I have a wildlife zoo

Bobo entered the mud pit and lifted his front feet, stepping back continuously on the piles of dirt at the edge of the pit.

The visitors watched Bobo’s hooves seemingly hang in mid-air, swaying back and forth, puzzled, they asked, "What’s it doing? Dancing? Is its foot twisted?"

Someone guessed, "Could it be a residual stereotypical behavior?"

Fang Ye chuckled and said, "No, look, its feet are actually in contact with the ground, it’s pushing the dirt back.

Bobo probably thinks the mud pit isn’t thick enough and wants to add some more dirt.

After rainfall in the wild, or near riverbanks where mud pits naturally form, there might be too much water and not enough mud, so the elephants have to do some work themselves to get the mud right for a mud coat."

"Oh~"

The visitors watched with keen interest as Bobo stepped back on the dirt!

After stepping for a while, Bobo slowly toppled over, his huge body crashing into the mud pit, splashing mud and drenching Pingping all over.

Then he closed his eyes and lay there leisurely, as still as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

Only his tail occasionally swished behind him!

Bobo lay quietly, enjoying the moisturizing feel of the sticky mud on his skin, feeling a little relief in his sore joints, less uncomfortable than before.

Lively Pingping twisted around nonstop in the mud pit, kicking about as if swimming, and even planted a kick on Bobo’s hefty backside, the contrasts between the large and small elephants were striking.

The visitors watched them bathe and couldn’t stop laughing!

Elsewhere, Meiling and Meilan were also wandering around the exhibit.

All over the activity area, sandy soil was planted with many fresh branches and bamboo, looking like little forests or shrubs.

As Meiling and Meilan moved, they would instinctively coil their trunks around the branches they encountered and pull them over.

Occasionally, Meilan paused and pulled branches into her mouth, munching away contentedly.

Meiling wasn’t much interested in branches; while Meilan ate, she began to play.

Like a massive armored tank, her enormous form headed straight for the little forests, trampling and pushing over the branches stuck in the sand without mercy.

Using her trunk to pull and drag the branches, or walking forward dragging them on the ground, she was like a little girl roughly hauling her dolls around, swinging them in all directions, releasing her desire for destruction.

Even if elephants don’t eat these branches, having them to play with is good for exercising their trunks.

In the wild, while foraging, they do just that – destroying and pushing over trees, grabbing branches here and there to eat.

Meiling, having a blast, excitedly raised her head and waved her trunk, letting out a proud elephant trumpet.

"Woo————!!!"

The trumpeting rough and raspy, was full of power.

It was as loud as the horns of massive trains or ships, resonating and stirring, leaving a deep impression when heard.

The trumpeting crossed over the trees and water of the elephant house, spreading far and wide, with a lingering echo.

The visitors listened to Meiling’s proud trumpeting, and in that moment, they felt as if they were in a lush forest, peering through dense leaves at a herd of elephants bathing in a lake, their trumpets startling a flock of birds into flight—a mesmerizing illusion.

They couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over and fell silent instantaneously!

Not only the noisy chatter of the tourists nearby, but also the chirping of birds and the cries of other animals in the distance all seemed to be silenced, all quiet as if a pause button had been pressed.

After a moment, the tourists slowly came back to their senses.

Zhu Yu patted his chest and said with an exaggerated expression, "Holy shit, that call nearly scared me into a heart attack."

Wu Jiancong, with a look of amazement, nodded in agreement, "This is actually my first time hearing an elephant make a sound!"

Fang Ye smiled and said, "Elephants have a very wide range of vocalizations, including trumpeting, calling, roaring, high-pitched screaming, sounds like a horn, infrasound, and so on.

They are highly social animals, and they have developed a rich language for communication with each other, using their calls to warn, defend, express emotions, and so on. Find your next adventure on NovelBin.Côm

For example, when an elephant wants to signal the herd to move out, it will turn its head in the direction they are supposed to go, flap its ears, raise its front foot, and emit a series of deep rumbles.

When a young elephant feels anxious or sad, its mother and other relatives will gather around to comfort it, stroking the young elephant’s mouth and belly with their trunks, as the youngster emits sounds like crying and low rumbles to express its grievances."

Actually, like wolves, their various sounds also convey deterrence, submission, calls for gathering and following, and other meanings, only elephant language and behavior are even more complex, including playful sounds during frolic, calls for help from family members when stuck in a mud pit, warning sounds from a mother elephant telling her calf to hide behind the bushes, and joyous sounds of reunion after separation.

Fang Ye hadn’t conducted in-depth research in this area, but he had some basic understanding and knew a few typical meanings of elephant calls.

The tourists were amazed, "Elephants have such a rich language?"

"I’ve learned something new!"

"I’ve been watching for a while and still can’t hear them ’talk’ though?"

Fang Ye explained, "Elephants mainly communicate with infrasound, which humans generally can’t hear. You have to observe their behavior or be close enough to hear their deep rumbling sounds. It is quite rare for them to make such loud, high-pitched calls.

Meiling is somewhat of an outlier among elephants; she enjoys vocalizing loudly. When at the elephant camp, if she doesn’t see Meilan for too long, she gets angry and calls out loudly.

But this time, seeing Meiling entertaining herself by dragging a branch, it’s obvious that the sound she’s making is a happy one."

Liu Wei and the others spent a good while admiring the elephants!

In the enclosure, the elephants were constantly active, feeding, playing, frolicking.

With the variety of enrichment programs and entertainment facilities in the enclosure, not only did the elephants enjoy themselves, but the tourists also watched with great interest.

Just these elephants alone, you could watch for three days and three nights and not get bored.

The group watched the elephants for a while and took a picture with the massive mammoth statue at Mammoth Square.

Then they sat down on a nearby bench to rest for a bit.

Some kids bought animal-shaped ice creams from a nearby kiosk and were happily eating them.

These ice creams were recently developed by Linhai Zoo and came in shapes like elephants and tigers, which were very popular with the tourists.

During a meeting, Lü Ye even excitedly proposed that since there were animal-shaped Ice Cakes, they could also develop cakes. He suggested things like a green T-Rex matcha cake or a yellow slug cake, where the soft cream and cake would perfectly replicate their squishy bodies.

Everyone looked at him with this expression: (｡ŏ_ŏ)

Are you serious?

Fang Ye outright rejected the idea, labeling it as some kind of hellish thought.

Wu Jiancong, eyeing the kids eating Ice Cakes with a hint of envy, said, "I’m going to buy an Ice Cake, do you guys want one? It’s on me."

His friends all cheered, "Big spender Jiancong!"