Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 221 - If You’re in Pain, Come Here to Find Solace
Chapter 221 -221 If You’re in Pain, Come Here to Find Solace
The female tiger’s mouth had an astonishing odor, and bloody saliva flowed from the corners of her mouth.
There was a thick fish bone lodged in the gap of her upper left molar’s gum, and the surrounding gum was red, swollen, and had a chickpea-sized abscess.
Because of the pain caused by the fish bone inflaming her gums, the female tiger chose to grind on other things, but this not only failed to solve the problem, it also led to excessive wear on her other teeth.
All four of her canines were damaged to various extents, especially the upper right one, which had been worn down to expose the nerve.
It was still uncertain whether it was necrotic.
The leftover food residue hanging on the bone, mingled with the wound’s inflammation, caused the abscess in her gums to emit a foul smell.
Luckily, Chen Ying wore a mask, or else she would have vomited on the spot.
After a careful examination, the problem didn’t seem particularly big at the moment, the main issue being the fish bone embedded in the gum and tooth gaps. Once it was removed and the inflammation was treated, she should heal.
But treating the worn canines along with it, she wouldn’t see results for at least half a month.
And she would need to be taken out for that to happen. They also needed to ask if there was an oral surgeon brave enough to perform a root canal on her.
Asking Chen Ying for help in pulling a tooth might be manageable, but a root canal wasn’t so simple.
Right now, Chen Ying needed to first remove the fish bone, clean the inflamed and abscessed area of the gum, apply some medication, and alleviate the pain and inflammation.
Chen Ying quickly injected the female tiger with a small dose of anesthetic, and the team leader helped by holding down the lower half of her body.
The female tiger remained conscious, her gaze at Chen Ying somewhat wary.
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll treat you first, and then you might need to come with us. Once we find a dentist to complete your root canal, your teeth won’t hurt anymore.”
Chen Ying, wearing a mask, patted the female tiger’s head, trying to get her to relax as much as possible.
Removing the fish bone was simple, but debridement was difficult.
Debridement required cutting open the abscess for drainage.
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Dental offices have specialized suction instruments, but in the wilderness, she couldn’t access such high-tech equipment and had to wipe with a sterile cotton ball instead.
She also needed to be careful not to let the pus flow into the tiger’s esophagus, which could lead to other complications.
After thirty minutes of the first treatment, both Chen Ying and the team leader were soaked in sweat, their clothes sticking to their bodies.
In the end, another young man guarding the door came to help, and the three of them managed to initially treat the tiger’s gum wound.
After applying the medication, she needed to be fasted for a while and observed for any other occurrences.
Knowing everyone was afraid, Chen Ying took the initiative to lead the tiger to rest on the other side.
The female tiger had probably not eaten for two or three days, and after this ordeal, she lay weakly on the ground.
Chen Ying mixed a bottle of milk powder with nutritional powder for her to suckle.
The baby tiger came over wanting to try some, but Chen Ying pushed it away.
It pounced on Chen Ying angrily, opening its mouth as if to threaten him, but it was unexpectedly slapped by the tiger mother, sending it tumbling with a slap.
Tiger mother: I am still waiting for my benefactor to continue helping, and you, little cub, think you can turn the world upside down? Can’t you stand to see your mother get better, huh, asking for a beating!
Scolded and roared at by the tiger mother, the baby tiger cowardly backed away two steps and went off to sulk by itself.
Grandpa Hu wasn’t related to this mother and child, he was only reluctantly guiding her to find Two-legged beast because he couldn’t stand to see a female tiger in his territory in pain.
As for teaching his son, well, Grandpa Hu certainly wasn’t here to play father.
After observing for two or three hours, the female tiger seemed to be doing alright.
Chen Ying opened her mouth to check, and although the swelling was still there, the blood at the wound had stopped.
The effects of the medicinal powder were significant, unquestionably fast at stopping the bleeding; now it was just a matter of seeing how well it reduced the inflammation.
Their luck was not bad.
By the time the team set off in the afternoon, the swelling at the female tiger’s wound had significantly subsided.
Another dose was applied, estimating that by evening or the next day, the inflammation would be mostly resolved.
Before lunch, three team members who had gone to a nearby village for supplies successfully returned with the items, and they brought back an old military backpack for Chen Ying.
The thing wasn’t pretty but it was practical.
There was also a second-hand military one-man tent.
The tent appeared alright on the outside, but its only flaw was terrible waterproofing at the bottom. It was fine when it didn’t rain but was only good as a rain poncho when it did.
Due to the tiger’s dental treatment, there was some delay.
Once it was certain that the tiger didn’t need to be urgently transported out, the team leader arranged to increase the pace.
Grandpa Hu was already out of sight, and the female tiger, with the baby tiger, followed Chen Ying at the rear of the formation, leisurely making her way through the rainforest.
One human and two tigers didn’t feel anything was amiss, but the rest of the team was struggling a bit.
How could they be at ease traveling with two lethal weapons nearby?
As a result of their high level of alertness, everyone was already exhausted before they had even reached the planned campsite.
The team leader found a suitable place for everyone to spend the night.
Chen Ying wisely chose to give everyone some space.
