Chapter 64

After confirming that the male bear was truly dead, Qin Yi instructed the three women to stay and keep watch, while he approached the scene alone.

When he reached the female bear, the cub whined softly at Qin Yi, then lay down close to its mother. Qin Yi reached out to pet the cub, which did not resist, but its body tensed noticeably when Qin Yi’s hand touched its head, indicating its fear.

Qin Yi gently stroked the cub’s head a few times, then bent down to examine the female bear’s injuries. The wound on her neck was large and torn, with some parts flayed outward. The ground was stained with a pool of dark red blood, which made Qin Yi feel uncomfortable, but his previous experience hunting white-tailed deer helped him stay composed.

After carefully observing the wound and checking the female bear’s breathing, he found it to be very weak and intermittent. She wouldn’t last much longer, but fortunately, her throat was not severed. Qin Yi glanced at the cub, which was whimpering beside its mother, sighed, and went back to the camp to fetch his backpack, which contained several blood spirit fruits he had packed just in case.

Whenever Qin Yi went hunting or on a picnic, he always carried a few blood spirit fruits in his backpack in case of emergencies. He hadn’t expected to encounter a female bear this time, but it was fortunate for her. If it weren’t for him, the female bear would have died, and the cub would have followed soon after!

Just as he was about to feed the fruit to the female bear, he realized a problem: with her breathing so weak, how could she eat the fruit?

After a moment’s thought, he said he would go to the stream to fetch some water. He walked to a secluded spot, hid behind a large tree, and entered the space to scoop up a few mouthfuls of spring water. He quickly returned, diluted the water, and slowly poured it into the female bear’s mouth, which she swallowed instinctively.

The female bear drank a few mouthfuls of the spring water, and the cub also got some. The effect was evident. As soon as Qin Yi had bandaged the female bear’s wound, she regained some consciousness, able to open her eyes. She looked at her cub, then at Qin Yi, and let out a soft cry.

Seeing its mother awake, the cub let out a joyful cry, approached her, and licked her head. It then stretched its neck to lick Qin Yi’s hand.

Susa and Liu Qimeng, who were watching from a distance, heard the female bear’s cry and saw her slight movements. They were concerned that she might attack Qin Yi and were about to warn him to step back. However, when they saw that the female bear did not react to Qin Yi’s touch, they exchanged glances and remained silent.

Qin Yi fed the female bear the blood spirit fruit. The female bear, who already found Qin Yi friendly, became even more intelligent after drinking the spring water. She knew that Qin Yi meant no harm and that her cub was safe, so she relaxed and ate the fruit without hesitation.

"Alright, after eating the fruit, you’ll be fine in a few days!" Qin Yi patted the female bear’s head, offering words of comfort, even though he wasn’t sure if she understood.

The female bear had lost a lot of blood and her injuries were severe. Even with the blood spirit fruit, it would take time for her to recover. After this incident, the group lost their appetite for a picnic. It was already afternoon, so they decided to head back.

After bandaging the female bear and covering the male bear’s head, Qin Yi no longer made Angie close her eyes. The little girl was delighted to see the two bears and asked Susa several times if they could keep them as teddy bears. Susa smiled and told her to ask Qin Yi. The little girl then looked at Qin Yi with longing and asked the same question. After a moment’s thought, Qin Yi nodded, making the little girl cheer with joy.

Qin Yi had used the spring water and blood spirit fruit to save the female bear. If he left them in the wild, they might still be killed by other predators, wasting the valuable resources. After some consideration, he decided to take them back.

He had his own reasons. If the female bear behaved well and listened to him, he would keep her. Having two more animals around would make the house more lively.

He had Angie sit in Susa’s car, and the two women helped him load the nearly 300-pound female bear onto the four-wheeler. They took the cub back to the main house, leaving the male bear behind. The male bear, weighing around 500 to 600 pounds, was too heavy to move, and the four-wheeler couldn’t handle such a load.

The female bear lay on the four-wheeler with her head supported and her body secured, but her hind legs dangled. There was no space to fit them. The cub squatted beside Qin Yi’s legs, and Liu Qimeng didn’t dare to bring it along, nor did the cub want to be with her.

They drove slowly and steadily, taking twice as long to get home as it took to get there.

Qin Yi called Ryan first, briefly explaining the situation with the bears. Ryan was very concerned and said he would come over immediately after hanging up.

Susa and Liu Qimeng took care of the preparations, while Qin Yi watched the female bear on the lawn. Soon, Ryan and Susie arrived, both carrying hunting rifles, which made Qin Yi break out in a cold sweat.

"Relax, Ryan, Susie, the female bear is injured and very intelligent. She won’t harm humans!"

Qin Yi shouted from a distance, knowing that an adult bear lying there could make Ryan and Susie nervous and cause them to raise their guns, which would scare the bears. He had briefly explained over the phone that the female bear had been injured in a fight with the male bear and that he had brought her back.

"How is it, Yi? Is anyone hurt? What did you do with the male bear?" Ryan asked before getting close, relieved by Qin Yi’s words. He kept the gun on his back, not taking it in his hand.

