American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness.

Chapter 425 Are Musk Oxen Actually Sheep?

Chapter 425 Are Musk Oxen Actually Sheep?

The next morning, there was no lingering farewell, only a swift and decisive departure.

Because most flights within Greenland are operated by small propeller planes with strict baggage weight restrictions, and given that they were going on a rough trip, all three of them opted to travel light.

Hans stored all the huge equipment boxes, along with the expensive deep-sea fishing gear, in Wang Hu's storage room.

The large German man carried only a tactical backpack and a long, hard-shell gun case in his hand.

Wang Hu was even more carefree, carrying a camouflage canvas bag with a few changes of underwear inside.

Lin Yu'an carried the bag that Nuoya had prepared for him on his back, and tightly gripped the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in its soft holster.

After a few days of getting used to the gun, Lin Yu'an found it increasingly easy to use.

Although it is not as expensive and sophisticated as the German-made "Brazil" R8 rifle in Hans's hands, this old gun, which has been weathered by time, has a unique charm.

Especially with the addition of a 4x optical sight, this once "infantry weapon" has been transformed into a precise semi-automatic deer hunting rifle.

The warm touch of the solid wood stock and the crisp metallic clang when the bolt was pulled always gave Lin Yu'an a strange sense of security.

As Mr. Yang from the National Museum of China said: Simple, reliable, and durable – that’s the best gun.

After a two-hour flight, the propeller plane roared to a stop at Conkruswag Airport.

The moment Lin Yu'an stepped out of the cabin, he clearly sensed the difference between this place and Ilulissat.

It was already late April.

While Ilulissat is still surrounded by sea ice and blizzards, Conkruswag, nestled deep in the fjord and backed by the inland ice sheet, already has a hint of spring in the air.

This is Greenland's only land gateway to the inland ice sheet, and also the driest and sunniest place in the world.

Looking around, the scenery is desolate yet magnificent.

The snow has begun to melt, revealing large areas of brown permafrost and gray rocks.

Low-lying Arctic willows and birch shrubs stubbornly peek out from the gaps in the snow, their branches already showing a vibrant reddish-brown hue, though not yet green.

The distant, undulating mountains are no longer pure white, but present a textured appearance of black and white mottled patterns.

And at the edge of the horizon, you can still see that white wall—the famous Russell Glacier, which is also the edge of the Greenland inland ice sheet.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of the Bulls." Nanuk took a deep breath and opened his arms as if embracing this familiar land.

Nanook's home is in a village not far from the airport.

His home is a typical polar hunter's lodge. Although it is simple on the outside, the huge reindeer antlers and polar bear skin rugs hanging on the walls inside all demonstrate the owner's glorious achievements.

The group rested at Nanook's house for a day.

That evening, after a simple dinner of venison stew with potatoes, Nanook spread out a detailed topographical map on the table.

The atmosphere inside the room instantly shifted from relaxed to a serious pre-battle meeting mode.

"At this time of year, the musk ox herds are already becoming active."

Nanuk drew a circle on the map with his rough fingers, marking the inland area about forty kilometers from the village, right next to the edge of the ice sheet.

"They like to stay on these sunny hillsides and valleys where the snow melts quickly and they can eat lichen and hay."

"Here's our plan," Nanuk said, looking at the three of them. "Tomorrow morning I'll drive you into the mountains. Once we reach the designated area, we'll need to conduct a search and tracking operation on foot."

"The terrain here is open and there are no trees to provide cover. So the biggest challenge is not shooting, but getting close."

Hans adjusted his glasses, looked at the map, and asked, "Approaching how many meters?"

"The closer the better," Nanook said seriously. "Musk oxen have very thick fur and tough skin, which can not only protect them from extreme cold but also stop small-caliber bullets."

"You must ensure that the bullets penetrate their shoulder blades and hit their hearts and lungs."

He pointed to Lin Yu'an and Hans's guns: "So I suggest keeping the distance within 150 meters. And, always remember that ironclad rule—"

"We only hunt old bulls," Wang Hu continued, clearly familiar with the rules. "In these herds, there are always a few temperamental, expelled, or old and weak lone bulls."

