Penguin Pavilion.
When the two arrived, they saw visitors lining up and standing behind yellow lines on the roadside, leaving the middle of the road clear and discussing something among themselves.
Tang Xiaoxin guessed, "Could it be a penguin parade?"
Qian Keke excitedly said, "Wow, we came at just the right time!"
As they were speaking, there was a commotion at the corner ahead, and someone shouted, "They're coming!"
Keepers in work uniforms formed a line, walking backward to lead the way, followed by a group of African penguins.
With their wings raised behind them and taking small steps, they waddled over with a comical gait, turning their heads left and right, curiously looking at the visitors, like kindergarten children on a field trip.
Different animals reacted differently to seeing visitors again after the reopening.
Shy animals like red pandas appeared somewhat cautious, while giant pandas remained extremely calm.
Penguins, on the other hand, displayed a fresh and curious attitude.
Seeing the penguins waddle adorably, the children couldn't help but cheer excitedly!
The adults were also amused by the penguins' cute appearance, snapping photos.
"These little ones are so cute!"
"Hahaha, this is so fun!"
Qian Keke curiously asked, "How are these penguins trained? Marching in a line is so amazing."
Tang Xiaoxin, having heard the keepers explain this during a previous visit to the zoo, explained, "Actually, it doesn't require training; it just utilizes the animals' instincts.
Animals have an instinct to maintain a safe distance from other species. As long as they stay within this safe distance, they won't move randomly. If someone enters their safe distance, they will move to maintain enough distance.
Look at the penguin parade. The keepers are positioned in front and behind them, maintaining a certain distance. The keepers can move to guide the penguins along a predetermined route.
If they get too close to the penguins, the penguins might run away."
It's like a magician's performance; it seems magical if you don't know the principle, but once the technique is revealed, it feels ordinary.
Qian Keke nodded, "So that's how it is!"
This principle applies not only to the penguin parade but also when keepers clean enclosures or drive animals back to their pens after closing time.
However, this method is only suitable for less dangerous animals like sika deer, roe deer, and red-crowned cranes. For lions and tigers, food is used as a lure.
When driving animals, two people follow behind, or one person uses a broom, raising it and moving left and right to mimic two people surrounding the animal.
It's important to maintain distance and move slowly; otherwise, the animals might panic and injure themselves by running into walls or attack the keepers in desperation.
Knowing how to maintain the right distance and understanding the animals' mindset is quite a test of the keepers' skill and familiarity with the animals.
The penguins waddled forward!
The keeper at the back bent slightly and gently waved at the head of the last plump penguin to urge it forward.
However, the plump penguin seemed unhappy with the nudge!
It flapped its wings back, pushing the keeper's hand away, as if to say, "Who asked you to hurry me? Don't bother me!"
It waddled forward a couple of steps.
"Hahahahaha!"
"It has a temper!"
Nearby visitors were amused by the plump penguin's little actions.
Another penguin suddenly left the parade and walked straight towards the visitors on the roadside.
It lowered its head, staring intently at a boy's canvas shoes.
The boy was momentarily stunned, then chuckled and took a photo.
Although it was unclear what attracted the penguin, the experience was quite interesting.
Tang Xiaoxin, looking at the black and white canvas shoes, suddenly realized, "Could it be that the penguin mistook the shoes for a companion?"
The penguin curiously pecked at the shoes, as if greeting them.
"Hey, I've never seen you before. Where are you from? Let's add each other on QQ?"
This guess seemed quite reasonable!
Qian Keke joked, "Every time a pair of black and white shoes is made, a pair of penguins is harmed!"
The keeper came over and gently pushed the penguin.
The penguin turned its head, saw the parade moving away, and quickly ran to catch up.
The penguin parade circled the Penguin Pavilion once before returning, and the visitors dispersed, satisfied.
Tang Xiaoxin and her friends watched the penguins for a while before heading to the Sea Lion Pavilion.