Once they had stopped, the first thing he did was to check the tiger mother’s gums. The swelling had basically subsided, but the gums were still a bit red; it would probably take some more time for the inflammation to completely go away.
The baby tiger brought back prey from hunting and even knew to bring some to its mother.
Chen Ying helped by removing the bones, allowing the tiger mother to eat just the meat to minimize the strain on her teeth.
The baby tiger was nearly at the age to leave its mother and would have probably been driven away already if the female tiger hadn’t fallen ill.
Whether the other people could sleep at night with two fierce tigers close by, Chen didn’t know, but he slept very well. It would have been even better if the baby tiger hadn’t crawled into the tent during the night.
Young big cats have a strong curiosity, which is why Chen avoided interacting too much with the baby tiger, fearing it would send the wrong message and make it think all two-legged beasts are friendly.
He wouldn’t allow the baby tiger to snatch the nutritional supplements meant for the female tiger or accept food from other people.
Chen was firm in his insistence that the baby tiger hunt for itself, no matter how much it whined and wanted a taste of what its mother was drinking; he sternly refused every plea.
Thankfully, the team was experienced and understood Chen’s intentions. If it had been up to some other groups, he might’ve been criticized for being heartless.
By the evening of the second day, the female tiger successfully hunted a small deer.
Chen, as usual, helped it bone the prey and found that the tiger’s chewing ability had almost fully recovered.
The arc of its mouth when it opened it was much wider than when he first saw it, and eating no longer agitated it. It didn’t have to rub the diseased side of its mouth on the ground or tree trunks.
“The female tiger probably injured her gums eating fish because of the stress of caring for her cub. Luckily, we treated it in time, and it should be able to recover on its own. We don’t need to worry about its badly worn canines just yet. We can come back in a few months and check on its condition. If it’s good, we won’t interfere; if not, we’ll see,” he reasoned.
Even if treatment was necessary, they would need to contact a dental specialist first.
Wildlife rescue prioritizes life above all. Observing is the first step for conditions like the female tiger’s dental disease, and then subsequent action plans can be developed.
On the third day, Chen put tracking collars on both the female tiger and the baby tiger.
The mother and cub looked at each other, seemingly intrigued by the novelty, sniffing and nudging the devices; the baby tiger even tried to bite theirs, but stopped after a firm pat from Chen.
Members of the M Alliance were excited at the prospect of monitoring the movements and signals of the duo, which would be a significant boon for scholars and experts studying the Indochinese tiger.
Some had been skeptical when Dao Meihua invited Chen to join the team, but now they were almost eager to invite him to join the alliance.
Daily washing the wound with medicinal water and applying ointment had the tiger’s gums nearly back to their normal color.
Though a few teeth were still slightly painful, compared to the debilitating pain that prevented even opening her mouth before, the female tiger couldn’t be more satisfied.
Upon reaching the new resupply point, Chen contacted the team leader, wanting to visit the nearest border outpost.
There was a medical officer there who could provide some human first-aid and anti-inflammatory drugs for a final treatment for the tigers.
Dao Meihua offered to go with Chen and another team member to the outpost, taking the opportunity to bring back some supplies for the team.
They were planning to stay in the area for another one to two days, focusing on observing the Fei’s leaf monkey, the Indochinese leopard, and the green peacock.
Chen was not involved in the observations and research; he joined the expedition purely as a veterinarian to support any animal rescues they might encounter along the way.
Leading the two tigers outside the outpost, Chen didn’t get too close.
Dao Meihua and another team member went ahead to explain the situation, and the outpost personnel quickly agreed to send over what the tigers needed.
Though the outpost was also in a remote location, they had never directly dealt with tigers and leopards.
The news that tigers were coming to seek medical help brought everyone who wasn’t on watch duty out to see the excitement.
The baby tiger was a bit frightened, showing signs of irritation and unease.
The female tiger, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned and lazily lay down with her head on Chen’s thigh, exuding an air of total indifference!
The medical officer arrived quickly, with tires practically smoking from speed.
He brought a big package of antiseptic solutions, a bag of cotton balls, the smallest scalpel, and two sets of suture kits.
The latter might not be needed, but it was good to have them just in case.
The soldiers proved to be brave when Chen mentioned he needed help to restrain the female tiger for one last wound cleaning. He planned to remove the granulation tissue that had formed around the worn gum line. Instantly, three soldiers rushed forward, startling the tiger so much that it jumped a little.
In the end, the medical officer who delivered the medical package won the opportunity.
After all, he was at least a semi-professional.
Following a light anaesthetic, Chen and the medical officer quickly cleaned around the tiger’s gums and filled the damaged teeth with medicine; after that, it was up to the tiger to recover.
But Chen played a little trick, whispering to the female tiger that if her toothache ever got too severe, she should come here to get attention from the people wearing those uniforms; they were all good and could be approached freely.
The tiger seemed to somewhat understand, even nosing around the soldiers who had gathered to watch curiously.
After treatment, Chen patted the female tiger and the baby tiger on their backs, signaling them to leave.
Dao Meihua and her teammate started tracking the radio telemetry, which so far seemed promising.
Loaded with supplies, the group was about to head back when they saw a dark-skinned young man running toward them at high speed.