"The male bear is dead. It attacked the female bear, nearly killing her. I couldn’t bear to see the cub suffer, so I intervened," Qin Yi explained.

As they got closer, Ryan and Susie carefully examined the female bear, who looked at them and growled softly. The cub stayed by her side, looking uneasy.

"Don’t worry, guys, no one here will harm you!" Qin Yi squatted down and patted the bears to calm them.

"She is indeed badly injured," Susie said, throwing her gun to the ground to avoid making the bears feel threatened. She moved closer to the female bear, who could barely move her head, and sighed. She had heard that the female bear had fought the male bear to protect her cub, which she found admirable, even though the bear was an animal.

"Ryan, Susie, you know I killed the male bear. Will this cause any trouble?" Qin Yi was concerned about the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department.

"Don’t worry too much. If this had happened in the wild, it would be more complicated, but now that the brown bear entered the ranch, the situation is different. There might be some minor issues, but nothing major," Ryan patted Qin Yi’s arm, reassuring him.

"In recent years, the number of brown bears in Yellowstone Park and the Rocky Mountains has increased. The government has relaxed the hunting ban, allowing hunters to kill a limited number of male bears. However, other factors need to be considered. You should explain the situation," Ryan added.

Qin Yi led them to the porch, where Susa served coffee. As she went back inside, Qin Yi asked her to cook some beef, as the bears must be hungry. He then explained the situation to Ryan and Susie.

"In this case, I don’t think there will be any trouble," Susie said after listening to Qin Yi’s explanation. "Yi, according to your account, you encountered the male bear attacking the cub and intervened to save the female bear. You killed one but saved two. I believe even the animal protection association would find no fault with your actions."

Ryan nodded, agreeing with her. "Susie is right. Yi, the situation is as she described. However, it’s best to report it to the authorities, so they can document it and prevent it from being used against you in the future."

Qin Yi nodded, agreeing that it was necessary to report and document the incident, especially since he was not familiar with Montana’s laws, but Ryan and Susie, who had been cowboys all their lives, knew the regulations well.

Following Ryan’s advice, Qin Yi called the Augusta office, and they sent someone over to investigate.

After the discussion, Qin Yi took the beef broth and vegetables prepared by Susa to feed the bears.

Brown bears are not purely carnivorous; their main diet consists of wild vegetables, young grass, fruits, and nuts, with occasional small animals like rabbits and birds, and rarely larger prey like deer and bison.

The bears were interested in the beef broth but preferred the vegetables from the garden.

Angie had been eager to play with the bears, but Susa was concerned and didn’t let her go near them alone. When Qin Yi came to feed them, the little girl was delighted and followed him, offering a leaf to the cub, which she called "Teddy." She quickly became friends with the cub.

She then taught the cub to shake hands and hug, and even wanted to bring her bicycle to teach the cub to ride. Susa quickly stopped her, though she was glad to see Angie becoming more lively, but it was clearly not the right time.

About half an hour after the call, a police officer arrived, asked about the situation, and examined the female bear and the cub. They then followed Qin Yi and Ryan to the small forest to inspect the scene. The entire process was like a criminal investigation, which made Qin Yi speechless and impressed by the strength of animal protection efforts.

After taking statements and inspecting the scene, it was confirmed that Qin Yi had killed the male bear to protect the brown bear population. He faced no penalties, and the male bear was his property. However, they needed to measure the bear’s size, collect some fur samples, and record its genetic information in the brown bear gene bank.

The matter was then concluded.

However, the next day, Qin Yi and Liu Qimeng went to Augusta to apply for hunting and fishing licenses at an outdoor store. They learned about the strict hunting regulations in Montana, where each animal has a hunting season, and hunting outside these seasons is illegal. Even applying to hunt a specific animal requires specifying the number of animals, and the allowed species are usually common ones like quail, squirrels, turkeys, and deer.

Of course, the ranch was Qin Yi’s private property, and hunting within its boundaries was legally permissible, as long as he was prepared for protests from animal protection groups.

When the officers left, they planned to take the two bears to a small zoo in Augusta for care until they recovered and could be released back into the wild. However, the bears refused to let go of Qin Yi’s legs, much to everyone’s amusement. They had to make another record and instruct Qin Yi to take care of the bears, with periodic checks on their well-being.

The bears staying behind made Angie the happiest. After a round of cheers, she remembered that the female bear didn’t have a name and looked at Qin Yi expectantly. "Uncle Yi, can I name the bear mom? Can I?"

Qin Yi, of course, had no objections and agreed with a smile, patting her head. Liu Qimeng, who had become more comfortable around the bears, was helping Susa tend to the female bear’s wounds. Hearing Angie’s question, she asked curiously, "Angie, why don’t you name the cub? Don’t you like the cub?"

Susa smiled, as if she had expected this.

Sure enough, Angie said matter-of-factly, "Auntie Liu, Teddy already has a name, Teddy!"

Liu Qimeng was confused. When did the cub get the name Teddy?

"Angie watched a movie about a teddy bear, and her stuffed animal is a teddy bear. She decided on the name as soon as she saw the cub this afternoon," Susa explained with a smile.

"So, Angie, what will you name the bear mom?"

"McGee!" Angie said with a grin.

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