章 33: Chapter 599: The Messy Hippo
Although the broadcasted song had ended, viewers were still deeply immersed in the emotions of sadness and inspiration, reminiscing about the beautiful dance of the red-crowned cranes.
Some even opened their music players to search for the song and listen to it again.
Fang Ye, watching the cranes flying over the lake, was silent for a while.
After a moment, as his emotions settled, he asked, "So, does this song feel different from when you heard it as a child?"
"Yes, as a child, I was scared by this song! I felt so sorry for the girl who died. Now I can understand the emotions behind it."
Fang Ye added, "Although Xu Xiujun's story is very touching, I need to point out that bringing red-crowned cranes to wintering grounds for breeding might have scientific value, but from a conservation perspective, it needs to be approached cautiously.
Captive breeding changes the cranes' habits, and currently, the cranes raised in reserves face many difficulties when released back into the wild. They are different from truly wild cranes.
There are concerns about disease transmission and changes in wild crane behavior when captive-bred cranes are reintroduced. According to recent statistics, there are only about 500 wild red-crowned cranes in China, a critically endangered status, but there are 2,500 in captivity, with no records of large-scale successful rewilding.
Additionally, some reserves have commercial flying performances, taking eggs from wild crane nests and selling them to zoos under the guise of conservation, which is a problem.
Wild red-crowned cranes are very vigilant and may abandon their nests if people enter their territory.
Even if the eggs are taken, the cranes will lay new ones, delaying the hatching time. The chicks won't grow feathers in time for migration, causing the cranes to stay in the northeast and miss the wintering period, which is why the wild crane population has not grown."
"Ah? That's infuriating!"
"I can't accept that! How can they treat them like this?"
"Director, are your cranes also bought from reserves?"
Fang Ye explained, "Our red-crowned cranes were introduced from other zoos. The first batch of animals in zoos were caught from the wild, but it's no longer appropriate to do that. Everyone understands this, right?"
"Yes, I understand! I used to think zoos shouldn't exist. But after watching the Director's livestream, I know what a good zoo should be like."
"Exactly, zoos are not just for entertainment; they also have educational significance."
Fang Ye said, "So, if we truly want to protect red-crowned cranes, preserving their habitat is the best way to show our love.
Let's go see our new hippo and giraffe."
...
They arrived at the hippo exhibit's back area.
The hippo exhibit's back area was different from other enclosures because hippos need water to live. Besides the regular shelter, there was a small pool in the adjacent room.
However, the pool looked dirty, not very clear.
There were some grass leaves floating on the surface, and at the bottom, there were round objects that looked like feces.
The keeper, Lao Gang, a man in his forties, was holding a pineapple in one hand and a bucket in the other. He called out to the hippo through the fence with a cheerful tone, "Dudu? Dudu?"
Dudu's large, dark brown body was mostly submerged in the water, with its back, nose, and eyes exposed.
Its small eyes glanced at Lao Gang, then it suddenly shook its head, splashing the water with a loud "splash" sound! It was like a firecracker went off in the water.
A spray of water was thrown up, and although Lao Gang was some distance away, some fine droplets still landed on his face.
Fang Ye and Lan Li had just arrived and saw this scene. Lan Li was startled by the loud noise and quickly hid behind Fang Ye, cautiously peeking out.
Lao Gang seemed used to it, wiped the water off his face, stood up, and greeted Fang Ye, "Director, you're here! It seems Dudu doesn't like me very much!"
At this point, Dudu snorted, spraying out a mist of water, seemingly expressing its displeasure.
Fang Ye laughed, "Dudu is just a bit timid and wary of strangers."
A viewer asked, "This environment looks a bit dirty, don't you clean it?"
"Yeah, the water is so murky! Change it more often."
"With such dirty water, of course the hippo isn't happy."
Fang Ye glanced at the comments and said, "Have you ever heard the news about a large number of dead fish floating belly-up along an African river, discovered to be caused by hippo feces?
It sounds a bit exaggerated, but it's true!
The term 'suffocated' is a bit of an exaggeration. The fish actually died from lack of oxygen. Hippo feces contain a lot of undigested plant matter, and when it sinks to the bottom, microorganisms swarm to enjoy the feast. These microorganisms consume oxygen to decompose the plants, causing the fish to die from lack of oxygen.
The reason for this tragedy, besides the large number of hippos, is their vast amount of excrement.
When hippos defecate, they raise their tails and fling their feces everywhere to mark their territory and assert dominance.
So, it's not that we don't clean the exhibit; it's just that hippos are naturally messy animals.
To ensure the water quality and keep the hippos comfortable, we change the water once a day, which takes quite a bit of time and involves tons of water.
When we drain the water for cleaning, we can fill several garbage bins with the feces."
"Oh, I see! I misunderstood!"
"I remember seeing a hippo defecate at the zoo when I was a kid. Wow! The force of the spray! It sprayed feces everywhere while flapping its tail, covering the walls with it."
"Haha, what a vivid image!"
Fang Ye took the pineapple from Lao Gang and greeted Dudu, "Dudu?"
Dudu looked at Fang Ye and didn't seem to have any resistance. It lifted its head out of the water, opened its mouth wide, and wiggled its ears.
Lan Li was filming from the side, clearly capturing the hippo's whiskers and large teeth.
Lao Gang shook his head helplessly.
He fed and cleaned diligently every day, chatting and feeding the hippo to build a bond, yet Dudu was still hostile towards him.
The Director, who rarely visited, was welcomed warmly by Dudu.
It was a bit disheartening.
Fang Ye laughed, "Oh, you smell the pineapple, don't you?"
He tossed the pineapple into Dudu's mouth!
Dudu closed its mouth with a muffled "crunch," chewed a couple of times, and the fat on its cheeks jiggled.
When it opened its mouth again, the pineapple was in small pieces.
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