"Their meat may be a bit tough, but that's what makes them legitimate hunting targets. Cows, especially those with calves, are absolutely off-limits."

"That's right." Nanuk nodded approvingly. "It's for the continuation of the species. We need meat, but we also need the future."

.

After the plan was finalized, everyone checked the guns and ammunition and went to bed early.

On the morning of the third day, just as dawn was breaking.

A heavily modified Toyota pickup truck roared to a stop at the entrance.

This vehicle is clearly Nanuk's "old friend," covered in mud and scratches, with its four wheels replaced by huge, wide polar off-road tires.

A row of high-brightness spotlights was installed on the roof, and a thick tarpaulin had been laid in the back bed to carry the game.

"Get on board, warriors!"

Nanook sat in the driver's seat, wearing sunglasses, looking quite dashing.

Lin Yu'an carefully secured his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle to the gun rack in the back seat, then jumped into the passenger seat. Wang Hu and Hans squeezed into the back.

"Buzz—!"

With the rough roar of the diesel engine, the pickup truck kicked up a cloud of dust mixed with ice and mud, like a wild beast unleashed, and drove out of the village.

Outside the car window, a biting wind howled past.

As the vehicle drove off the highway and bumped into the desolate and vast wilderness, Lin Yu'an looked out the window at the edge of the huge glacier getting closer and closer, and his heart began to feel excited.

The pickup truck bumped along the barren landscape for a full hour before finally coming to a stop in front of a huge moraine covered in gravel.

There's no road ahead.

Further ahead lies the pristine wilderness of nature: undulating frozen hills, numerous glacial lakes, and in the distance, the inland ice sheet looms like a giant white wall.

"Get out of the car. From now on, we'll have to rely on our legs." Nanuk turned off the engine.

As the roar of the engine faded, a suffocating silence instantly enveloped everyone.

The only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the withered grass and the occasional muffled rumble of a glacier breaking apart in the distance.

Lin Yu'an jumped out of the car and took a deep breath. The air was cold and dry, carrying a peculiar smell of earth and moss.

"The wind direction is good." Wang Hu grabbed a handful of dry grass and tossed it around, watching the grass clippings drift northwest. "We're downwind, the smell won't get there."

The four men began to organize their equipment. Hans took his R8 rifle out of the gun case and then pulled out a Leica binoculars and hung it around his neck. His meticulous movements were definitely those of a German.

Lin Yu'an's approach was much simpler. He patted the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle behind him, pulled back the bolt to check the magazine, and then popped open the dust cover on the scope.

"Don't rush off," Nanuk stopped the group from taking a step.

He lay on a boulder, not using binoculars, but squinting his dark brown eyes, slowly scanning the distant ridgeline and valley like an eagle.

"In polar hunting, eyesight is more important than legs," Nanook said in a low voice. "Bulls look big, but if they don't move, they're like black rocks."

"What we're looking for isn't cows, but those hairy rocks." Upon hearing this, everyone raised their binoculars and began searching.

Lin Yu-an used the 4x scope to slice through the scene in front of him, bit by bit.

In the footage, the brown tundra is covered with low Arctic willows and birch shrubs, with a few white Arctic hares occasionally flashing by.

Ten minutes passed, and nothing was found.

"Let's go, head towards that valley." Nanuk pointed to a winding area two kilometers away. "The villagers say they saw fresh footprints there."

The real tracking has begun.

Walking on the tundra of Greenland is an extremely physically demanding activity.

The ground looks flat, but it's actually covered in soft moss and uneven meadows. Each step you take is a struggle, requiring a lot of strength in your ankles.

After walking for about half an hour, Nanook, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and squatted down next to a bush that was about half a person's height.

"Look at this." He plucked a wisp of grayish-brown down from the dry branch.

The downy feathers were so light that they seemed weightless as they swayed in the wind.

"This is calf wool." Hans recognized its value, his eyes lighting up instantly. "This is the warmest natural fiber, eight times finer than cashmere! It's known as the soft gold of the Arctic."

Nanuk nodded and rubbed the small tuft of fur: "They're molting during the season. Look at the color of this fur, it's very oily, which means it was rubbed on in the last two days."

