Chapter 813 Sandstorm

Above the desert, the towel under the felt hat fluttered in the wind.

Bi Fang subconsciously opened his mouth, trying to feel a hint of coolness, but the wind blowing over was like a ball of scalding hot flames. It had no superfluous effect except pouring into the throat, burning the mouth and tongue, and burning out a wisp of smoke. .

After more than a week of travel, as Bifang went deeper, the nearby sand dunes became higher and higher and the rocks became less and less.

Burkina Faso has long been the background. At this time, the range of people and animals has reached the hinterland of Mali. Looking around, there are towering golden low mountains everywhere, which continuously form a variety of golden waves. Under the sunshine It is quite gorgeous under the illumination, like a golden ocean flashing with infinite light.

"Now not only food, but water resources are also beginning to be stressed."

The drone lens deflected to the side of the camel, on which hung two headless rattlesnakes, a single watermelon, some doom palm berries, and finally a bottle of water from Bifang's backpack.

This is all the supplies for one person and one camel now.

[Fang Shen was wrong. In fact, there is still more than half a ton of reserve materials]

[You can be a human being]

[Alpha did something wrong, you have to do this to him]

alpha.

The name Bi Fang gave to this male camel.

It doesn’t have any special meaning, it’s just easier to call. In the past two days, the camel seemed to understand that this title was its name and began to respond.

And the relationship between the two has gone a step further. At night, the camel is no longer deliberately led three meters away and tied up, but is brought directly with him.

On the surface, Alpha is no different from an ordinary camel, except that there are some overly intimate actions that Bifang still won't do, such as standing behind him for a long time, or feeding at close range.

Animals in nature are full of strange things, and nature has endowed animals with ingenious relationships. Some animals are kind to humans, while some regard humans as natural disasters. Some animals have not seen humans for thousands of years, but they can have natural emotions.

The sun was shining brightly and it was noon. Bi Fang stroked Alpha's neck and found a place to rest, avoiding the hottest time of the day.

Leaning in the shadow, Alpha tossed the sand with his hooves and chose a comfortable position to kneel down alone.

Bi Fang took some fruits and a rattlesnake from it, sliced ​​the pre-smoked snake meat with a dagger, and stuffed it into his mouth to replenish his strength.

It has to be said that the appearance of Alpha has brought great help to Bi Fang.

During the entire journey, Bifang saved a lot of energy and time, and did not have to interrupt the journey frequently for water and food.

Normally, walking from Burkina Faso to the hinterland of Mali, or even on the route to be taken, is very difficult for twenty days without just two feet. In the meantime, you have to spend time hunting, looking for water and food. But with the help of camels, this time can be shortened to ten days, which is more than twice as fast.

Today you catch two rattlesnakes, tomorrow you catch a handful of scorpions, and the day after tomorrow you might encounter a small lizard or a jerboa.

The only regret is that the jerboa is an endangered species and cannot be eaten, so Bifang gave it a brain break and let the big-eared mouse know that people are evil and let it go.

These animals are not large and cannot be full of food, but something that can be easily caught on the way is indeed very convenient and simple, and it speeds up the entire crossing process in disguise.

"Tame and tame are different. Taming and taming animals is the third type."

"'Tame' is an individual animal that has been tamed, that is, harmless to people. Usually it is used to imply some kind of friendly relationship, culminating in the idea that for some species, 'can be with people without wanting to kill them' ”

"A species may be more or less adaptable to domestication, but ultimately it's an individual process."

"And domestication means that humans have changed a species to make it easier for it to coexist with humans."

"Members of this species have become different from any of the original species from which they came, and their instincts have been altered to make them more natural in their attitudes toward humans."

“In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond discusses what makes a species domesticated or not, including the specific case of horses and zebras.”

"He noted that humans have fully domesticated 14 large animal species: sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, horses, Arabian camels, Bactrian camels, camels and alpacas, donkeys, reindeer, buffalo, yaks, Balinese cattle and mitans. These. Many of the species are related, and he claimed that in order for a species to be domesticated, it must possess certain characteristics."

"It needs to be an omnivore, or herbivore, that can grow quickly, breed well in captivity, and have an appropriate temperament. Some animals are actually very annoying or completely hostile to humans."

