"Giant ground otter?" I couldn't help but be stunned. This was the first time I heard the name of this animal. "Did this monster really exist on this earth before?"
Wen Qingshan nodded: "Not only did it exist, but early humans might even have seen it." At this point, he told us: "Giant ground otters lived about 10,000 to 100,000 years ago.
The former American continent, from the current
Judging from the data, it was one of the largest mammals in the world at that time. It could reach six meters in height and weighed five to ten tons. Its size was even comparable to that of the giant mammoths of the same period. The forelimbs of the giant ground otter
and hind limbs have strong and pointed
It has sharp claws, so it is also called a giant ground otter. It can stand on its hind limbs, and can use its strong forelimbs and huge claws to pull off entire branches. Because of its huge size and immense strength, the giant ground otter can stand even at the same time.
The predatory overlord saber-toothed tiger often had to stay away when encountering it, so there were almost no natural enemies. As for the cause of the extinction of giant ground otters, the more mainstream view is that climate warming caused the giant ground otters with excessive skin fat to be unable to adapt, and eventually went
Extinction."
After listening to Wen Qingshan's introduction, I couldn't help but wonder: "Since this giant ground otter is a creature of the American continent, how could it appear on this snowy plateau?"
Wen Qingshan analyzed: “During the glacial period more than 10,000 years ago, the American continent and Eurasia were connected as one, and Siberia and Alaska were one continent. Later, as the climate warmed, the ice and snow melted, and the sea level rose.
The current Bering Strait was formed, separating the two continents. Therefore, it is not ruled out that some giant ground otters migrated to Asia when the two continents were connected. And as the climate warms, these giant ground otters
Then they migrated to plateau areas with a colder climate."
"According to this, is it possible that this giant beast is distributed elsewhere on this snowy plateau?"
Wen Qingshan nodded: "This is a possibility. Of course, there is another possibility."
"What is it?" I asked quickly.
Wen Qingshan wanted to continue talking, but after looking at Basang and Tashi Dorje, he may have felt that it was inappropriate to say this in front of them, so he changed the topic: "Let's not talk about this anymore, Shi
Yu, you said Brother Hai and Jianjian were hiding in a stone crevice, do you still remember the location of that stone crevice?"
I turned my head and looked around, and based on my memory, I roughly determined our current location. I raised my finger and pointed in front of us and said, "It should be not far ahead."
We continued walking forward for about a hundred meters, and finally found the crevice in the stone where Haibeard and Jianjian were hiding. I walked to the crevice and shouted into it. After a while, Jianjian was carrying
Seabeard squeezed out from the crack in the stone.
Seeing that everyone was alive, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, now that there are no horses, we can only go out on foot. This cave is not small. Fortunately, I left a mark on the cave wall before, so I don’t have to worry about getting lost.
.
The group of people wandered around the cave for almost more than an hour before finally making their way out of the cave.
I looked at my watch. It was already past seven o'clock in the afternoon. Wen Qingshan and the others entered Gesang Valley around two o'clock. Jianjian and I were just over half an hour late. In other words, we were spending a lot of time here.
It lasted almost four hours.
Although it gets dark relatively late in this area, at this time, there is no sunlight in the Gesang Valley, and it feels like the temperature is gradually dropping. Tashi Duoji told everyone that at night, the temperature in the plateau area will drop very quickly.
So we have to leave this valley as soon as possible, and it is best to return to Daga Doma Village before dark.
However, because there are no horses, it is still seven or eight miles away from Gesang Valley to Gadoma Village. In addition, among the few of us, Tashi Duoji and Haibeard have limited mobility, so we want to rush back to Daga before dark.
Doma Village seems unrealistic.
Fortunately, before Jianjian and I entered the valley, I asked Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan to rush back to the village to report the news. Maybe Uncle Qiangba would already be waiting at the entrance of the valley with the villagers.
I took out the walkie-talkie and called Professor Dong, but I didn't get a response. I couldn't help but wonder, because I had called him almost from here before, and the call was still clear. Why can't I contact him now? Haibeard explained.
Said that although the effective calling distance of this military walkie-talkie can reach fifteen kilometers,
However, in actual use, it is also affected by various factors such as terrain and weather. For example, when we were in the cave, we could not get in touch with the outside world. Although we have come out of the cave now, the terrain of the Gesang Valley is relatively
It is complicated, and the calling distance should be greatly reduced, so Professor Dong cannot be contacted, and it is also being cleaned up.
After hearing Seabeard's explanation, I didn't think much more about it.
