CHAPTER 614: CHAPTER 516: THAT TIGRESS IS SO FIERCE—SHE’S BEEN FIERCE SINCE SHE WAS LITTLE!

Ximei made a leap, just barely reaching the edge of the second-tier rack. Two little tiger paws extended to hook onto the wood, yet she was still sliding down bit by bit.

She struggled for quite a while trying to climb up, but unfortunately, with her round body and short legs, she simply couldn’t manage to get up.

Just then, Jiaojiao and Great Bai came back.

They walked to the familiar wooden rack, looked up, and saw Ximei hanging on the edge.

Jiaojiao had a mild interest in cubs but did not show any obvious rejection.

Despite being animals, they were quite aware that those who could enter this place were considered friends, and any fights or quarrels should be dealt with once outside.

Great Bai slowly walked over and sat down by the wooden rack, his forehead right beneath Ximei’s feet.

He extended his paw to give her a lift, and Ximei instinctively exerted all her strength, finally flipping onto the wooden rack.

The anxious little cub on the opposite wooden slope also breathed a sigh of relief. With all four little paws gathering strength, he did a running start, jumping along the edge, successfully leaping onto Ximei, and the two furry ones rolled into a bundle.

Ximei did not get angry; instead, as if she had found a fun toy, her eyes gleamed. She spun around and slid down the wooden stairs, then dashed up the platform, ready to try again.

This time, she didn’t even touch the edge, dropping directly onto Great Bai’s soft belly.

Ximei climbed up from Great Bai’s belly and lay on him, murmured softly twice, and promptly tried again.

On the third attempt, Ximei finally successfully jumped onto the wooden rack, happily standing at the edge, calling "awoo awoo" at Great Bai.

Great Bai responded with a sound and then got up to sit opposite Jiaojiao.

When they returned, Little Sen had already seen them from the surveillance. As soon as Great Bai sat down, he received two steamed corn buns and half an old pumpkin from Little Sen.

The old pumpkin was considerately cut into pieces for them to eat themselves, and the steamed corn buns were placed in a small bowl between Great Bai and Jiaojiao.

After resting for a while, Jiaojiao began to eat vigorously: the old pumpkin on its own was consumed up to three-quarters by one bear, and the fist-sized steamed corn buns were devoured in four bites, taking two breaks to drink water.

This extravagant eating made Little Sen a bit worried; could it be that there isn’t enough bamboo to eat in the wild?

But judging by Great Bai’s appetite, it seemed quite normal, and although Great Bai watched Jiaojiao with concern, he didn’t appear overly worried.

Professor Bai happened to return from the Protection Station with several students and saw Little Sen squatting beside a white giant panda, raising an eyebrow, "Hey, Great Bai and Jiaojiao are back, huh? Have they eaten?"

"Professor Bai, I just gave them some food. Great Bai seems normal, but Jiaojiao..."

Little Sen scratched his head, unsure how to describe the situation, finally straightforwardly detailing Jiaojiao’s eating time and diet.

The other students rarely had the chance to be this close to wild giant pandas, each with eager eyes squatting nearby, wanting a chance to feel what it’s like to touch and interact with a giant panda.

"Professor, this giant panda is female. Could her large appetite mean she’s pregnant?"

"Probably not. The breeding season for giant pandas is quite fixed each year and brief; normally they give birth late by August. Now it’s almost winter, which is not the breeding season."

Although this group of students didn’t specialize in panda research, they couldn’t resist the allure of pandas as national treasures. During their studies, they focused on related materials pertaining to them.

Especially knowing they’d be working in Jiamu Gully for a while, increasing their encounters with pandas, how could they not sparingly peruse panda feeding and diagnostics guides?

Little Sen tilted his head, thinking, "It’s not impossible. Pandas have an embryo delayed implantation technique. I remember reading that the longest record for pregnancy manifestation was over 300 days."

Normally, given Jiaojiao and Great Bai’s skills, they wouldn’t fail to find a safe birthing location in the wild, nor would they go hungry. Hence, the possibility of delaying implantation until returning to Jiamu Gully was minimal; Little Sen had not even considered it.

But his classmates’ discussion sparked his awareness of this potential.

He approached Jiaojiao, reaching out to touch her belly.

Jiaojiao glanced at him and politely declined.

Professor Bai also realized this point, turning to Mengmeng and mentioning that after some time, they could find a way to conduct an examination on Jiaojiao.

If it was indeed delayed implantation, then the cubs were likely to be born in the snowy season.

The mountain cold wasn’t a joke, and Jiaojiao’s birthing room must be prepared in advance.

"By the way, have all those mating golden cats left?" Professor Bai thought of the birthing matter and turned to ask Little Sen.

"Yes, they’ve left. The house is still there; it might be needed again next year. I heard that some friendly foreign zoos want to send their golden cats for mating. Supposedly, it’s quite complex because although they are all golden cats, the sub-species differ, and some experts don’t want to overly disrupt the gene pool."

This matter was unrelated to them as veterinarians; it’s for the leadership and experts to consider. They were merely the task executors.

"So has the temporary beast house on the rubble beach been dismantled or left empty?"

"One’s been demolished; the one at Rubble Beach and the Golden Cat Cage in the woods haven’t been touched. The Rubble Beach beast house is currently in a closed state, and the Golden Cat Cage in the woods has its doors wide open; whenever needed, the doors can be reinstalled."

Nearby, Mengmeng added, "Brother Ying said those will be left as training grounds for some little cats. Aren’t they planning to perform wild training for rescued and captive felines? It’s ready-made."