"Zebras, for example, because they have a bad temper and bite a lot, and then they accept being incarcerated, and then there's a social structure, or hierarchy, that allows them to accept subordinate roles."

"This is consistent with a currently popular theory that we domesticate animals by playing a role in their natural hierarchy. In other words, animals allow us to fill an existing role that one of their own would normally fill."

"For example, a dog owner is considered a member of the pack, like the alpha wolf of a pack."

Although zebras look like horses, they are almost impossible to tame.

As early as when the Boers settled in South Africa, they tried to tame zebras, but the results were unsatisfactory.

These animals will panic at any additional pressure on their backs, and taming them would require generations of domesticated zebras before tamer variants emerge, just like wheat, which may take hundreds of years or more.

Horses appear to have had a different genetic path, which led to their domestication.

They find themselves living in northern latitudes with far fewer predators besides humans.

As a result of the Ice Age and subsequent human migration to North America, they would be driven to the brink of extinction by overhunting by their Indian ancestors, so refuges shifted to the northern latitudes of Asia, where horses were first preserved as a food resource and then domesticated by humans. for use.

Horses formed a bond with a species that nearly drove them to extinction.

"Today, the situation is exactly the opposite, because there are more than 60 million horses in the world and less than 800,000 zebras."

"Nature is so amazing."

After listening to Fang's talk about the differences between zebras and horses, many viewers had a lot of thoughts.

【Cowhide】

[Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish, right?]

【Wonderful nature】

[When will tigers be tamed, and then the big cats will be petted]

[Brother, do you want to masturbate the Siberian tiger? This one is very powerful]

Bifang chewed the flakes of snake meat, like chewing on a piece of leather. It was hard, old and difficult to chew. Swallowing it into the smoking throat was like swallowing a piece of prickly fur.

"As for the idea of ​​taming sharks, snakes and various lizards, it's even more impossible. The reality is that most species on earth are impossible to tame, and even those animals that have been tamed to a certain extent cannot live very close to humans without Exhibits behavior that endangers animal and human hosts."

"Many people like to keep some exotic creatures. I don't object, but the premise is to take good care of them and not let them escape, let alone release them into the environment and cause species invasion. Even if you really don't like them, it's best I’ll also solve it myself.”

[By the way, will rear gods raise more and more animals in the future?]

[One thing to say, last time there were six dogs, and now there is one camel. I think Lao Fang has the potential to open a zoo]

[Looking forward to the day when the Wilderness Zoo opens]

[Why doesn’t Lao Fang take Goudan and the others to the club and let them run around, how happy they would be]

"I will think about it."

Bi Fang smiled and did not reject the fans' request on the spot.

At four o'clock, the sun was slightly setting in the west, and the sunlight in the air was no longer as fierce as it was at midday. Bifang took Alpha's reins and got up and continued on his way.

"There are many stories spread in this desert. It is said that a caravan once passed through the Sahara Desert and eventually fell in this desert due to lack of water. But in fact there is a well nearly a hundred meters away. Maybe they died in their own A hopeless heart.”

"Water resources are indeed a top priority in desert survival. If there is water, the ration should be limited."

"This depends on the availability of necessary water resources, and at the same time, protection from the hot sun to minimize water loss. A slight imbalance is allowed. For every two liters of water lost, at least one and a half liters should be replenished, which is 4:3. Proportion."

"After the body sweats, it is necessary to replenish water in time, so that the damage can be minimized and precious water resources will not be wasted."

"Lack of body fluids will not reduce the amount of sweat. Sweating is one of the mechanisms for cooling down the body, and its purpose is not to remove water. Drinking too much water at one time, exceeding the body's needs, will be excreted immediately, which is of no benefit, and may even cause water loss. Poisoned."

[Water poisoning, I won’t say who it is]

【Hahaha】

【interesting】

“If you’re planning on traveling through the desert and your vehicle breaks down, you may and should have identified known oases, karats or water holes along the way.”

"Qanats can be very deep and require buckets and ropes to lift water. Water holes at the bottom of dry riverbeds are often seasonal and usually have slabs or branches covered by previous people, so you can spot them based on this."

"If you stay away from known water holes, you may be able to find water by digging down to the lowest point outside the bend of a dry stream or between the sand dunes."