The Sea Lion Pavilion was divided into beach, shallow water, and deep water areas.
In the deep water area, a rocky island stood in the middle, with transparent glass at the edges, allowing visitors to see the sea lions swimming underwater.
Several sea lions were lazily sunbathing on the beach!
Their cylindrical bodies lay relaxed, chins resting on the sand, fins spread out on either side, tails curled up at their sides, looking extremely comfortable and lazy.
They closed their eyes, enjoying the sunbath.
The sunlight made their fur shine, indicating they were well-fed.
Nearby educational display boards explained the differences between sea lions, seals, fur seals, and walruses!
These animals have similar names and appearances, making it hard for the average person to distinguish them.
Walruses are the easiest to identify!
They have long tusks, stout and fat bodies, with deep wrinkles.
Sea lions are named for their lion-like roar and some species having manes around their necks.
Although sea lions and seals look similar at first glance, there are several differences.
First, sea lions have external ear flaps, while seals only have ear holes.
In terms of walking, sea lions can bend their hind flippers forward to support their bodies, allowing them to walk or even run quickly.
The Namibian Ocean Conservation Team rescues sea lions by cutting fishing lines entangled around them. They first observe the target from a distance, then quickly approach and run to catch them before the sea lions escape into the sea.
Seals, on the other hand, can't do this and can only inch forward slowly on land like caterpillars, looking clumsy.
When swimming, sea lions move by flapping their front flippers, with their hind flippers mostly stationary. Seals swim by moving their hind flippers, with their front flippers moving less, making it look like they're wriggling in the water.
Fur seals and sea lions belong to the same family, with the difference being the density of their fur.
After reading the display boards, Tang Xiaoxin observed the sunbathing sea lions and noticed they indeed had little ears on the sides of their heads.
Just then, a keeper entered the activity area, carrying a red bucket full of feed, and walked from the shore to the small island in the deep water area, stepping on the rocks.
"Fish are coming!"
The keeper shouted, and the sunbathing sea lions immediately perked up.
Food is coming!
Seeing the keeper walking towards the small island, several sea lions also entered the water and started swimming happily.
Through the glass, Tang Xiaoxin saw the sea lions' fins moving up and down, like paddles.
After a few strokes, the fins pressed against their sides, tails flattened, and their bodies formed a sleek streamline, gliding gracefully through the water with the momentum from the fin movements.
As they were about to hit a rock, the sea lions gently lifted their heads and flicked their tails.
They floated lightly upwards, narrowly avoiding the rock.
Sometimes they would spin in the water, making agile and swift turns.
When the keeper reached the small island, the sea lions swam over to join him.
One sea lion leaped out of the water, lightly landing on a rock at the edge. It supported its body with its fins, swaying left and right eagerly as it looked at the keeper, impatiently wanting to eat fish.
The keeper extended his hand, and the sea lion obediently touched its nose to it!
The keeper explained to the visitors through his headset, "This is a daily health check! We look at their eyes, noses, and skin."
The sea lion cooperated very well, and the keeper threw two small fish from a bucket to feed it.
Then he blew a whistle and started behavior training.
"Come, shake hands!"
The sea lion lifted one fin and placed it in the keeper's palm, then switched to the other fin.
"Well done!"
The keeper fed it two more small fish.
The visitors exclaimed, "Wow, so obedient!"
A child, holding a parent's hand, looked at the sea lion and loudly said, "I want to play with the sea lion too!"
The sea lion, excited from eating the fish, let out a series of rough barks.
Seeing its excitement, the keeper patted its head to calm it down, smiling, "Ah, eating fish is such a joy."
After the check and training, the keeper started throwing fish into the water!
A sea lion suddenly darted out, bit the fish in one gulp, and fell back into the water with a splash, creating a large white splash and causing the pool water to ripple.
It surfaced, shaking its head left and right, looking ready for more.
The keeper threw a fish towards Tang Xiaoxin and her friends!
