Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 826 - 822 - Ostrich

On the desert, Bi Fang slowly cut off the huge black and white feathered wings of the ostrich with a dagger.

A feast.

This ostrich was an adult, a male one at that, weighing at least two hundred kilograms. The severely injured cobra definitely couldn't eat it all.

Bi Fang had watched the bird-snake fight with the intention of scavenging.

"The snake's lower jaw is loosely connected to its skull only by ligaments. There's a pair of square bones at the joint of its lower jaw, allowing the jaw to hinge at two points on the skull. The ligaments are tough yet flexible, allowing this structure to dislocate and expand greatly when it swallows, enabling them to open their jaws up to 150 degrees."

"Moreover, the bones between the left and right sides of the lower jaw are structured into a movable joint connected by ligaments, allowing it to expand widely to the sides. Therefore, the snake's mouth can open not just up and down but also unrestrictedly to both sides to a great extent, allowing it to swallow things much larger than its mouth."

"The reason for evolving such an ability is because they cannot chew. They can only swallow sufficiently large prey in one go to meet their needs."

"But for the cobra, an ostrich weighing over two hundred kilograms is too much to swallow; even some juvenile pythons would struggle. So, it all became a bargain for us."

"However, I hadn't expected the cobra to turn the tables on the ostrich. I originally thought I'd be scavenging the cobra, but I ended up with a huge windfall!"

Although ostriches do eat snakes, the chances of them eating a snake entirely are very slim.

Here, in the semi-desert and semi-grasslands, food chains like that of the ostrich often come with the privilege of being picky, typically not eating everything completely.

A cobra is quite big, but usually, much remains uneaten.

But nothing leaves more remains than an ostrich. We were in luck with this one; the two hundred plus kilograms meant we wouldn't have to worry about food for a while.

[King of scavenging!]

[Despicable, too despicable!]

[I thought there would be a fierce battle, but didn't expect the ostrich to give up so quickly.]

Since they cannot fly, ostrich feathers are extremely soft and feel great to the touch. Bi Fang was careful not to stain the feathers with blood, first making an incision next to the neck, then quickly draining the blood while it was warm.

Without any good storage methods and all containers used for clean water, the blood and water ended up being wasted.

The blood pooled in the sandpit, emitting a strong fetid odor, especially under the blazing sun.

After draining the blood, Bi Fang began to dismember the ostrich, using the sharp obsidian dagger to slice through the thick skin, pulling it back to reveal the blood-red muscle tissue beneath.

"In the wilderness, you should not throw away any part of the animals you hunt. Large animals not only provide fresh meat, but the remaining meat can be preserved, while other inedible parts can be used to make clothes or tools."

"Moreover, we need to remove the viscera as soon as possible."

Bi Fang squatted on the ground, slicing open the ostrich's abdomen, from which a large amount of viscera poured out.

He took them all out, sorting them by type; the stomach was heavy and extremely thick.

Bi Fang cut open both ends of the stomach, and immediately, a large amount of sand mixed with gastric acid poured out.

"Ostriches have no teeth, so they don't chew. Their stomach is large, generally filled with sand they've eaten, which helps grind the food."

"Therefore, the ostrich's stomach is called a gizzard, which is very thick. The food enters the gizzard and is ground into small pieces, facilitating absorption in the intestines, which means they never truly eat their fill."

Following the stomach, the long intestines extended far.

"An ostrich's intestines are 14 meters long, twice that of humans."

[Boy, that bird is huge]

[Such a huge bird]

[No wonder it weighs over 200 kilograms, amazing]

Bi Fang squatted on the ground, giving viewers a reference to perceive just how big the ostrich truly was.

From the front, the ostrich's body was nearly as tall as Bi Fang in a squatting position!

"Normally, an ostrich's height is measured in body height, similar to how horses are measured at the shoulder. If you include the head, most male ostriches are taller than humans and have a quite imposing presence with their great strength. They can carry an adult male."

"It's really thanks to the Egyptian Cobra; otherwise, I would never have had the chance to eat this ostrich."