When a group of people were about to walk out of the valley, they heard the neighing of horses and the barking of Tibetan mastiffs all the way away. When they went out to take a look, as I expected, Uncle Qianba led a dozen herdsmen carrying shotguns to gather together.
At the entrance of the valley, we also brought four or five Tibetan Mastiffs. They are currently discussing and preparing to enter the valley to look for us.
Uncle Qianba breathed a sigh of relief when he saw us coming out of the valley.
On the way back to Daga Doma Village, I asked Uncle Qiangba about Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan. I originally thought that Uncle Qiangba and others were called by them after they returned.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Qiangba said that he had not seen them, and the reason why they came was because the two herdsmen we met on the road told Uncle Qiangba about the situation after they returned to the village.
They were worried that something might happen to us, so they came with a group of young guys.
My heart skipped a beat when I learned that Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan had not returned to the village. Could it be that they were lost? The plateau area is sparsely populated. If they really went in the wrong direction, it would be difficult to find their way back.
Daga Doma Village
The key to the journey is that it will soon get dark. At night, the temperature in the plateau area will drop below zero. If they cannot find a place to escape the cold, the problem will be serious. If not done well, it may even happen.
Life is in danger.
Thinking of this, I quickly said to Uncle Qiangba: "Uncle Qiangba, Professor Dong and his daughter are probably lost. Can you arrange for a few villagers who are familiar with this area to follow me to find them."
Uncle Qiangba learned that someone was missing, and without saying a word, he immediately asked the herdsmen to help us find the person. As for Wen Qingshan and others, because we were too tired, Uncle Qiangba asked a herdsman to lead us back to the village.
Go and wait for news.
Originally, I wanted to go with them to find the whereabouts of Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan, but Uncle Qiangba strongly disagreed. On the one hand, he thought that I was not familiar with the terrain in this area and would not be able to help much even if I went there.
On the other hand, due to the excessive exertion of energy, I already had some mild altitude sickness. He was worried that if I followed him, some accident would happen and I would become a drag on others.
What Uncle Qianba said made sense, and now was not the time to show off, so I had no choice but to follow Uncle Qianba’s arrangement and let the local herdsmen be responsible for searching for the person, while the rest of us returned to Daga Doma Village to rest.
When I returned to the village, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. I originally hoped that Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan had found their way back to the village, but they did not return to the village. Watching the sky getting darker and darker, I was
I am very anxious, if something unexpected happens to them
, then my responsibility is huge, because I was the one who insisted on them returning to the village. But I was also very puzzled, because Professor Dong obviously brought a GPS locator, and he also swore that he was familiar with the area.
, how can you lose your way?
I asked Hai Beard, an expert in this field, for advice. He told me that although the GPS locator can determine the basic direction, there is still a certain error. In a deserted plateau area, the slightest difference is often a thousand miles, and often only a slight direction is required.
If there is a slight deviation, it may actually be a long way off. This is like some inexperienced donkeys
Just like a friend wandering around in the mountains, he could clearly see the mountains in the distance, but could not reach them, and ended up getting lost in the forest. Moreover, even though Professor Dong was familiar with the terrain in this area, there was a potential problem when traveling in the plateau area.
The threat is that if altitude sickness occurs, it is easy to have hallucinations, leading to complete loss of direction.
After listening to what Hai Beard said, I couldn't help but feel more and more anxious. However, Hai Beard advised me that things might not be as bad as I thought. Judging from his experience, Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan were very likely to be in Daga Doma.
They wandered around within a ten-mile radius of the village. The people who went to look for them were experienced herdsmen, and they also brought several scent hounds with them.
It shouldn’t take long for them to find their whereabouts because of their sensitive Tibetan mastiff. And on the other hand, the horses they are riding are from Daga Doma Village. If they are really lost, as the saying goes,
Old horses know the way, and the two horses should be able to find their way back to the village. Therefore, it is not ruled out that they finally returned to the village by themselves.
After hearing what Seabeard said, I felt a little relieved, but until I saw them return to the village safely and unharmed, I felt like there was a big stone hanging in my heart, and I couldn't let it go no matter what.
That night, I almost didn't sleep all night. Whenever I heard the sound of a dog barking, I would get up immediately and run outside to see if Professor Dong and Dong Xiaodan were back. However, there was not even a shadow of a person outside the door.
In the middle of the night, the herdsmen who went to look for them all returned to the village one after another. They searched almost all over the area of more than ten kilometers, but found nothing. Of course, it was at night after all, so the field of vision was limited, and it was windy at night.
, which increased the difficulty of the search to a certain extent. So they planned to wait until dawn before continuing the search.