I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 26: 26 Where did the flower cat come from?

Fang Ye bid farewell to the netizens and then logged off straight away.

He turned to Lan Li and the other two animal keepers beside him and asked, "How about it, have you learned?"

Lan Li clenched her small fist downward, her face serious, "I've learned!"

She had been watching attentively when Fang Ye was feeding the little White Tiger and helping it urinate.

"Good, now you all give it a try!"

The little White Tiger was sleeping, so as not to disturb it, Fang Ye took out a Tiger plushie as a substitute.

Lan Li did it herself once.

Boil water, mix the formula, test the water temperature, feed milk, help urinate...

She did everything step by step and completed it very well.

The only difference was that she used a water thermometer to mix the formula and boil water, instead of using the rough method of testing the temperature with her fingers.

"Director, how was that? Did I do okay?"

"Good job!"

The other two animal keepers also took turns trying it out.

If one person isn't enough, they can pair up, monitoring each other for mistakes and omissions.

Fang Ye watched from the side, giving a few pointers on the details, "Before you feed it milk, you can drop a droplet of milk from the bottle onto your hand to feel the temperature..."

After giving instructions, he offered some words of encouragement.

Fang Ye finally felt relieved, covered his mouth as he yawned, and went back to his room for a quick nap.

He hadn't dared sleep too deeply the night before, quickly getting up at the slightest noise.

He'd livestreamed to his netizens in the morning and was already very tired.

After sleeping, it was already noon.

For lunch today, Old Zhang made pork with Chinese cabbage and vermicelli, a simple and affordable dish, but very delicious!

Generous slices of pork belly, invigoratingly sour pickled cabbage that was appetizing and helped cut through the greasiness, paired with soft and smooth vermicelli that had a nice chew to it, and a fragrant soup, all served together in a big bowl.

It was quite a satisfying meal.

Fang Ye, who went to college in the north, liked this flavor very much.

He repeatedly praised Old Zhang's cooking skills, making Old Zhang beam with joy, his cheeks squeezed together into a bunch, almost ready to serve him another bowl.

Burping contentedly, he returned to his room.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he paused, because there was an unexpected visitor in his room.

A calico cat, on the balcony of the room!

The fur on its back was yellow, its face and abdomen white, with several black patches mixed in.

Its fur wasn't very clean, and its figure was a bit thin, probably a stray cat or a wild cat.

At the sound of the door opening, the calico cat immediately tensed up, its body slightly lowered and completely still.

It looked toward the direction of the door, its gaze wary.

Clearly, it was very much on guard!

Fang Ye was first surprised that there was an additional cat in his room, and then a bit delighted.

He crouched down, his face bearing a gentle smile, and softly called out, "Mimi!"

Whoosh!

The calico cat trembled, seemingly frightened.

Already poised to spring, it immediately turned its head and leaped fiercely, flipping over the balcony railing and vanishing in an instant.

Fang Ye rushed to the balcony, looking around in all directions, but the cat was already out of sight.

Scratching his head, he was a bit puzzled, "How did this cat get in here?"

His room was on the second floor of the staff dormitory, three meters high—a height cats would typically not be able to jump.

But seeing the air conditioning unit attached to the external wall and a nearby tree, he immediately figured out the reason.

"It must have climbed up following the tree trunk, jumped onto the air conditioning unit from one of the thicker branches, and then to the balcony!"

The calico cat must have been extremely hungry to take the risk of entering a house.

Thinking this, Fang Ye pulled out a cardboard box from under the table.

Inside were all sorts of snacks—chocolate, pork floss cakes, instant noodles, ham, and more—these were all things the original occupant used to prepare for late-night snacking.

The remaining packages of instant noodles were thrown directly into the trash can.

He grabbed a sausage, peeled the skin off, laid some paper on the balcony, found a small plate for some water, and placed it next to the sausage.

After dealing with these tasks, Fang Ye leisurely leaned back in his chair and opened the system panel.

He glanced at the popularity value and immediately felt agitated.

"70,000 popularity value? The live stream of the White Tiger today actually soared this much?"

If the White Tiger was in front of him, Fang Ye would definitely have embraced it and planted kisses on it.

"With so many popularity points, I'm sure to get some good stuff, right?"

Rubbing his hands together excitedly, he proceeded to draw his prizes!

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a [Wolf plushie]!"

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining an [Alpaca plushie]!"

"Better luck next time, please keep up the effort, host!"

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a [Tiger plushie]!"

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining [Spiritual Spring]!"

The Spiritual Spring was contained in a bottle, about 300ml, looking similar to the mineral water sold outside, just without a label.

Spiritual Spring: Drinking it can restore energy and eliminate fatigue.

"This is nice!"

Fang Ye's eyes lit up. His current two skills both consumed energy, especially [Affable], which he dared not use too often.

It was like a mage always running low on mana to cast spells, which was quite embarrassing.

Since he felt a bit tired from staying up late the previous night, he opened the cap and took a few gulps directly.

Sweet, refreshing!

It gave a chilling and exhilarating sensation to the heart.

Though he had never drunk mountain spring water, he figured it couldn't be better than this Spiritual Spring Water.

He had only intended to taste a few sips, but inadvertently ended up finishing the bottle in one go.

As the Spiritual Spring Water went down, it seemed like tiny streams of energy dispersed, flowing to every corner of his body, making each cell burst with vitality. He felt invigorated, and the remaining sense of fatigue disappeared without a trace.

"Awesome!"

Fang Ye couldn't help but cry out in exhilaration; he felt even better than after a full night's sleep.

Moreover, he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like his energy limit had also increased slightly.

"One bottle is definitely not enough, a few more would have been great."

He continued with the prize draws.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining an enrichment item, the [Big Salted Fish]!"

Big Salted Fish: Made of rubber material, with suitable softness and hardness, it can be used for carnivorous animals to chew and play with. Its interesting appearance makes it more attractive than ordinary toys.

The Big Salted Fish was greyish-white in color, half a meter long, and appeared utterly disenchanted with life.

He couldn't be bothered to complain anymore.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining knowledge in [Animal Behavior Management]!"

A flood of knowledge poured into his mind.

Fang Ye became excited; this kind of knowledge was exactly what he was lacking!

Animal Behavior Management encompasses many aspects, such as how to design animal-friendly exhibition areas, and how to provide enrichment.

It also includes training animals, which is different from circus training—it's not for show.

Animals generally resist injections—just like children, they fear the sight of sharp needles.

Every time blood needs to be drawn or vaccines administered, they're uncooperative.

If they have two bad injection experiences, they may even show strong aggressive hostility towards anyone in a white lab coat.

Desensitization training is meant to help animals overcome their fear of injections and cooperate with veterinarians for checkups.

When it's necessary to change cages, trained animals don't need invasive anesthesia or forceful herding; they cooperate with the animal keepers to move.

For instance, hoofed animals like elephants and rhinos, in the wild, elephants travel at least 20 kilometers a day in search of food and water, and the growth and wear of their hooves maintain a balance.

However, elephants in captivity at zoos have very limited opportunities to walk, so their hooves grow much faster than they wear down, requiring regular pedicures, which means training elephants to cooperate.

All in all, training animals not only makes it easier for animal keepers to manage them but the training process itself is also great content for educational exhibits.