A group of wolves in the Tianshan Mountains stuck the main road of the summer alpine pastures of the Kurlen meadows.
The sheep could not withstand the high temperature of the summer, and when they consciously migrated to the alpine grassland of Cullen at an altitude of more than 4,700 meters countless times, they were intercepted by the wolves in various ways.
Just like when two armies are fighting against each other, when one side is about to carry out a strategic shift, it is effectively intercepted by the enemy's multi-faceted forces, so it has to retreat to death and wait for the enemy's devastating blow.
★ When the summer came, the wolf king stared at the sheep under the mountain
The Ili River Valley in the Tianshan Mountains in northern Xinjiang is a fertile grassland.
The sky is blue and white clouds, the mountainside jungle is reckless, and the Ili grassland below the mountain is green and grassy, undulating and endless. Herds of cattle and sheep grazing by Kazakh herders move slowly across the steppe. Melodious pastoral songs resounded on the grassland from time to time, one after another, reverberating.
At this time, a sturdy wolf king squatted on a high ground in the grassland, looking down on the sheep on the grassland. The greedy gaze is like a searchlight, scanning the herds of cattle, horses and sheep on the grassland from time to time, but the eyes are finally locked on a few flocks of sheep.
The wolf is not only a strategist, but also a tactician, so the little Jiujiu in his heart plays brilliantly.
Cattle, horses, and sheep are also food for wolves, but only sheep are at the top of the wolf's diet. This is because the horse dragon is fierce and good at running, and it is extremely difficult to catch.
The cow is huge, brute force, and has a pair of thick horns, and one can be injured by it if you are not careful.
Only sheep, small individuals, neither the benefits of the minions, nor the courage to fight, the meat is fat and tender, so it is the favorite of wolves.
Why do herders hate wolves for generations? Because wolves always poach their sheep. Sheep are the private property of herdsmen, and they are the guarantee for the herdsmen's family to provide food, clothing, housing and transportation, and even support the elderly and raise their offspring. So, in order to protect their livestock, herders have almost become mortal enemies with wolves.
If the herdsmen hate the wolf so much, why do the cunning wolves still oppose the herdsmen and poach cattle, horses and sheep?
Actually, the wolf has absolutely no moral legal concept.
Probably the heavens gave birth to wolves, and gave wolves the habit of eating meat and the right to eat all animals in the world, including humans. Therefore, for generations, wolves have been hunting livestock, even two-legged beasts such as humans.
One more point. The wolf is the brains of the traders, and is good at calculating the "quantity and profit" in finance. They are always planning to get the most out of the least effort.
If you hunt wild animals, wild animals have strong limbs, and all of them are long-distance running champions. Then the hunt is very time-consuming and laborious.
If you hunt livestock raised by humans, and livestock are cowardly by nature, then you can get twice the result with half the effort.
So, wolves always cast their eyes on the livestock raised by humans. And the ultimate focus is often on sheep.
★ The heat of the summer causes illness in the flock, creating opportunities for the wolves to earn something for nothing
This year, the summer heat came prematurely in the Ili grassland. The wolf first senses the change in temperature. Except for hunting, they spend the rest of their time hiding in the alpine jungle at an altitude of more than 4,500 meters. When hunting, go to the spring pasture below the mountain to poach the herdsmen's sheep to eat.
Since the beginning of the summer, the wolves have clearly felt that the hunt is going well, because almost all the sheep under the mountain have appeared in a languid and lazy state.
The wolf observed that the heat slowed down the growth of the pasture, and the sheep lost their appetite due to the heat. To add to the excitement of the wolves, infectious diseases quickly spread among the flock. A large number of sheep fell ill with the disease, and a few emaciated sheep died.
Herders, accustomed to traditional grazing, did not notice anything unusual. Livestock die every year, which is the norm in the grasslands. It's just that the number of deaths is higher this year.
The nimble herdsman sensed the heat of the day on the pasture and wondered if the sheep were suffering from a fever disease. I can't say for sure. Veterinarians are scarce in pastoral areas. Most of the time, they rely on their own traditional methods of healing.
They also wondered if the flock was sick because the weather was too hot. Is it possible to move to a summer pasture high in the mountains? However, it's still too early to move the summer pastures in previous years! As a result, they have to spend their days in the spring pastures waiting for the summer transition time to come.
As a result, the bad habits of the herders led to happy days for the wolves. There is no need to poach, just the sheep that die every day are enough for all the wolves to feast on.
★ The desire to survive makes the sheep consciously march towards the alpine meadows
However, a large area of sheep disease and continuous dead sheep finally made the flock agitated first. The flock does not have the conservative notions of pastoralists. They are sensitive to changes in the natural world and are therefore often on the move.
Now, the sheep find that their owners are still clinging to traditional beliefs, waiting for the transition time of previous years before moving to summer pastures in the alpine meadows. They can't wait. The perception of the body forced the prophets to advance towards the summer pastures, and then more sheep consciously moved towards the mountain pastures.
