Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 825 - 821: Defeat

Unfortunately, although the Egyptian Cobra is formidable, its opponent is not to be trifled with—it's the boss of birds—the North African Ostrich.

Birds, the objects of envy for all who yearn to soar through the blue skies.

On Earth, only birds truly possess the qualification to fly freely.

However, not all birds are exceptional fliers, but as that famous inspirational saying goes, when God closes a door, he inevitably opens a window.

"The ostrich is the largest bird among all bird species, but unfortunately, ostriches only live in Africa, their range is too narrow, otherwise, they could definitely win the title of Bird King."

"They indeed cannot fly, but their combat ability on land can completely match that of a leopard!"

Bi Fang crouched behind a rock, watching the bird and the snake face off, startling everyone with his comment before the fight even started.

The audience was in an uproar.

[Holy crap, really? A leopard?]

[Master Fang, you're not joking, right?]

[Don't these things just bury their heads in the face of danger? 😕]

The ostrich has a large body and a thin neck, which at a glance appear to be significant vulnerabilities.

Thinking about the image of a leopard in one's mind, wouldn't it just bite through the neck in one go?

How could this be a fight?

For the majority of ordinary people, felines have always been seen as the peak of combat power in the animal kingdom; hearing Bi Fang say this was somewhat hard to accept.

"You still don't understand, leopards generally weigh between 100 to 200 kilograms, while an ostrich can weigh over 300 kilograms! That's already a big advantage."

Bigger is better, bigger is stronger.

This phrase isn't absolutely correct in nature, but it is universally applicable.

The height of an ostrich can reach 1.5 meters, comparable to a 14-year-old boy.

And its attack methods come from the beaks and long trampling claws. In terms of raw power, an ostrich's lethal capacity is no less than that of hyenas or wolves.

At the same time, despite its weight, the ostrich is one of the top runners in the animal kingdom.

Its top running speed can reach 70 km/h, matched only by cheetahs, leopards, and gazelles, and given its strength to run this fast, its powerful legs can deliver deadly blows to its enemies.

Additionally, the ostrich has a fiery temperament and often retaliates fiercely when threatened, which is different from wild animals like gazelles and zebras, making it much stronger.

From this, it can be seen that the ostrich survives through its own strength.

In the realm of combat power in Africa, even younger lionesses are no match for the ostrich.

With its elevated stance, an ostrich can impose significant suppression on a lion it confronts. Therefore, the ostrich is also a member of the top tier in Africa's food chain, and its strength should not be underestimated.

Especially against reptiles and snakes, ostriches are like gods.

Thus, as an omnivore, ostriches' diet includes a large number of reptiles, including snakes, although actively dealing with a large cobra like this is still quite rare.

Bi Fang spoke swiftly about some characteristics of ostriches, and under the enumeration of various facts, the audience had to suspend their disbelief.

After all, the distance was considerable, and without any specific reference, the ostriches lacked the visual impact of size, making such doubts quite normal.

[So, the cobra is destined to lose?]

[I feel it's hard to say, it might turn the tables]

"Indeed, in nature there are no..." Bi Fang wanted to say something else but quickly stopped himself, warning the audience with a hushed voice, "Look, they're fighting now!"

The camera automatically zoomed in to focus, and the audience immediately stopped sending their messages.

In the canyon, a bird and a snake that were previously confronting each other had now started testing each other.

The ostrich's most powerful weapon was its legs, and its testing naturally involved simple kicks. Perhaps the power was too overwhelming, as the viewers could barely see the moment it kicked, feeling only as if a few afterimages flashed by.

The Egyptian cobra, clearly a subspecies, was entirely black and imposing. It faced the ostrich without losing any momentum, though it was much smaller. In response to the ostrich's tests, it could only retreat while looking for opportunities, its pair of snake eyes fixed on the ostrich, flicking its tongue much more frequently.

Though it had a pair of eyes, the cobra could not deny the fact it was nearsighted.