"In the wild state, there are generally considered to be four subspecies—the North African subspecies, the Somali subspecies, the Masai subspecies, and the South African subspecies. The differences between them, such as neck color and feather characteristics, are quite distinguishable. The one before us is from the North African subspecies."

"The North African subspecies isn't very numerous, unlike the South African subspecies, so it is protected. If it weren't for its natural death under the public eye, I would never hunt it willingly."

Bi Fang doesn't touch heavily protected animals, which is widely known. On one hand, he strictly adheres to treaties; on the other, he actively maintains ecological balance, serving as an example.

As a public figure, he bears the responsibility that comes with his job.

It wouldn't make sense for Bi Fang to do whatever he wanted just because he became successful through live-streaming.

If this were in his home country, Bi Fang would go even further, and not touch even naturally dead protected animals, because that's the law.

You can't open that door because then anyone could claim that an animal died naturally.

Fortunately, this is abroad where, although usually you still can't consume naturally dead protected animals, the restrictions aren't as strong.

For Bi Fang, who holds a professional hunter's license, he is more capable of handling protected animal carcasses.

Moreover, this is done in full public view.

Skillfully following the ostrich's body structure, Bi Fang disassembled all parts of the ostrich and even skinned it completely.

"Ostrich feathers are soft, plush, and elegant with a nice feel. They provide excellent insulation and are the only feathers that do not carry static electricity, useful for wiping precision industrial instruments. They are top-grade material for the clothing industry. We could take these and make a nice little cape; that would be quite good."

Nights in the Sahara are cold; some protective measures are still needed.

After taking the ostrich meat, Bi Fang stared at a half of a cobra's tail for a while, unsure whether to take it.

In the end, he decided not to.

Snakes can eat their own tails.

It's not parasites at work, but rather, after a half-filled meal, that triggers an overwhelming appetite. Searching around for food to swallow, they suddenly find their moving tail and ingest it.

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The intelligence of snakes is low; they don't see their tails as part of their body. Without pain perception, they might actually swallow it.

"In the wild, in vast environments, snakes generally do not exhibit the behavior of eating themselves, but in isolated, confined environments without any other distractions, they especially easily notice their own tails."

"Besides voracious appetite, there are also pressures from the environment and so on..."

"Dogs might chase their tails, but they mostly do it to relieve itchiness or for play."

"Just now, the Cobra was seriously injured and is unlikely to survive, but nothing is absolute, and it might come back to eat its own tail."

"If we take it now, we may destroy its slim chance of survival."

There is plenty of ostrich meat, and with the hot Sahara weather, food spoils and deteriorates easily. It's not worth eating a Cobra.

Having gathered a significant amount of ostrich meat, Bi Fang quickly left the bloody-smelling canyon after the escape and immediately started processing the ostrich meat.

To preserve it, removing the moisture was essential, and making jerky was the best method.

For this reason, Bi Fang didn't stop smoking the meat until evening.

All life depends on water, and so do bacteria and microorganisms; without the conditions for bacteria and microorganisms to survive, they cannot live.

Thus, charcuterie, sausages, and dried food have a long shelf life and don't spoil easily.

If it could be cured, even better. In cured food, the concentration of salt increases, pulling moisture out of the bacterial cells into the food, causing the bacteria to dehydrate and die.

Therefore, the shelf life of cured products is also very long. If

cured and dried, that's the jackpot, with a shelf life of several years, even tens of years, just like ham.

However, that would require a lot of salt, which Bi Fang could gather, but didn't have on hand at the moment.

But smoking was sufficient, with around one more month to succeed in crossing; there was no need to endure that long.

This also meant enjoying some roasted meat.

Removing moisture shouldn't be done by baking, only smoking and drying; Bi Fang made a rack and hung the meat on it.

The bonfire below wasn't idle either, grilling the evening's dinner.

Thus, sun-drying during the day, smoking at night.

In less than two days, Bi Fang had processed all the ostrich meat into dried food.

On the desert, the huge plumes of black and white feathers were meticulously cut from the ostrich by Bi Fang using a dagger.

A feast.

