Otoyomegatari

I can't believe I waited until now to read this.

This song is relevant.

This dynamic was not really understood until recently, and it is now known mostly thanks to the Chinese government raising large populations of steppe eagles and falcons that prey on hamsters in the Gobi Desert and surroundings. There is currently an ongoing hamster population explosion in Central Asia thanks to the drying up of the Aral Sea. In China the hamsters have been heavily contributing to the desertification of the Xinjiang plains. So around 2005 they raised eagles. The eagles quickly slaughtered entire colonies of hamsters, making their adoptive papas proud. Then the humans watched in surprise as wolves, foxes, and leopards suddenly started attacking livestock more frequently. Around 2015 scientists from the CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) finally figured out what happened, and there is now concern building up in the 'stans because the Chinese birds are clearly expanding their hunting grounds north and west.

Have they considered importing Bolivian Tree Lizards? Those should deal with the eagles.

/Obscure?

Small spoiler of next chapter

Waiting for the crazy left to come screaming about animal abuse.

The closest we've ever got to that in the manga is falconry, and it's very heavily romanticized here.

As an aside, falconry does have a negative impact on natural balance because it artificially selects for the success of a very long-lived and wide-ranging predator species. The practice radically increases the survival rate of eagle chicks, often tripling it in areas of high prevalence, and this wreaks havoc on the small prey populations. Golden eagles have very long lifespans and have no natural predators, so the population boost often resulted in population collapse of prey species. This in turn affects the population of localized land predators like wolves and big cats, forcing them to attack domestic animals, which in turn lead to humans exterminating them.

This dynamic was not really understood until recently, and it is now known mostly thanks to the Chinese government raising large populations of steppe eagles and falcons that prey on hamsters in the Gobi Desert and surroundings. There is currently an ongoing hamster population explosion in Central Asia thanks to the drying up of the Aral Sea. In China the hamsters have been heavily contributing to the desertification of the Xinjiang plains. So around 2005 they raised eagles. The eagles quickly slaughtered entire colonies of hamsters, making their adoptive papas proud. Then the humans watched in surprise as wolves, foxes, and leopards suddenly started attacking livestock more frequently. Around 2015 scientists from the CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) finally figured out what happened, and there is now concern building up in the 'stans because the Chinese birds are clearly expanding their hunting grounds north and west.

Seriously, I got a TON of pictures of decoratively shaved camels saved to my computer because I adore them and can't believe I've never seen anyone draw them before, and was determined to right this wrong by one day drawing one myself...

 

wHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT that the angel that is Mori Kaoru would DELIVER THE GOODS and have a WHOLE HALF CHAPTER ON IT NO LESS

 

good lord

I'm fangirling so hard over camels

Well, many people around the world are fanboying hard over cameltoes;

I reckon it's quite fair on your side to do this without regrets

Waiting for the crazy left to come screaming about animal abuse.

This manga knows how to play me like a fiddle and I don't even get it.

I feel like the Mangaka read my diary or something, lol.

Seriously, I got a TON of pictures of decoratively shaved camels saved to my computer because I adore them and can't believe I've never seen anyone draw them before, and was determined to right this wrong by one day drawing one myself...

wHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT that the angel that is Mori Kaoru would DELIVER THE GOODS and have a WHOLE HALF CHAPTER ON IT NO LESS

good lord

I'm fangirling so hard over camels

Camel art...Mind blown.

Oh noes... my heart is already broken imagining Smith going back with this camera to photograph the people that the meet and finding them in dire situations.

I'm so mad, i started this chapter knowing not much was gonna happen, but i enjoyed the hell out of "nothing."

well, we know now that he's going back, maybe he will go for his own bride

Ali should open an animal grooming business. Those haircuts are fabulous.

As King wisely said in OPM, this is an oasis for the heart.

Going back the same route meaning he'll met all those people before. Wonder how will his reaction when he met them. Especially when he met Tarasu again.

In a story about weddings, it would be nice if it ended with the British researcher becoming his own subject of research. Preferably with all the people he befriended as guests

I'm so mad, i started this chapter knowing not much was gonna happen, but i enjoyed the hell out of "nothing."

Going back the same route meaning he'll met all those people before. Wonder how will his reaction when he met them. Especially when he met Tarasu again.

I'd never think of cutting animals fur into patterns, I'm using this as flavor in a future D&D campaign.

Thanks, Duralumin, for a chapter of a real favourite.  Mori Kaoru's works just get better and better.  The story and setting is great, but the art...  Oh my God, the art!  I only wish some other mangaka would take a lesson from her.

/sniff/ Horsewatching was such a nice date activity, no?

It also touches on the fact that love is as much a conscious choice as it is a vague feeling. You can choose to love and devote yourself to someone alongside their faults, and in a way that's a much stronger type of love than one that runs on temporary romance. She decided to love him, and that's all there is to it. That's the stuff needed for a strong marriage no matter who you are, how old you are, where you come from, or what time period.

I also think the story portraits love as a cultural practice.  

Usually when someone says "I'm going back soon" or " I'm gonna survive and confess to my lover" or something along the lines, something tragic happens. In doujins, usually related to NTR. Here tho, maybe karluk or amira just dies. These lines are known as flags. So never, ever, utter these words.

If it is Game of Thrones, sure lol. But I feel like having death flags is too ominous for a slice of life series. Not denying the possibility, but it'll definitely make a lot of people rage and quit this series for sure.

This was a much needed chapter for our main couple. I'm so glad they are finally addressing Karluk's insecurities about his age. 

 

Also nice to see Amir's perspective. I was always wondering how she could be so accepting and tolerant but considering the alternative, she really got off lucky.

It also touches on the fact that love is as much a conscious choice as it is a vague feeling. You can choose to love and devote yourself to someone alongside their faults, and in a way that's a much stronger type of love than one that runs on temporary romance. She decided to love him, and that's all there is to it. That's the stuff needed for a strong marriage no matter who you are, how old you are, where you come from, or what time period.