I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 40: 40: Jiaojiao Smiled!

Fang Ye shook his finger and said, "Don't think of it as cruel and brutal, animals will eat their young, and in the face of a great enemy, they will hide their cubs, expose themselves, and attract the enemy's attention. This is a choice they make for the continuation of life, it may not be completely good, but both behaviors are natural."

After hearing this explanation, the netizens seemed to have an epiphany.

"So that's why! I never understood why animals would kill their cubs, but now I get it."

"The park director's words are so philosophical!"

"Indeed, we shouldn't use human moral concepts to understand animal behavior."

Fang Ye continued, "Female infanticide may also occur if the offspring are tainted with other scents. You all might have heard, if you see stray kittens outside, don't touch them casually, otherwise, the mother cat might come back, think they are not her own, and bite them to death."

Of course, if it's a house cat that you've been keeping, it recognizes your scent, trusts you, then there's no problem with holding the kittens.

Another reason is insufficient mothering instinct, lacking the experience of being a mother.

Or maybe it's just that they are naturally timid, are tense and anxious after giving birth, and they kill their cubs when a little stimulated, with rabbits being a typical example.

Hence, when rabbits give birth, it is necessary to provide an opaque, quiet birthing room, avoid approaching and disturbing them, to reduce the occurrence of stress responses.

Let's get back to Jiaojiao.

Male tigers may indeed think that Ice Cake is a threat, wanting to rid of it once and for all to avoid future competition.

However, Jiaojiao is a female tiger, and moreover, a young adult of breeding age with a relatively mild temperament. I think she has sufficient mothering instincts.

And the zoo provides ample food, which greatly reduces the likelihood of infanticide.

In a moment, we'll first let Jiaojiao see Ice Cake through the bars and observe her attitude and reaction.

If she likes it, we'll continue, if she can't accept it, we'll walk away.

After all this explanation, do any of you still have concerns?"

"Not worried anymore!"

"The director has considered everything so thoroughly."

Their confidence buoyed by his detailed and logical analysis, the netizens felt almost certain.

After speaking at length, they had arrived in front of the tiger enclosure.

"Jiaojiao! Good girl, I've come to see you!"

Fang Ye called out.

"Roar!!"

Jiaojiao, who had been lying down resting, immediately got up upon hearing the voice.

Her amber eyes looked this way, and she walked over with a tiger's gait, her yellow-black striped fur rippling with power.

Upon hearing the resonant roar, Lan Li, holding her phone, couldn't help but tremble slightly and instinctively closed her eyes, looking like she was about to cry.

She had been getting along very well with Ice Cake, but Ice Cake was super cute and not fierce at all!

To her, large tigers were still a bit scary.

As for Ice Cake, held in Fang Ye's arms, that roar had scared him silly!

He burrowed desperately into Fang Ye's embrace, quivering into a ball, too frightened to even whimper softly for comfort.

What kind of terrifying monster could this be?

Fang Ye was helpless and kept stroking Ice Cake to soothe him, meanwhile saying, "Jiaojiao, don't roar so loudly, look how scared the kid is!"

Huh?

Jiaojiao stood in front of the bars, her head tilted as if to express confusion.

Suddenly, her nose twitched as though she had smelled something; she sniffed the scent carefully.

Her big head also moved up and down.

This... very faint, but surely it's the scent of another tiger?

Her eyes gradually widened, and the look she gave Fang Ye changed, as if the calm surface of a lake had suddenly been hit by a tempest.

Excitement, tension, panic!

Jiaojiao had been alone for a long time.

Although tigers are solitary animals by nature, accustomed to solitude, without much need for interaction with their own kind.

But that's in the wild!

Having birds and squirrels as neighbors, one could freely run in the vast forest, hunt in the mountains, swim in rivers—with countless pastimes to freely choose from, a tiger could live quite contentedly.

But what about in the zoo? Nothing at all, just a cage for a home with pitifully few distractions.

Jiaojiao still longed for a companion, which was also why Fang Ye could bond with her so quickly in the beginning.

Just Fang Ye occasionally coming to play, to stroke her fur, or even just doing nothing at all but staying for a while in the enclosure to keep her company, would make Jiaojiao very happy.

Now, was there going to be a new companion?

Fang Ye observed Jiaojiao's reaction carefully and earnestly.

He judged that she didn't feel any aversion or fear; it was more anticipation and nervousness.

So, he slowly opened his arms, "Jiaojiao, you better not roar and scare Ice Cake..."

Jiaojiao saw a patch of white fluff, her paw resting on the metal mesh, and she suddenly stood up excitedly!

This way she could clearly see the Ice Cake in his arms.

The standing Jiaojiao was two heads taller than Fang Ye, with a strong and sturdy build, her front limbs' muscular deltoids clearly defined.

The visual effect was incredibly shocking, and the netizens were all stunned!

"Oh my god, Jiaojiao gave me a scare! What's she doing?!"

"She's looking at Ice Cake, isn't she? The angle was bad so she stood up..."

"Jeez, I always thought tigers were short."

"You'd be short too if you lay on the ground."

"Looks like two meters three, she hasn't even fully stood up straight yet. Standing straight she must be two meters seven, right?"

"Just this? I could slide into its belly with a tackle."

Jiaojiao looked down at Ice Cake; it turned out to be a cub!

Its white fur seemed a bit odd, but that didn't matter anymore.

Her maternal instincts rose, wanting to get close to Ice Cake. Her front paw stepped back down to the ground as she looked at Fang Ye with anticipation!

To ensure absolute safety, Fang Ye stealthily activated the Eye of Observation, sweeping over her, and discovered that Jiaojiao only had feelings of happiness and closeness.

Feeling somewhat relieved, it seemed that there was no problem with Jiaojiao's first interaction!

Ice Cake was still very scared, but that was okay. With his soothing guidance, plus the mother tiger's friendly attitude, everything would be fine after some interaction.

He then said to the camera, "As everyone can see, Jiaojiao really likes Ice Cake! The biggest hurdle has been overcome, let's take Ice Cake inside!"

Though he said that, the netizens, including Lan Li, were still very nervous, watching without blinking.

Opening the door to the tiger enclosure, Jiaojiao immediately came forward.

But usually, she just wanted to get close to Fang Ye, this time keeping her eyes fixedly on Ice Cake in his arms, coming as close as possible to sniff it.

She didn't make any violent movements, nor did she roar excitedly—it might indeed be that she understood what Fang Ye had just said, or perhaps instinct guided her on how to behave with a cub.

Fang Ye stroked Ice Cake in his arms, smiling and saying, "Ice Cake? It's alright, Baba is here. Get to know your kind for a bit."

"Ah~"

Ice Cake let out a weak cry and poked its head out.

Its nose touched Jiaojiao's nose.

They looked at each other for a moment.

Jiaojiao's eyes were gentle, and she extended her long and wide tongue, licking Ice Cake.

Perhaps Ice Cake also felt that this big creature opposite it had a very familiar scent?

Feeling a little less afraid, it tentatively licked Jiaojiao's nose with its small tongue.

The netizens all breathed a sigh of relief; this encounter seemed very successful!

Suddenly someone excitedly launched a barrage of comments, "Look, isn't Jiaojiao smiling?"

"Who are you kidding?"

"Wow, really!"

Jiaojiao squinted her eyes and her mouth was agape, as if she really was smiling happily and foolishly.