I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 314 Cat-Petting Tips

Fang Ye continued to share with the visitors some of the day-to-day animal husbandry and management of the sika deer, "Although deer seem gentle, they are actually very sensitive in nature. They may grow accustomed to the animal keeper who feeds them daily and can tolerate the keeper's approach, building a relationship of trust.

But if you're not careful, for instance, when cleaning the enclosure, you might accidentally corner a deer or mistakenly separate one from the group, causing it to feel immense pressure. It might then charge at the enclosure bars or attack the keeper.

So how do we prevent this? Each time keepers enter the enclosure or have to approach animals for maintenance, they can shake their keychain, softly knock on the door, or whistle, even coughing twice works!

If they're moving a cart with a broom, they can tap the body of the cart with the broom.

This gives the animals a heads-up! It lets them notice human activity and move away calmly. Usually, after signaling, the deer will naturally blend into the group, driven by instinct.

Beyond signaling, when keepers approach them, they typically use a zigzag path to get close gradually. A direct approach might make the animals feel too pressured.

If you see a cat outside that you want to befriend, you can try this out too!"

At this point, Fang Ye chuckled, reminiscing about the first time he entered Jiaojiao's enclosure!

Back then, Jiaojiao was lying on the ground watching him as he approached on a diagonal path, inching closer.

Jiaojiao showed signs of nervousness, so he immediately stopped!

He didn't know these tricks at the time; he just instinctively felt that this way, the pressure on Jiaojiao might be less, preventing any overly aggressive behavior.

"Got it! I learned something new!"

"I'm going to try this with a cat right away!"

"Follow the director, and learn a new cat-petting trick every day!"

Fang Ye exchanged a few jokes with the visitors, then observed that the animals in the mixed-species area were getting along well—carefully maintaining distance between one another and sticking to their own territories. This was already a good start!

He continued his stroll around the park.

He came to the ring-tailed lemur exhibit, where Zhuang Xiaobai was currently collaborating with students from the fine arts college, painting a mural.

Most of the mural for the ring-tailed lemur exhibit was already finished!

Loggers were depicted cutting down forests, tossing wood into the water, leaving stumps on the ground.

However, this scene occupied only a small section of the exhibit's front wall, considering the psychological impact it might have on children.

If visitors were curious and followed the stream's path downstream to the back of the exhibit, they would see more stumps and miners at work.

Ragged miners gouged deep furrows in the earth, scarring the land with ugly wounds. Miners handed over gold they found, which was then passed to a hand beyond the wall.

The front wall mostly depicted a peaceful and tranquil forest.

Some ring-tailed lemurs were plucking tamarinds, others were picking young shoots from alluaudia, some leaped on the ground, some meditated in the Sunshine, while others stared intently, swishing their tails.

The ring-tailed lemurs sunbathing and using their tails to fence with their scents were indeed fun behaviors, so these were all incorporated into the painting.

One lemur turned its head back, looking worriedly behind.

The miners and loggers were getting closer and closer!

As the environment deteriorated, the ring-tailed lemurs, despite sensing something was wrong, were powerless to stop it.

Ordinary visitors might find the scene entertaining, while those with environmental awareness would be prompted to reflect!

Who will save the home of the ring-tailed lemurs? If they were to disappear, what would be next?

Zhuang Xiaobai was mixing paints when Fang Ye patted his shoulder and chuckled, "Yo!"

"You gave me a scare!"

Zhuang Xiaobai turned his head to look at him, "Director, you're back!"

Fang Ye praised, "Yeah, your progress looks good! The paintings are coming out nicely."

Zhuang Xiaobai said, "Actually, the progress is on the slow side! Mainly because of some trees and animals; this requires reference to the materials you provided to restore the details accurately, otherwise I would have finished painting by now."

He then sighed with emotion, "Director, I also saw that article about green peafowls you posted on your Moments! Green peafowls really are beautiful, I think they're even more attractive than blue peafowls! I hope I can see them with my own eyes in my lifetime and paint a portrait of them."

Fang Ye smiled mysteriously, "There will be a chance!"

Just then, another visitor came over and greeted Fang Ye, asking, "Director, when will we be able to visit Lemur Island? I want to bring my family over for a visit."

Fang Ye apologized, "Sorry, but the ring-tailed lemurs have entered their mating and breeding season, so we're not opening the island to visitors for the time being to avoid disturbing them."

"Oh, alright!" The visitor was a bit disappointed, but understood.

...

Fang Ye thought about how it had been about ten days since he last saw Jiaojiao, wondering how she would react to seeing him again?

He said to Lan Li, "Let's go, let's check out the tiger! Do you want to come inside with me?"

Uncertainty flickered in Lan Li's eyes, but she didn't immediately refuse!

Seeing a chance, Fang Ye immediately took her hand, looked into Lan Li's eyes with tenderness, and encouraged, "Come on, let's go take a look together, Jiaojiao is very well-behaved and sensible! Besides, I'll be right beside you, nothing to worry about."

He patiently waited for Lan Li to make a decision!

"Okay!"

Lan Li wasn't afraid of Jiaojiao, it was the big tiger that scared her.

But thinking of Ice Cake, she finally agreed.

Back when Ice Cake was small, he would cuddle her in his arms, feed her milk, sing lullabies to put her to sleep, and hurriedly clean her up when she cried out.

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To better care for her at night, he reversed his days and nights, messing up his biological clock, and even when he caught up on sleep during the day, he didn't feel very rested.

But seeing Ice Cake grow up healthy and happy made him feel it was all worth it.

Now that Ice Cake was under Jiaojiao's care, he hadn't had much contact with her and really missed her!

...

In the back, Fang Ye and Bao inquired about the situation, "How have Jiaojiao and Ice Cake been lately?"

Bao replied seriously, "Ice Cake eats well and sleeps well every day, and enjoys playing heartily, but Jiaojiao seems to have a reduced appetite these last few days and hasn't been very active. I'm not sure what's wrong, we had the veterinarian come to check, and it seems she's not ill. We've collected her stool sample for lab tests."

"What? Is she sick?"

Fang Ye suddenly became worried and decided to use the Eye of Observation when he entered.

He led Lan Li through the staff passage to the tiger's enclosure.

He called out, "Jiaojiao! Where's my cute little kitty?"