I have a wildlife zoo

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The road behind the predator exhibition area was originally sealed off; nobody knew what was being built there, but it has now opened up.

Liu Wei and his friends walked along the road for a while and discovered that it led to an open lake with large areas of reed marshes near the shore. Without the usual pavilions or waterside gazebos common in most parks’ waterfowl lakes, this place looked far more natural.

Many zoos’ former waterfowl lakes were designed in the style of traditional gardens, with no consideration for the animals’ environmental needs.

The most typical issue was the vertical retaining walls at the lakeside, creating barriers between land and water for the animals, with no suitable habitat around the waterfowl lake.

At Linhai Zoo, however, the retaining walls were sloped to facilitate the waterfowl’s access to and from the water.

Scattered at the water’s edge and on the lake’s surface were some fallen logs and tree roots.

In fact, these were connected to the lake bottom using support columns that couldn’t be seen from the surface.

These partially submerged roots not only had the ambiance of a wetland landscape but also provided birds with places to perch and rest.

Right now, five or six black-backed birds with white chests were perched on the logs in the middle of the lake, with one just having flown in.

These were black-crowned night-herons, a widely distributed species of bird.

They were not introduced by the zoo but were originally from the area and were drawn here by the natural environment.

In the middle of the lake, a group of yellow ducks swam, tucking in their heads and looking plump and flattened.

They were ruddy shelducks that had been rescued by Linhai Zoo.

When they were first released, some of the ruddy shelducks were not used to the water and stayed on land.

Now, after some time had passed since their release into the wild, they had gradually taken to the water to play.

Some of the ruddy shelducks had even begun to fly away from Waterfowl Lake to explore the mountains surrounding the zoo.

However, they did not fly off all at once; they still returned at night to sleep together in a large group, waiting for the animal keeper to come in the morning to feed them, and after eating, they would fly off to frolic again.

This was soft release!

Provide the animals with a haven to rest and forage, allowing them to gradually explore and adapt to the wild environment, fostering their abilities until they naturally leave after maturing.

The ruddy shelducks formed small groups in the water, their webbed feet stirring the surface into ripples.

When the Sunshine shone down, it scattered shards of gold across the lake.

Wu Jiancong: "Wow, is this Peking duck?"

Liu Wei immediately burst into laughter; the yellow plumage of the ducks indeed gave off the impression of being crisply roasted.

There were no interpretative signs yet since Waterfowl Lake had only had its nearby roads refurbished.

Once more waterbirds were introduced by the zoo, corresponding signs would be made.

The scenic environment had already attracted many visitors for strolls.

Walking under the shade of tall trees by the lake, watching the aquatic birds swim leisurely in the water, and enjoying the lake’s coolness and the gentle breeze, it was truly enjoyable.

Some elderly sat on benches by the waterfront, watching the waterbirds and listening to their radios.

Some children even squatted down, extending their hands beyond the perimeter wooden fence to play with the water, hoping to interact with the ruddy shelducks.

However, the ducks were swimming in the lake, completely ignoring them.

Volunteers patrolled by the water, ready to deter visitors from throwing things like bread into the water.

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Liu Wei and the others casually strolled around Waterfowl Lake, grabbed lunch at the animal restaurant, and then headed back.

Not only did they see the rich behaviors of the elephants, but they also caught a rare glimpse of the black panther’s beautiful, running and leaping form.

The visit today could be described as thoroughly enjoyable.

...

Wang Yan also came today and took a walk around the zoo.

Fang Ye happened to see him and immediately invited him warmly to sit down in the reception room and have a chat.

Wang Yan agreed readily.

Sitting on the sofa, he exclaimed, "Zoo Director Fang, your zoo is really impressive!"

It wasn’t just lip service, but genuine praise!

The environment and enrichment of the elephant exhibit were certainly astonishing, but what he found most impressive was the farm at the entrance.

Having such a zoo in the city where children can experience farming activities from a young age, get to know various small animals around them, understand what green and organic agriculture are, and share their fieldwork experiences with classmates would surely foster a sense of closeness to nature as they grow up, turning them into people who respect and care for animals.

Silently nourishing all things.

There was also Waterfowl Lake, which he visited as well, noticing the sloped revetments keenly.

Such a design is undoubtedly friendly to the waterfowl!

He couldn’t help thinking whether Xinghe University could take a page from this lake’s design?

The new campus is still under construction, with the academic buildings going up, but the landscaping hasn’t started yet.

If the green spaces and lakes were designed to be more animal-friendly, attracting various animals and wild birds to come and even nest and reproduce within the university, it would serve as an excellent natural education class for the students.

Previously, he had a conversation with Fang Ye about urban wildlife and how humans and animals can coexist harmoniously.

Large protected areas are good, but they are feasible only in sparsely populated areas—a dense human population makes it impossible to set aside conservation areas for wildlife. However, towns can also become places for animals to inhabit and reproduce.

Once he shared his idea, Fang Ye laughed and said, "That’s not a bad idea at all! I heard about this from Teacher Lü a while back."

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Yenching University is an example of a century-long restoration of habitats.

Yenching University has now been incorporated into Peking University, with an area of 100 hectares, of which about 40 hectares are green spaces.

Within these 40 hectares, there are over 200 species of birds, 600 plant species, and 11 mammal species coexisting with humans in a densely populated area.

This is thanks to people’s awareness of ecological conservation and Yenching University’s efforts in collecting plants and seeds from the North China Plain during the campus construction and planting them on campus.

The current appearance of the green space is still the original one, and with such a vegetation base, local animals can reproduce, leading to great biodiversity.

Speaking of local animals, Wang Yan and his team recently conducted a survey on the common raccoon dogs in Linhai using infrared cameras, interviews, and other methods. They discovered that raccoon dogs were quite widespread, with traces found in 30 residential areas.

However, residents are not very sensitive to the wildlife around them, with few taking notice.

Someone did encounter a raccoon dog while walking their dog at night; the dog and the raccoon dog even had a conflict, and they took a picture, but they didn’t know what it was.

For now, these are just occasional minor frictions, but Wang Yan speculated that in five years, once raccoon dogs adapt to city life, they might start having more widespread conflicts with residents.

Fang Ye said, "This is where our zoo’s responsibility lies. When the time comes, we can build an exhibit to introduce raccoon dogs to the public and teach them how to coexist with these animals."