"Chiu—"
The male Steller's sea eagle raised its head and let out a very sonorous eagle cry. The clear and long sound echoed gracefully between the vast sea and sky.
"Chiu—"
Another Steller's sea eagle in the sky responded to the one on the deck, but did not land on the deck. It sometimes glided and dived above the deck, and sometimes suddenly spread its wings, instantly raising its altitude and circling in the sky. It moved very alertly, as if it was very afraid of Xiang Yang, Professor Chen Yu and others.
Xiang Yang smiled and waved at the Steller's sea eagle in the air, indicating that he had no ill intentions.
The Steller's sea eagle stared at Xiang Yang with its sharp eyes, and its look was extremely alert.
“Chiu!”
The Steller's sea eagle suddenly dived down. This time, it did not increase its altitude instantly when it was about to dive onto the deck. Instead, it spread its huge wings fully backwards, and its huge, powerful and sharp claws instantly grabbed the chicken on the deck. Then it flapped its wings and flew up instantly. The whole process was done in one go and was extremely flexible.
Then it landed on the roof of the cabin, next to the huge disc-shaped eagle's nest.
Because of the angle, Xiang Yang couldn't see the scene on the top of the cabin, but he could guess from the noise that the Steller's sea eagle was probably eating.
“Chirp.”
The male Steller's sea eagle spread its wings and flew to the top of the cabin in an instant. However, it did not eat the chicken. Instead, it stood on the edge of the eagle's nest on the top of the cabin, tilted its head, and looked at the people on the deck with its sharp eagle eyes.
Xiang Yang rescued it from the mouth of a squid. It was very grateful to Xiang Yang and trusted Xiang Yang very much, but it was now an eagle with a family, and it was afraid that Xiang Yang would drive away another Steller's sea eagle.
Xiang Yang smiled, looked at Professor Chen Yu and said, "There was no competition for food, and no chasing away of its kind near the eagle's nest. It is clear that the Steller's sea eagle is its mate."
Professor Chen Yu did not speak. He raised his head and stared at the top of the eagle's nest. An inexplicable light flashed in his eyes from time to time. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Student Chen Yu, teacher wants to ask you a favor." Chen Yu said.
Xiang Yang was startled and asked cautiously: "Teacher, you don't want to take these two Steller's sea eagles back to the laboratory to slice them for research?"
"ah?"
Xiang Yang looked at Professor Chen Yu warily.
Professor Chen Yu burst out laughing. "What are you thinking? You know how rare Steller's sea eagles are. According to statistics from the World Conservation Union, there are less than 5,000 Steller's sea eagles in the world, and less than 2,000 breeding pairs. In my country, the breeding pairs are likely to be the only pair. Do you think I, your teacher, dare to capture these two Steller's sea eagles? I, your teacher, will be drowned by saliva."
Xiang Yang smiled awkwardly.
If it were someone else, Xiang Yang would never ask such a boring question.
This is a bird whose population does not exceed 5,000 in the world and whose current population in my country does not exceed 500. If anyone else dares to catch it, he will definitely go to jail for life. The same would happen to an ordinary zoo director.
But Professor Chen Yu is different.
Professor Chen Yu has multiple identities including biological scientist, marine life expert, biologist, etc. He is also the dean of the College of Marine Biology of Ocean University. If he wants to catch two Steller's sea eagles, he can probably do it by submitting a report.
The most important thing is that Xiang Yang looked into Professor Chen Yu’s eyes and discovered the desire for the two Steller’s sea eagles in Professor Chen Yu’s eyes.
"Don't worry, teacher. I'm not a Frankenstein." Professor Chen Yu said with a smile, "I just want to ask you if you can help me install a camera on the top of the cabin. So far, the video footage of Steller's sea eagles hatching offspring is very rare and precious. It is very important for us to study the habits of Steller's sea eagles and the diversity of marine life."
Xiang Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, teacher, I thought it was your business. Okay, leave it to me. I promise to help you get it done."
Xiang Yang had no way of refusing this.
The Steller's sea eagle was discovered by Professor Chen Yu, and Chen Yu has been keeping an eye on it. Installing cameras is a must, and Chen Yu will definitely do it regardless of whether Xiang Yang agrees or not.
The key point is that Xiang Yang’s arm is really not as strong as his thigh.
The dean of the College of Marine Biology at Ocean University is, to put it simply, just a teacher.
To put it bluntly, ordinary people really can't afford to offend him.
"Thank you, thank you so much. We will remember your contribution to scientific research." When Professor Chen Yu saw Xiang Yang agree, he hurriedly thanked him and made a promise.
Xiang Yang blushed and said quickly: "Teacher, you are too kind. I am your student. This is just a small favor."
Installing cameras in the nests of Steller's sea eagles is indeed difficult for others, as difficult as climbing to the sky.
During the breeding season, Steller's sea eagles will build their nests in river valleys or on top of rocks on the coast. Even if they are not on cliffs, the nests are placed on the top branches of tall trees or on thicker side branches. They are relatively fixed and generally used for many years. They will continue to use these nests in turn. However, they need to repair and add new nest materials every year, and the nests are gradually becoming larger and larger. The height of the bird's nest is generally about 150 cm, the diameter can reach up to 250 cm, the shape is disc-shaped, and it is mainly made of dead branches.
It is almost impossible for ordinary people to climb up to such a place without scaring away the Steller's sea eagle.
The Steller's sea eagle is a living creature and will attack any living creature that invades its territory.
Once the attack fails, given the stubborn nature of the Steller's sea eagle, it will grab the young Steller's sea eagle and run away immediately. It is absolutely impossible for an adult to watch someone appear in a nest with chicks.
"I'll teach you how to fix the camera next to the bird's nest." said Professor Chen Yu.
Xiang Yang nodded, "You go ahead."
Professor Chen Yu said: "Now that the female bird has landed in the nest, there will definitely be Steller's sea eagles in the nest at any time. No matter whether there are Steller's sea eagle eggs in the nest, it is impossible for the nest to be empty. It is impossible for ordinary people to put a camera next to the nest without disturbing the Steller's sea eagle, but you can."
Xiang Yang listened carefully.
Professor Chen Yu continued: "In the Steller's sea eagle family, the male and female parents take turns incubating the eggs, unlike chickens, where the eggs are always incubated by the hen."
Xiang Yang did not speak, and continued to wait for Professor Chen Yu to continue. At present, Xiang Yang actually knew what Professor Chen Yu said. In fact, it was not only the Steller's sea eagle, but also the other seven kinds of sea eagles, the king of eagles, the golden eagle, and the legendary totem beast, the Gyrfalcon. All of them were hatched by male and female parents, and they hunted and raised their offspring together.