All snakes are nearsighted; most can only see clearly up to one meter, and their eyeballs cannot move like those of most animals, which severely limits their field of vision.

Moreover, there is no fovea behind a snake's eyeball, which is the region most sensitive to vision, so snakes not only see poorly but also have a very bad ability to detect stationary objects.

This applies to most snakes, and while cobras are severely nearsighted, they are comparatively better. Some snakes under the Colubridae family, either aquatic or burrowing, have even more degenerated vision.

The blind snake lives underground all its life, with eyes reduced to two small black dots, possessing only a faint light-sensing ability, almost no vision.

However, the cobra has a strong organ for hunting prey, the tongue, or the forked tongue.

"Snakes under the Cobra family use their forked tongues to collect scent particles from the air, using these particles to pinpoint the prey's location and species."

During the brief conflict, Bi Fang spoke quickly, his voice unconsciously louder.

He wasn't worried that the ostrich and cobra might hear and get scared away.

Once animals begin hunting or fighting, their attention to the surroundings is very low, especially towards stationary objects. Unless something jumps right in front of them, they're unlikely to notice it and will assume it's part of the natural environment.

For instance, when a pack of wolves chases a fleeing gazelle, even a rabbit sitting still close by won't draw their attention and might luckily escape.

Of course, it's another matter if it moves.

After testing for tens of seconds, the battle quickly escalated.

The ostrich, now much bolder, launched more frequent attacks, and this allowed the cobra to see a bit clearer.

The audience held their breath.

Finally, the ostrich's attack hit the cobra's tail, and almost instantly upon contact, the cobra's flesh burst open, splattering a pool of blood on the nearby rocks.

Is it over?

Most of the viewers didn't have much affection for snakes, so seeing the cobra lose didn't bother them.

But at this moment, a sudden twist occurred!

The cobra, nearly half its body severed, suddenly leapt up and bit the ostrich's neck, which was bending down to peck, then swiftly coiled around it!

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Even Bi Fang couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

This can be a counter-kill?

Looking at the remaining half of the writhing snake tail on the ground, everyone felt a hint of absurdity.

An ostrich killing a cobra was completely normal, even if the Egyptian Cobra's venom was among the most potent in the world and it was extremely large.

No member of the Cobra family is small and, armed with deadly poison, they held a considerable advantage.

Those more venomous than it were smaller in size.

Those larger than it had less potent venom.

The prey of venomous snakes were generally smaller creatures; they rarely employed constriction, but that didn't mean they couldn't.

Facing the ostrich, the severely injured cobra didn't dare to take any chances, madly injecting venom and tightly coiling around the ostrich's neck like a black scarf—a frightfully creepy scarf.

Bi Fang licked his lips, his heart pounding with excitement. Though he was just spectating, such a rare counterattack scene was extremely uncommon.

Given the cobra's vision, it was hard for it to keep up with the ostrich's attack speed, and this strike at a vital spot was purely a fluke.

As a nature explorer, Bi Fang had deep knowledge about various animals and took great joy in seeing such scenes.

"The ostrich's neck is very vulnerable, as both its bones and muscles focus on flexibility rather than strength. In contrast, its legs are incredibly powerful, with exceptionally developed muscles on the femur and fibula."

"If it had been bitten on the leg, it might not have been a big deal, but since it was the neck, this ostrich probably won't survive."

"However..."

"However what?"

"Hurry up and tell us."

Bi Fang stared at the remaining half of the snake's body on the ground, which was by no means short, nearly a third of its original length, far surpassing the tail region.

"This cobra will also struggle to survive."

"If it were only the tail that was severed, it would have a decent chance to live, perhaps with some disability, but now that it's this long, it might have damaged its internal organs, combined with infections and deterioration from the environment..."

Even in animals, infections can be deadly.

Almost before Bi Fang could finish speaking, the ostrich had begun to react; initially bitten, it frantically shook its head and flapped its wings, but all in vain.

With the venom so close to its head, it swiftly took effect, causing the ostrich to become dizzy and eventually fall over, its massive body even kicking up a cloud of dust.