This ostrich was an adult male, weighing at least over two hundred pounds. The severely injured Cobra could definitely not swallow it.

Bi Fang particularly watched this bird vs. snake fight, not without the intention of scavenging.

"The snake's lower jaw is loosely connected to the skull only by ligaments, and it has a pair of quadrate bones at its jaw joints, which allow the lower jaw to articulate at two points on the skull. The ligaments are strong yet flexible, allowing the structure to dislocate and expand greatly when swallowing, enabling them to open their jaws up to 150 degrees."

"Additionally, the bones between the snake's left and right jaws form a movable joint connected by ligaments, allowing them to expand to both sides. Hence, a snake's mouth can not only open vertically but is unrestrained laterally as well, and can expand significantly to swallow something much larger than its mouth."

"This ability evolved because they cannot chew, only swallow large prey whole to satisfy their needs."

"But for the Cobra, an ostrich weighing over two hundred pounds is definitely too much to swallow, even some juvenile Pythons would struggle, so it all goes to us cheaply."

"However, I initially didn't expect the Cobra to turn the tables on the ostrich; my original plan was to scavenge the Cobra, but I ended up with a much bigger windfall!"

Though ostriches do eat snakes, the chances they would consume one entirely are slim.

This area is part savannah, part desert and for top-of-the-food-chain creatures like ostriches, they often have the privilege of being picky and usually don't clean their plate.

A Cobra is large enough, usually leaving plenty behind.

But not as much as what the ostrich would leave; struck by luck with these two hundred pounds, there's almost no worry about food hereafter.

[Scavenger King!]

[Despicable, too despicable!]

[Thought it would be a fierce battle, didn't expect the bird to drop so quickly.]

Unable to fly, ostrich feathers are extremely soft to the touch, and Bi Fang carefully avoided getting blood on the feathers, first making an incision near the neck, and then quickly letting the blood.

Without proper storage methods, the containers were used for regular freshwater instead; this blood could only be wasted.

The blood gathered in the sand pit, emitting a strong smell, especially steaming under the hot sun.

After draining the blood, Bi Fang then began to butcher, using the sharp obsidian dagger, he cut through the thick skin of the ostrich, peeling it back to expose the red muscular layer beneath.

"In the wilderness, no part of the animal you hunt should be discarded. Large animals not only provide fresh meat, but the leftover meat can be preserved and other inedible parts can be used for making clothes or tools."

"Moreover, we must remove the internal organs quickly."

Bi Fang squatted down, cutting open the ostrich's abdomen, from which a copious amount of organs flushed out.

He removed them entirely, sorting them out, with a particularly heavy, thick stomach.

Bi Fang cut open both ends of the stomach, and immediately, a mass of sand mixed with gastric acid gushed out.

"Ostriches don't have teeth, so they don't chew; their stomachs are large, generally filled with the sand and gravel they ingest, which help grind the food."

"That's why an ostrich's stomach is known as a gizzard, very sturdy, grinding the food into small pieces for the intestines to absorb, one could say they never really feel full."

Following the stomach were the exceedingly long intestines.

"An ostrich's intestines are 14 meters long, twice that of humans."

[Speaking of which, this bird is huge]

[Such a big bird]

[No wonder it weighs over two hundred pounds, amazing]

Bi Fang crouched down, and with a reference point, viewers could see how big the ostrich really was.

From the front, the ostrich's body was almost as tall as Bi Fang squatting down!

"Normally, the height of an ostrich is calculated from the shoulder, just like horses. If you include the head, most male ostriches are taller than humans and quite imposing. They are also very strong and can carry an adult male."

"Speaking of which, I also benefitted from the Egyptian Cobra, otherwise I would definitely not have been able to eat this ostrich."

"In the wild, it's generally considered that there are four subspecies: the North African, Somali, Masai, and South African subspecies, and they are quite distinguishable by the color of their necks and feather characteristics. The one before us is the North African subspecies."

"North African subspecies are not numerous, unlike the South African subspecies, so they are protected. If it weren't for a natural death witnessed by all, I would never actively hunt them."