Immediately, a sea lion swam quickly underwater, leaped out, caught the fish in mid-air, and dived back into the water, its movements graceful and swift.
Sometimes, seeing the keeper extend his palm, it would jump back onto the shore and touch its nose to his hand.
Tang Xiaoxin and her friends watched with wide eyes, clapping enthusiastically!
After watching the sea lions eat fish, Qian Keke said, "It's almost noon, let's go have lunch? Watching them eat fish made me hungry!"
Tang Xiaoxin replied, "Wait a moment, let's go see that sculpture."
Next to the sea lion exhibit, there was a sea lion sculpture!
But unlike other sculptures, this one was made of metal scrap and plastic.
The body was painted black and white, dirty and grimy, giving off a slum graffiti vibe. The back was adorned with colorful plastic pieces, drawing attention, and several loops of fishing line were wrapped around its neck. A patch of skin on the face was exposed, revealing the metal mesh underneath.
The most striking feature was its round black eyes, which looked somewhat frightened and confused, as if wondering why it was injured, making people feel uncomfortable.
The nearby display board asked, "When you think of the ocean, what comes to mind?"
In Tang Xiaoxin's mind, images of penguins, sea lions, dolphins, and other cute animals appeared.
Qian Keke thought of beautiful beaches, bright sunshine, sea breezes, waves crashing, children building sandcastles, and running barefoot on the sand, laughing and playing.
"The ocean determines the color of our planet, nurtures life, and is home to countless creatures...
But did you know that globally, 380 billion plastic bags and other packaging are used each year, and over 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean annually? Today, plastic waste is threatening ecosystems, marine animals, and even human health."
Both were shocked by the number, 8 million tons!?
The beautiful beaches, sea breezes, laughing children, and cute marine animals they had imagined were now replaced by piles of plastic waste, littering the shores and floating in the sea, mixed with animal carcasses, emitting a foul stench.
Plastic waste has become a huge threat to marine life and marine ecosystems!
Larger plastic items, such as bags, straws, plastic bottles, ropes, takeout packaging, and many things we use in daily life, are called "macroplastics." Besides making beaches dirty, macroplastics pose a threat to wildlife, such as being ingested or entangled.
Some plastics, after a long time in the sea, get covered by algae and look like food to animals.
Albatross parents, full of hope, collect them to feed their chicks, which soon die.
Countless whale and turtle autopsies have revealed stomachs full of plastic.
A widely circulated video from a few years ago showed researchers finding something unusual in a turtle's nose. Initially thought to be a parasite, it turned out to be a straw. During the removal process, the turtle bled from its nose, looking very painful and struggling constantly. It took ten minutes to remove it.
Some sea lions get entangled in fishing nets, which tighten as they grow, cutting deeply into their flesh, leading to a slow death if not rescued.
Plastic is hard to degrade. While drifting in the sea, it gets worn down by heat, sunlight, waves, wind, and sand, becoming brittle and breaking into thousands of tiny particles called microplastics.
Microplastics are just as deadly as macroplastics, easily eaten by organisms at the bottom of the food chain, like mussels and plankton. They can't be digested and accumulate in the body, causing illness or death.
When small marine organisms eat plastic, it affects all creatures up the food chain, including humans.
Although the impact on human health is not yet clear, the effects on some animals have been confirmed.
Microplastics can enter biological tissues, causing inflammation or damage, and often contain chemical additives and various organic pollutants. Once accumulated to a certain extent, they cause serious health problems, especially affecting the endocrine system, leading to developmental and reproductive issues.
Tang Xiaoxin felt a chill down her spine!
Nearby visitors also looked heavy-hearted, shaking their heads and sighing.
"Perhaps humans will eliminate themselves."
"Hopefully, everyone will become more environmentally conscious. This pandemic has been bad enough."
"Eh, people only get urgent when it affects them directly."
"What can we do?"
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