"Of course, in the desert, it is worth trying to track local wildlife in search of water. There is a famous saying among residents in desert areas: 'It is always wiser to follow an existing road than to open a new one.'"

[Weird quotes added]

[Use this in your composition]

[Last time I wrote an article, I used Fang Shen, hahahahaha]

[I wipe it, can this also be used? 】

[No matter how brave you are, just pull it up anyway, pull it on hard, push it hard, it won’t work without it, it’s safe if you put it on, although it’s uncomfortable, but it’s guaranteed]

[Why do I feel this is getting weirder and weirder the more I hear this]

"People and animals often follow the same paths, and these paths often wind and stretch across the land."

"If you encounter such a road in the desert that is often traveled by people or animals, you must follow it."

"Don't walk in a straight line just to avoid those turns. Because people or animals often take the path with the fewest obstacles, and that's often from one shade to another shade, and from one water source to another water source."

"This trick is very useful in many environments, just like when I followed the white-legged bison to find salt mines in the rainforest. It may be dangerous, but you must remember that some desert animals do not drink water. , but get enough water from their food.”

"You need to have enough experience and animal identification skills."

"Always keep one thing in mind: save your energy and water as much as possible, make the most of time and space, and don't work in hot weather. Sweating will take away more body fluids, and you may not always be able to find water. You must Balancing fluid loss with possible gain.”

"Depending on the environment, you can even make full use of the water source provided by cacti and various roots. You can also condense water vapor to obtain water by taking advantage of the huge temperature difference between day and night in the desert."

[Yes, speaking of which, why haven’t I seen a cactus before?]

[Hiss, when you said that, I also remembered it. It seems that I have walked for so long and never encountered a cactus. There were so many plants before, but I have never seen them.]

"Because there are no cacti in the Sahara. No, I can't say there are none. I can only say there are very few. After all, globalization has made it normal for species invasions to occur."

Bi Fang glanced at the vast desert around him and explained.

This immediately surprised everyone, because in their minds, the desert and the cactus were an inseparable couple!

"This is a common misunderstanding among normal people. Cactus is an American plant, and it does not survive in all deserts."

"Cactus is a typical CAM plant, that is, a plant with a sedum acid metabolic pathway. Most of them are polyspermous plants, which simply means they are fleshy. The leaves degenerate into needles, and the pores are closed during the day to reduce transpiration. The stems are thick and juicy, with Developed parenchyma cells store abundant water; the epidermis of the stem has thick and hard wax as a protective layer."

"Because of these abilities, it is resistant to hot and dry environments. In addition, the cactus has a huge root system that can absorb precipitation in the rainy season and store it in the body for use in the dry season, so that it will not dry out while living on hot sand and gravel."

"Mexico and the southern part of Mexico have a savanna climate, with obvious dry and wet seasons. The wet season is shorter. In the wet season, the cactus absorbs a lot of water and conserves water to ensure water consumption in the dry season."

"But!" Bifang paused, attracting everyone's attention, "It is not cold-resistant, and it is difficult to survive below zero."

"For example, in Taklimah, although the summers are hot and dry, the winters are cold, so the temperature conditions for cactus to survive in the wild cannot be reached, so there is no growth in the wild."

"The Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East and even the entire Sahara Desert have a typical tropical desert climate. It is hot all year round, with little precipitation and poor water conditions. It cannot support the water storage requirements of cacti. In addition, the night temperature is usually below zero, so there is no The distribution of cacti.”

"But further north, in offshore locations, such as Morocco, there are many cacti there, and there are even cactus forests. It is quite shocking. You can go and take a look when you have time."

[Okay, I will go when I have time (dog head)

[It shocked me for a whole year. I always thought that cactus and desert were normal configurations. Damn it, but it turned out that not all of them were available.]

[Indeed, this is the first time I have heard of such a thing.]

【A bit hanging】

[Fang Shen knows so much]

[If you say that cactus has strong vitality in the future, can I refute it like this? 】

[Actually, it doesn’t work, because it’s still very strong (funny)]

Another rainbow fart blew in the live broadcast room, but Bi Fang pulled the reins and sniffed lightly.

Just when everyone thought there was something unusual, Bifang suddenly smiled.

"A sandstorm is coming."