Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 386: Chapter 242: Native Hunting Permit (Part 2)

In the span of a few breaths, a series of thoughts flashed through his mind. He quickly estimated the points he had on hand, and his heart, which had leaped into his throat, settled back into place.

’If nothing else, a spot in the top three is pretty much guaranteed, right?’

’Unless Andre or some of the other strong contestants have also crafted saws or axes to harvest wood and bamboo on a large scale, they won’t stand a chance against me.’

"Thanks!"

Waving to Erica, he continued toward the Mangrove Forest.

This time, he wasn’t just passing through. He had to track the crocodiles and find a suitable place to strike.

He wasn’t interested in other prey. They were small and agile, making them difficult targets.

The most common animals he’d seen so far were various types of monkeys and birds. He would never eat the monkeys, and the birds were a pain to hunt for very little meat.

In comparison, crocodiles were clearly the most efficient choice.

’Plenty of meat, delicious, a fixed spawn point, and high in points.’

As for the Jaguar... *Ahem*. ’Forget it. I’m not looking to get myself killed.’

A single adult crocodile was over three meters long, averaging around five to six meters, and weighed at least three hundred kilograms.

After removing the inedible parts, the net meat yield would still be over two hundred kilograms.

Forget seven days; that was enough meat to last for two months.

’An adult American Crocodile’s attack power is undeniable, but I’m not sure about its defense. I’ll have to experiment to see just how much of an attack that hide can withstand.’

’Good thing I still have an eleven-day buffer. Looks like I need to hurry up and make that bow. I didn’t think I’d need it at first.’

Crocodiles liked to sleep or sunbathe during the day. He had originally planned to go around the Mangrove Forest, but now he couldn’t. He’d have to go through it to gather more information.

’I have 18 points. Should I spend 10 to get the Complete Guide to Wild Reptiles first?’

He thought it over. He already had Basic Trap Mastery and Basic Bow Mastery, so he wasn’t worried about his means of attack. The only thing he lacked was information on the American Crocodile.

’Screw it. "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." I’m buying it!’

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Complete Guide to Wild Reptiles.]

As he spent the ten points, a dense tide of information flooded his mind.

Right before his eyes, his Intelligence attribute on the panel jumped from 6.5 to 7.0.

’Did I just get smarter?’

Heh!

After all these months, from Alaska until now, after acquiring so much knowledge, his Intelligence had finally increased by 0.5.

’Man, getting smarter is hard work. No wonder intelligent people are so rare. How do they cram all that knowledge into their heads?’

He stopped at the edge of the Mangrove Forest, his eyes shut tight as he quietly digested the flood of information. He sifted through it, looking for anything related to the crocodiles of Panama.

To his surprise, Panama was home not only to the American Crocodile, but also to another species: the Caiman Crocodile.

The American Crocodile is one of the largest crocodile species in the world. Adults have an average length of 5-6 meters, with the largest individuals weighing over five hundred kilograms.

The Caiman Crocodile, however, was much smaller. The average adult was 1.5-2.5 meters long and was also known as the American narrow-snouted crocodile or American short-snouted alligator.

The former preferred coastal areas like the Mangrove Forest, while the latter favored freshwater regions. This was one of the most significant distinctions between them, aside from differences in size and appearance.

Beyond basic physical descriptions, he focused on finding information about their habitats and nesting habits.

’So both species like to build their nests at the water’s edge, partially on land and partially in the water... I see.’

’In that case, there’s no need for me to go into the water. I can just stick to the edge of the Mangrove Forest.’

Crocodile nests were easy to recognize. They looked like small, raised mounds, partially filled with water. If it met those criteria, it was almost certainly a nest.

Most importantly, female crocodiles guarded their nests by lying on top of them. So the nest would either be right underneath them or very close by.

’Crocodile hide... let me see.’

As he walked along the edge of the Mangrove Forest toward Andre, he pulled up the information on the defensive properties of crocodile hide.

’Crocodiles evolved a physiological structure of osteoderms—dense bony plates primarily located on their back, sides, and tail to defend against the claws and teeth of their own kind.’

’In other words, to take down these big guys, my attacks have to be precise. I need to hit their throat or belly—areas without that bony armor—to do any real damage?’

This discovery invigorated him. It was much simpler if they had a weak spot. ’Anything’s better than getting into a close-quarters brawl with one.’

As he neared the other side of the Mangrove Forest, several raised mounds finally appeared on the bank. Just as the guide had described, they were situated at the forest’s edge, about half-submerged in the water.

The tops of the nests were empty; there wasn’t a single female crocodile in sight. As expected, they were probably all off sunbathing somewhere.

’According to the guide, crocodiles prefer to sunbathe in the morning when the sun is gentle and not scorching. It helps them raise their body temperature. The afternoon sun is too intense; they can’t stay in it for long, and it can cause them to overheat or get sunburns that make their skin peel.’

He walked another hundred meters, and after rounding a bend, he saw them. Sure enough, just where he’d seen them before, a dense congregation of American Crocodiles was sprawled across a sloping bank.

They lay there as motionless as giant sculptures, lazily soaking up the sun. A few of them had their mouths wide open, lost in whatever thoughts a crocodile might have.

In the past, he’d only dared to steal a few glances from a distance. He wasn’t so timid now. He strode right up to the bank to observe them up close.

’The American Crocodile is slow, especially on land. Its top speed is only 16 kilometers per hour. That doubles in the water, but even then, it’s only 32 kilometers per hour, and they can’t maintain it for long.’

’What does that mean? It means on land, a crocodile’s speed is roughly the same as a human’s running pace. They’re only good for short, explosive sprints that they can’t maintain.’

’Based on that alone, they were never meant to hunt land animals by chasing them down.’

’No wonder on nature shows, you always see crocodiles hunting at the river’s edge or in the water, ambushing their prey by sneaking up close before lunging in a sudden burst of violence.’

As long as he maintained a height advantage, he wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by these behemoths, even if he stood just a meter or two away.

Besides, it was still morning, when they were focused on sunbathing to raise their body temperature. They weren’t likely to be in an aggressive mood.

’Holy cow. A six-meter-long beast. That’s just unreal.’

He bent down, peering at the American Crocodiles sprawled out before him.

Back in Alaska, he had been awestruck when he first saw a moose, marveling that such a massive animal could exist on land.

A moose was just over two meters long. An adult American Crocodile, on the other hand, averaged between five and six meters—more than twice the length of a moose.

What did six meters even look like? It was like standing on the ground and looking up at a second-story ceiling. It might even be a head taller than a giraffe.

Of course, that number wasn’t exact. The size of the animals depended on their environment and the abundance of food.

It was like the Kodiak Brown Bear. They were all brown bears, but the ones living on Kodiak Island grew exceptionally large, while those elsewhere were a size smaller. The main factor was always the food supply.

The information in his head indicated that the largest American Crocodiles could supposedly grow to over seven meters and weigh nearly a thousand kilograms, but these were just unofficial accounts and not officially confirmed. It was impossible to know if they were true.

His gaze swept over the row of lazing giants. Licking his dry lips, he was already starting to think about how he would cook the delicious crocodile meat.

"Lin?"

Suddenly, Andre’s surprised voice came from not far behind him.