Most of the alpine pastures in northern Xinjiang are above 4,700 meters above sea level. To get there, you need to cross the primeval jungle on the mountainside. Alpine pastures are mostly alpine meadows. Phi soda grass, alfalfa, red bean grass, etc. grow there, and it is a delicacy for the sheep.
Moreover, the temperature of alpine pastures is suitable during the day, and the temperature difference between day and night is large, which is conducive to the recovery of physical strength and metabolism of sheep and reproductive reproduction.
★ In order to eat the dead sheep, the wolf king set up a plan to intercept the poison
The wolf king first spotted the signs that the sheep were consciously heading towards the alpine pastures. This automatic migration of sheep took the wolf king by surprise. No! The wolf will never allow the sheep to move to the alpine pastures too early.
Because, as soon as the sheep are transferred to the alpine summer pastures, the wolf's arduous sheep hunt is about to begin.
And now, the increasing number of dead sheep in the spring pastures can make it possible for many wolves to work for nothing. So, the blind actions of the flock must be stopped!
The Wolf King let out a long howl and issued an emergency assembly order. Eight or nine wolves of their own clan quickly gathered around the wolf king.
The wolf king howled three times again, and issued an order for the wolves in the Cullen Grassland to gather. It is the big wolf king of the Cullen Pasture for many years. In an emergency, the big wolf king issued a special summoning order, and each wolf group must immediately gather their own group after hearing it, and quickly gather to the designated location.
This kind of assembly order of the big wolf king is often issued because there is a major decision to be announced, or a major action to be assembled. This is like the fact that the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty summoned the princes to the alliance with wolf smoke and beacon fire.
In an instant, hundreds of wolves from more than a dozen wolf groups gathered near the big wolf king.
The big wolf king announced majestically: God blessed the wolf this year, and let the summer season come to the Ili grassland in advance, resulting in a large area of sheep diseases, resulting in a large number of sheep dying of summer heat and plague, providing a large amount of unearned food for the wolf clan.
However, some of the enlightened sheep are now moving to the alpine pastures of their own accord. Once a large number of sheep are transferred to the alpine pastures, then the food for the dead sheep will be cut off. Survival will depend on the wolves to go to the alpine pastures to hunt again.
In order to delay the transfer of the sheep, the wolves must set up layers of checkpoints between the Kuerlun alpine grassland and the Ili steppe, forming interception lines to defeat the sheep that took the lead in the transfer. Let those prescient leaders retreat and return to the Ili grassland pasture.
So, there was a response. The wolves immediately split up according to the deployment of the big wolf king.
★ The herdsmen drove the sheep and charged to death, but were finally stopped by the wolves
In late June, the temperature in northern Xinjiang soared to 38 degrees Celsius. The Ili steppe under the scorching sun turned into a large steamer. Many sheep seek shade from the scorching sun. However, the grasslands are vast, and although they are undulating, there are no trees to shade them. As a result, the sheep began to storm the alpine meadow of Cullen Pasture on a large scale.
The Great Wolf King had already set up his first line of defense near the Spring Meadow. As soon as the sheep that took the lead in the migration set out on their journey, they were attacked by lurking wolves and killed the leader. So the sheep that were the first to venture returned.
Soon, another group of sheep rushed in the other direction. But it was still intercepted by the lurking wolves, and the leader was still bitten to death by the wolves.
The migration of the flock is led by the leader. Once the leader dies and the flock is leaderless, it has no choice but to retreat in defeat. But when the old leader dies, a new one emerges immediately.
Several spontaneous movements of the sheep finally attracted the attention of the herders, who consulted and decided to march ahead of time towards the alpine meadow of Cullen. However, the herders moved from several directions towards the alpine meadows, but they were intercepted by waves of wolves that had been ambushed in advance.
★ Herders called for help and used firecrackers to blast the wolves
The weather is getting hotter, the sheep are more languishing, and more and more sheep are dying. Herders are even more anxious. I had no choice but to send a fast horse to ask for help from the police in my hometown.
The local government and police immediately sent a support team to carry a large number of firecrackers to the spring pasture that was about to be moved.
The police led the herdsmen to ride horses, with firecrackers to chase the wolves, once they approached, they immediately lit the firecrackers in their hands and launched them, so that the firecrackers exploded in the wolves.
★ Alpine pastures that bring the sheep to life
Large flocks of sheep were quickly and safely moved to the alpine meadow pastures of Cullen.
The climate here is temperate, and due to the high temperatures this year, the grass grows abundantly. The flock quickly returned to a healthy state.
The government's leadership enlightened herders that adjusting the transition time in a timely manner according to climate change is a principle that scientific grazing must pay attention to.
And the majestic wolf king was leading the wolves through the jungle on the mountainside to the edge of the alpine meadow of Cullen.
The greedy eyes of the wolves are looking at the cattle and sheep happily preying in the alpine meadows, pondering the next measures to hunt the cattle and sheep! (About the author: Wang Tianxiang, a senior journalist and writer, has published 42 novels and other monographs, written more than 200 episodes of TV dramas, created dozens of TV films on history, culture, scenery, documentaries and other topics, published hundreds of articles in various newspapers and periodicals, and published more than 1,000 online articles.) ）