the male wild yak, the wolf pack could not get close to it.
wild yak herd
However, the wolves were not discouraged. They adjusted their offensive deployment, changed the offensive rhythm, and launched a fierce attack on the male wild yak again.
It seems that this male wild yak is also a battle-hardened master. It calmly responded to the challenge, with a thick and thin part. It looked at the flaws of a wolf's attack, and used its long and sharp horns on its head to raise it up. It saw the wolf being raised high by the horns and drew a beautiful arc in the air. With a "bang", it fell heavily on a pile of rocks ten meters away. The wolf's head hit a hard rock, and immediately "ten thousand peach blossoms bloomed" and the brain splashed everywhere.
I saw it clearly in the high-definition high-power telescope. After the wolf fell to the ground, it didn't move, and didn't even struggle. Its mouth and nose gushed blood, and it never got up from the ground again, lying there without any sign of life.
Wolf pack saw their companions being raised high by a male wild yak with cow horns and fell to death on a pile of rocks. They immediately became in a panic of horror and stopped the attack.
The male wild yak was calm and calm, as if nothing had happened. It didn't even look at the corpse of the wolf that was lifted by its horns and fell to death on the pile of rocks. Instead, it seized the time and took advantage of the chaos and relaxation of attacking itself, and hurriedly gnawed several more stitches on the hillside next to it.
Based on my daily learning and mastering knowledge about wolf nature, and based on the rhythm of the group of wolves in front of me who are eager to achieve success, regardless of consequences, and continuously attacking wild yaks, I immediately judged that these group of wolves are not local permanent wolves, but a group of "passing wolves" who are rushing and robbing and eating without choice.
was indeed guessed by me. After a while, more than a dozen local wolves, led by the head wolf, ran down from the ridges in the distance, roaring and rushed over with great momentum. They come to defend their territory and drive away the invaders.
The group of foreign wolves in front of him immediately became disorganized. When they saw that something was wrong, they hurriedly left the body of their companions who were being besieged by the horns of their male wild yaks, and fled in a panic. In a blink of an eye, they disappeared behind a ridge.
At this time, the smart male wild yak saw that the local wolf pack was coming, and the wolf pack that besieged his own foreign land fled. It didn't care about eating its favorite needle thatch, and took the opportunity to run away quickly, looking for its own cattle and friends.
(Next article: Wild Yak Gully Chronicle IV; In addition, special statement: The photo provided on the article is provided by the platform, delete if infringes.)
Author profile: Li Liangsu, an animal literature writer and a member of the Volunteer Alliance of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, has been committed to animal literature creation and wildlife protection for many years.
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