The whole body of reindeer is a treasure. It can be used as a means of transportation, its skin can be used as clothing, and its meat can be eaten.
Relying on this animal, the Arctic indigenous people have survived in this desolate land of ice and snow for thousands of years.
For this reason, these nomadic peoples living near the Arctic Circle are also known as the "people riding on reindeer".
Huo Yu stopped the car and looked at the trampled snow in front of him.
Judging from the density of the tracks, it was obvious that large-scale animals had passed through here before, at least hundreds of them.
In the Arctic, the only animal that can move on such a scale is reindeer.
Huo Yu looked at the little fish next to him who was also looking at the footprints seriously, and felt that the scene in front of him was somewhat familiar.
When I first arrived at the 249 scientific research station, wasn't it the same way I discovered the little guy now?
In the blink of an eye, the shivering little wolf cub that he pulled out from the snowdrift had grown so big.
After being stared at by Huo Yu for a long time, Xiaoyu felt a little guilty.
Could it be that he has caused some trouble again?
The little guy quietly took two steps back and whimpered softly.
"Ouch? (I didn't do anything?)"
Huo Yu smiled and shook his head, and stroked the little fish's dull fur out of habit.
Compared to the weak and pitiful little wolf cub back then, Huo Yu prefers the lively and naughty little fish now.
The skin is a bit scratchy, but he is carefree, which shows that he is a fairly qualified father.
"It should be a migrating reindeer herd. Judging from the size and depth of the footprints, the number may be quite large." Huo Yu explained to the camera.
The migration behavior of animals is a very sacred and worthy of awe.
They often have to travel long distances, ranging from weeks to months. Along the way, they not only have to endure bad weather, but also have to defend themselves against predators.
The reason why they have to go to great lengths to migrate from distant places is to produce a new generation of the ethnic group.
Therefore, this is not only a journey, but also a reincarnation of life.
"Animals migrate for three reasons: reproduction, food and environment."
Huo Yu reached out and touched the reindeer's footprints and explained to the audience.
"Don't underestimate this seemingly stupid and hard-working behavior. Some of the efforts made by animals during migration are difficult for even humans to achieve."
"For example, turtles and birds use the earth's magnetic field to identify directions during migration; salmon use smell, electric fish use electric fields, and bats use ultrasound."
"And the reindeer we see next have to carry out an ultra-long-distance migration of hundreds of kilometers every year."
Huo Yu's eyes lit up, as if he had found something.
"Look." Huo Yu held out something in his hand to the camera, "This is a handful of reindeer hair."
"When reindeer migrate, the female deer often takes the lead, followed by the male deer."
"They will pull up long lines and drive straight into the cooler areas of the Arctic in an orderly manner. Along the way, they will shed their thick hair and grow new downy hair. The shed hair will fall to the ground and become a road sign.
"
"When you migrate next time, you just need to follow the original road signs and return."
Throwing the frozen reindeer hair on the snow, Huo Yu stood up.
"In the past, reindeer would never have penetrated so far into the Arctic. After all, although there are some plants here, they are far less abundant than on land."
"It seems that this summer is also unexpectedly hot for them." Huo Yu pulled the hawkeye bow slung across his back, "No matter what, our next hunting target is this group of reindeer."
"Don't worry, everyone, I won't attack the young deer. Instead, I will select the old, weak, sick, and dying adult reindeer to try to avoid causing harm to the reindeer group."
In fact, hunting and killing the old, weak, sick and disabled individuals in the deer herd will have a positive effect on the entire reindeer group.
When the herd encounters foreign enemies, the first to die are the elderly reindeer. After all, they have lost the ability to contribute to the group and can only contribute a little bit of warmth with their lives.
In order to survive, only individuals who are valuable to the group will be taken care of. The laws of nature are often so cruel.
But the survival rules of the reindeer group are not only cruel, but also tender.
It is worth mentioning that a Russian photographer once captured a shocking picture using a drone.
From the perspective of the drone, a herd of hundreds of reindeer, connected head to tail, formed a huge circle, protecting some of the reindeer in the circle.
They must have encountered a predator, so they would use this behavior to fight back.
Reindeer can run at speeds up to fifty miles per hour, or about eighty kilometers per hour. This speed can prevent predators from entering the circle.
The reindeer protected by the herd in the pen are just newborn fawns and pregnant doe.
Even reindeer know to protect the weaker female deer. How can some humans have the heart to fight against their female compatriots?
The laws of animals in nature may be cruel, but sometimes humans, who claim to be civilized creatures, can't even compare to beasts!
Huo Yu got on the snowmobile again and followed the footsteps of the reindeer herd.
These footprints are so clear that you don’t even need to get out of the car to check. You can follow the footprints to find the deer while sitting in the car.
"It seems that there will definitely be something harvested today." Huo Yu was in a good mood and said to the camera, "It is even possible to find a reindeer that died accidentally."
Accidents are inevitable during migration, and it is not impossible to follow the tracks of the herd and pick up a recently dead reindeer.
Suddenly, Huo Yu's eyes radiated light.
He pointed to the right front of the snowmobile and said with some excitement:
"Everyone, pay attention, there is a herd of reindeer!"
The audience in the live broadcast room immediately stared at the screen after hearing this.
Soon, everyone asked with some confusion:
"Did you see it? I didn't see anything but snow?"
"There are no reindeer anywhere. I just saw a big ball of snow."
"Me too."
Huo Yu couldn't hold back his excitement at this moment, and said with a slightly trembling voice: "That's the reindeer herd. This is a large herd of deer with an extremely large number."
The audience rubbed their eyes and looked again.
As far as the eye can see, a storm of ice and snow flying across the sky is sweeping forward.
As the snowmobile gets closer, you can still see some brown hair and antlers faintly appearing inside.
That's the snow that thousands of reindeer bring up when they run wild.
The reindeer carried the snowflakes and swept across the white snowfield like a tsunami, forming a huge ice and snow mass.
Huo Yu said in a deep voice: "Something is not right. There is no reason for the reindeer herd to run so fast."
The little fish in the passenger seat also raised his tail in a warning posture.
Reindeer always move at a constant speed during migration. Only when attacked by predators or hunters will they suddenly accelerate and run, making an earth-shattering sound and raising snowflakes all over the sky.
These reindeer are probably being attacked by other creatures!