The fallen cobra didn't linger long; almost immediately after killing the ostrich and without taking any spoils, it rapidly uncoiled its body and fled towards the canyon.

Only then did Bi Fang step out from behind the boulder, looking at the bloodstains on the ground and shaking his head.

The blood trail wasn't long; snake muscles are developed and capable of self-staunching bleeding. Moreover, the sandy ground also helped to stop the blood.

The ostrich on the ground was still struggling and flapping its wings, but alas, it was undoubtedly a last flicker of light.

Given the amount of the cobra's venom, it was almost impossible for this enormous ostrich to survive.

"An eye-opening experience."

"Awesome."

"I thought ostriches only buried their heads when in danger; didn't expect them to be so fierce, though it still died (dog's head)."

"The notion that ostriches bury their heads is actually a myth."

Bi Fang shook his head.

"Many people believe that, when threatened, ostriches bury their heads in the sand to evade danger. This has even led to the proverbial 'ostrich policy,' but this is actually incorrect."

"Ostriches as a symbol of foolishness were recorded early in the 'Old Testament': 'The wings of the ostrich wave proudly—Is it the pinions and plumage of love? ... For God has not endowed her with wisdom, nor has He imparted to her understanding. When she lifts herself on high, she scorns the horse and its rider.'"

"However, the earliest person to write down this rumor, clearly describing ostrich behavior, was the Roman thinker Pliny who lived from AD 23 to 79."

"Pliny wrote in his natural history texts that ostriches think, when they poke their heads and necks into a bush, that their bodies are hidden as well."

"Although similar, it's quite different from burying their heads, and somehow it later morphed into the idea that ostriches bury their heads in sand."

"But this is utterly impossible as birds' nostrils are mostly located at the base of the beak, and birds such as kiwis, reliant solely on smell for foraging, have their nostrils at the tip of the beak and must forcefully expel after their beaks enter the mud in search of food to remove anything obstructing respiration."

"If they buried their heads, ostriches would simply suffocate."

"As for why such a rumor exists, it's probably because the ostrich's head appears very small compared to its body, so whenever an ostrich's head is near the ground, it might look like it is buried in the sand. This easily leads to misconceptions."

In fact, when threatened, the first thing ostriches do is—run.

Though classified as birds, ostriches are completely incapable of flight.

Bird skeletons are strong yet light, with long bones being hollow; all skull bones are fused, as are thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, sacral vertebrae, and those of the tail; the sacrum, also fused with the pelvic girdle.

Along the ribs are hook-like projections that interlock, forming a solid thorax.

Flying birds furthermore possess a keeled sternum with a triangular ridge to enlarge the surface area for pectoral muscles and wing-flapping muscles.

These unique structures reduce weight and enhance the ability to fly.

Clearly, ostriches are different.

As the world's largest modern birds, male ostriches generally stand over two meters tall, weigh about 150 kilograms, and their feathers are all soft.

Ostrich wings have specialized, their barbs lack hooks to form complete flight-capable feathers, thus they remain on the ground.

Without careful observation, one might even think they lack wings.

Additionally, they have a flat sternum and undeveloped pectoral muscles, but although not suited for flight, their feathers still offer basic warmth and help dissipate heat, and they also assist in changing direction while running.

Bi Fang crouched on the ground.

At this moment, the ostrich lay completely still; he prodded it with a Tree stick, and it showed no reaction.

It was thoroughly dead.

This reassured Bi Fang enough to touch the deceased ostrich.

"Many incorrect conclusions stem from insufficiently meticulous observation, and ostriches are no exception."

"They have been misunderstood for over two thousand years, and although more and more people know the truth, it's hard to counter the widespread acceptance of the phrase 'as stupid as an ostrich'."

"However, having said so much, perhaps one day these sayings will transform into 'as strong as an ostrich' too."

Bi Fang chuckled, paused for a moment, and then added,

"That is if ostriches still exist by then."