Chapter 5, Pangolin

The protection of animals you mentioned is managed by specialized agencies. Even if this little creature were to dismantle the balcony, there are departments that would compensate for the damage. However, you," Liu Feng pointed to the tool in Bai Song's hand, "if you injure or kill it, it would be quite troublesome. If it were to hurt you, it would be even more troublesome.

I studied this area of knowledge at BaSong University, but my practical experience is limited, so I immediately followed up.

Oh, you mentioned that this counts as protecting animals. Well, I just said it casually... By the way, why is this thing here? Could it be someone else's pet?

Wow, it really is a pangolin. It truly scared me just now; this creature runs fast and has scales, it's so frightening.

After Wei finished speaking, he left. At that moment, Bai Song suddenly noticed Xu Fang's face was full of smiles

Bai Song smiled apologetically and watched as Liu Feng dialed the phone.

Ah? Bai Song almost thought he had misheard. He had just been scared to tears, and now he wants to keep it as a pet for fun. It is truly hard to say whether he is bold or timid.

Ah? I just saw that police officer call you "Little One," why is that? You are so tall.

Bai Song glanced at Liu Feng and asked, "Master Liu, shall we go?"

"The flower is ruined, but it doesn't matter. My name is Xu Fang, with 'Fang' meaning to weave..." Xu Fang said while glancing at the pangolin on the balcony, asking, "Comrade police officer, do you think I can keep this little creature? It actually looks quite pleasing to me."

What are you laughing at? Bai Song asked, somewhat puzzled

"Master Liu, is this a protected animal? How should we handle this situation?" Bai Song looked completely bewildered.

Liu Feng took a small box out of the car's trunk, from which he retrieved a camera and several measuring tapes, and began to conduct a meticulous examination of the scene. Bai Song carefully followed behind, quietly observing and learning.

The Aihe Garden is considered a quite decent community within the jurisdiction of the Jiuhua Bridge, and the caller's home is a simple two-bedroom apartment. The woman's bedroom is closed, which means that the only places this creature can hide are the living room, the bathroom, and one bedroom

Well, it's nothing, just a pity about your few pots of flowers. By the way, please provide your basic information, I will take note of it, as I expect relevant departments will come to handle this shortly.

"Pangolin! Oh, oh, oh, what you said is indeed true. If it is a pangolin, there shouldn't be any major issues; this creature is not supposed to bite people," Liu Feng said.

What is this? Liu Feng was somewhat confused; wasn't it supposed to be a kitten or a puppy? How did this happen?

The two forest police officers who entered the balcony acted swiftly; as soon as they entered, they subdued the pangolin, placed it in a cage, then covered the cage with a cloth and took it out

Ah? I remember it seems to be a nationally protected species of the second level. Bai Song stood at the door of the balcony, afraid that the small animal would run away

"Alright, I will go back and give our Section Chief Sun a call to report. In a moment, I will have the colleagues conducting the on-site investigation take a look here. If the case is accepted, I will need to trouble you to provide some proof or similar documents." said Section Chief Wei

Upon seeing the pangolin, Wei was somewhat surprised, "It really is a pangolin. Liu Feng, you and the new little one wait here, the Public Security Section of the sub-bureau will arrive shortly. I need to go out and contact the Forestry Bureau's Forest Public Security Bureau."

At this moment, the female owner of the house has come out. She overheard the conversation between the two and realized that it was a pangolin that had been locked on the balcony. However, she was no longer afraid and cautiously approached, peering inside through the glass of the balcony door

Wei felt relieved upon witnessing this scene and quickly said: "Thank you all for your hard work. If it weren't for you, we truly wouldn't know how to handle this."

Is this it? I am new here, and it is quite normal for the master to call me that. Bai Song was unimpressed, but he was quite interested in what Wei said about the forest police.

"Protecting animals? Are you sure?" Liu Feng asked, "Aren't these all farmed?"

"Bai Song, please record her basic information." After Liu Feng reported to the office, he dialed another number and then left the house

This is not a problem, we will go back first, this little creature has been frightened and cannot be kept in the cage for too long

It must be said that professionals are indeed different. It is not that capturing this white pine is impossible, but they are equipped with professional bite and cut-resistant gear, and carry a dense steel cage, which clearly indicates a high level of professionalism

Note 1: In June 2020, due to the sharp decline in the population of the Chinese pangolin, it has been designated as a national first-class protected animal

"What are you waiting for? Didn't you hear what Wei just said? Shouldn't we conduct a site inspection?" After Liu Feng finished speaking, he turned and left the room, heading towards the police car

This should be a pangolin, right? Bai Song's tone was not very certain, "I remember that this thing only exists in the south"

Bai Song and Xu Fang chatted for about ten minutes when Liu Feng entered with Wei Su.

The term "pangolin" suddenly emerged in Bai Song's mind. Upon closer inspection, it indeed resembled the pangolin he had seen at the zoo.

"Well, I do not rule out this possibility; in any case, I do not believe that it came here from the wild." The comrades from the forest police nodded.

Ah, the Hainan subspecies? How could it appear here? Could it be that there is illegal wildlife trafficking? Wei's expression became somewhat serious; just hearing this name, one could tell that it must be a protected animal

After finishing the conversation, the police from the forest public security took two steps for every three and left. Before leaving, they exchanged contact information with Xu Fang. Wei and the personnel from the security department also left together.

Only a brown, pointed-snouted creature, approximately 50 centimeters long and covered in scales, was seen standing on its hind legs, while its forelimbs were searching for an opportunity to dig. It had already broken two of the flower pots on the balcony.

Liu Feng was idly flipping through the sofa and cushions, his white pine ears perked up as if he had heard some sound coming from the balcony. He waved to Liu Feng, and the two of them quietly approached the vicinity of the balcony

Fearing that the pangolin might escape, the glass door of the balcony appeared quite flimsy. Bai Song simply moved a chair to sit by the door. After about half an hour, two groups of security personnel came in and then left. The comrades from the forest police arrived.

It is difficult to say; let us wait for the conclusions of the professionals

"Then wait a moment, I will call the office; we cannot handle this matter ourselves." Liu Feng looked at the structure of the balcony and confirmed that the pangolin could not possibly scratch through the reinforced concrete of the balcony, so he directly closed the door to the balcony. This action left Bai Song somewhat stunned; wouldn't this risk causing chaos with everything inside? Shouldn't it be captured instead?

The police officer in charge from the forest public security politely waved his hand, saying, "You must thank yourselves for this. This is not just any pangolin; this species is the Chinese pangolin, Hainan subspecies, which is already very endangered. It has been several years since I encountered such a situation where I could save one here"