"And—" Nanuk pointed to the ground.

Several large, round hoof prints were clearly visible in the soft mud beneath the bushes.

The hoofprints were deeply embedded in the mud, with clear edges, and hadn't even had time to dry.

This discovery sent everyone's adrenaline soaring.

The previously heavy steps seemed to lighten. Nanook lowered his posture and made his gestures more concise, signaling everyone to spread out, remain silent, and advance in a fan shape.

Lin Yu'an gripped the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle tightly, his finger resting on the trigger guard.

As they climbed over a low ridge, their view suddenly opened up.

Below is a wide valley, with a stream that is not yet fully thawed winding through the valley floor.

On the sunny slopes on both sides of the river, the snow has melted away, revealing withered yellow grass.

Nanook suddenly dropped to the ground and made a "stop" gesture.

Lin Yu'an saw it without him saying anything.

About 800 meters away on the opposite bank of the valley, among that seemingly chaotic group of black boulders, there was one…

The stone moved.

It slowly raised its head, its huge curved horns reflecting a cold, hard luster in the sunlight, and its thick, raincoat-like fur stretched vertically to the ground, swaying slightly with its movements.

That was a real prehistoric behemoth.

Then, the second one, the third one—

That was a huge herd of more than twenty cattle!

Some of them were munching on moss, while others were lazily lying on the ground basking in the sun. Several smaller calves were playing and frolicking among the legs of adult bulls.

"Found them." Hans lay prone in the grass, peering through binoculars at the group of giant beasts, his voice filled with excitement. "My God, they look like they came from the Ice Age."

Lin Yu'an lay beside him, eyes never leaving the scope, a slight smile playing on her lips, and whispered, "Hans, be more confident, drop the word 'like'."

He adjusted the focus, making the colossal beast's rough fur clearly visible. "They are the living Ice Age."

"Back in the Pleistocene, more than 200,000 years ago, when mammoths roamed Siberia and saber-toothed tigers roared across North America, these creatures already looked like this."

Wang Hu, listening from the side, was stunned. He muttered to himself, "Good heavens, so this guy is sworn brothers with a mammoth?"

"That's right." Lin Yu'an nodded. "Back then, of those prehistoric giants, the mammoths went extinct, and the woolly rhinoceroses disappeared."

"Only they, with their abnormally thick fur and tenacious vitality, managed to survive several ice ages."

.

"They are exiles who crossed the frozen Bering Strait, migrating from Eurasia to North America. They survived alone for hundreds of thousands of years in one of the harshest environments on Earth."

At this point, Lin Yu paused, looked through the scope at the huge curved horns and sturdy body, and added a little-known fact: "And, despite the name 'musk ox,' they actually have absolutely nothing to do with cattle."

"Not a cow?" Wang Hu turned his head in surprise.

"From a biological classification perspective, they belong to the subfamily Caprinae of the family Bovidae. They are actually a prehistoric giant sheep that looks like a cow but is actually closely related to goats."

"Prehistoric giant sheep—" Hans swallowed hard as he looked at the several enormous creatures in the distance, each weighing at least three or four hundred kilograms. "This damn biology is just too crazy and fascinating."

Nanuk couldn't understand what they were talking about regarding biological classification, but he understood the respect in Lin Yu'an's tone.

He pressed his palm down, interrupting the impromptu science lesson, plucked a blade of grass to confirm that the wind was still blowing from the direction of the cattle, and began to deploy the final tactics.

"Listen, the cattle are relaxed now. We need to use this ridge as cover, go around to the right, and sneak behind that big rock."

Nanuk pointed to a large, protruding rock below the valley.

"That's about 120 meters from the cattle. That's the best shooting position."

"Remember, once you fire, the cattle might panic and run away, or they might form a defensive circle. Don't panic, lock onto your target, and shoot in the lungs!"

"Hans, you're on the biggest lone bull on your left. Lin, you're on the old-looking bull on the right edge."

"Are you ready?"

Lin Yu'an took a deep breath, pulled the bolt, and chambered a bullet.

"Ready."

"action."

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