Chương 85: Chapter 651: Bamboo Blossoms
After cutting the cake, the quiz activity began!
Guides were scattered throughout the venue, each surrounded by numerous visitors.
They first explained the game rules and then asked, "When you look at the pandas in our zoo, do they appear different from the black and white pandas you imagine, perhaps not as clean? Do you know why?"
Some visitors were puzzled, pondering the question, while others quickly raised their hands!
Liu Xueqing's eyes lit up; she knew the answer! She remembered hearing it from a guide during one of her visits.
However, she was a bit slow in raising her hand.
The guide glanced around and pointed to a girl in a yellow shirt who was waving her hand eagerly, smiling, "You in the yellow shirt, please answer!"
The girl, who had been eager to raise her hand, now started to think. After a moment, she answered, "It might be a personality thing! Just like humans, some pandas are cleaner, and some are messier. The pandas we see in photos are the clean ones."
The guide shook her head, "Nope~"
"Really?"
The girl wasn't too disappointed since she had guessed randomly.
A boy in a blue shirt said, "Maybe it's because pandas are too lazy to bathe?"
"That's not it either!"
"Huh?"
The boy scratched his head in confusion, clearly confident in his answer.
"Pandas can't lick their backs with their tongues!"
"Because the keepers don't give them baths!"
"Hahaha!"
The crowd burst into laughter at this answer.
Liu Xueqing answered, "Pandas having a bit of dirt on their fur is actually good for their health. It's a natural layer of protection that can block parasites! Being too clean can lower their immunity, so they aren't bathed frequently."
The guide smiled, "Correct answer! Here's a raffle ticket for you. Does anyone have anything to add?"
"Oh~"
"Clap, clap, clap~"
The surrounding visitors applauded.
An older man answered, "Because pandas in their natural state are like this. They roll around in the dirt, so they get dirty."
Some people thought this was an obvious answer, but the guide nodded, recognizing it as correct!
Everyone was quite surprised.
"Correct! Whether it's pandas, lions, or tigers, they don't live for humans. Being a bit dirty and covered in mud might not look good to us, but their natural state is their best state."
Ying Ying was by the glass wall, eating cake while watching the pandas intently. Her dad squatted down to hold her cake for her.
While others had small pieces, Ying Ying had a large piece with a complete panda-shaped cream decoration.
Because of Fang Ye's instructions, the volunteer had cut a larger piece for her.
There were quite a few people watching the pandas. After getting her raffle ticket, Liu Xueqing didn't rush back to Ying Ying and her dad but wandered around the panda exhibit alone!
She went to the upper level of the exhibit and suddenly heard a familiar melody.
A gentle, kind female voice was softly singing:
"Bamboo blossoms, oh, Mimi lies in her mother's arms counting stars.
Stars, oh stars, so beautiful, where will tomorrow's breakfast be?"
Hearing this song, Liu Xueqing felt transported back to her childhood!
When she was little, her mother used to sing this song to lull her to sleep. Now, she had her own children and elderly parents to care for.
She couldn't help but walk toward the direction of the song.
Fang Ye was surrounded by people, and he was the one playing the music.
Many older visitors had nostalgic expressions as they listened, some even humming along softly.
"Mimi, oh Mimi, please believe, we haven't forgotten you.
The high moon hangs in the sky, tomorrow's breakfast is in my heart."
This song was a beautiful memory for a generation.
Even young visitors who had never heard it before were captivated by the gentle, beautiful melody, listening quietly.
When the song ended, everyone sighed in admiration.
"Back then, bamboo blossoms starved many pandas. This song was created in that context!"
"Old public service songs were really good!"
"When I was little, my mom never explained it clearly. I thought the song was about a person. Poor Mimi. I only realized it was about a panda when I grew up."
"The first time I heard it, I cried."
Fang Ye smiled, "Everyone should have heard this song, right? If not, you must have heard the story of bamboo blossoms.
In the 1980s, many nature reserves experienced large-scale flowering and death of arrow bamboo, which was the main food source for giant pandas. This led to a food crisis for pandas, putting them in a life-threatening situation.
Stars, oh stars, so beautiful. At that time, countless wild pandas like 'Mimi' didn't know where their next meal was coming from.
The 'Emergency Report on Saving Giant Pandas' stated that due to the large-scale death of arrow bamboo, many pandas died. They found 138 panda carcasses during their investigation.
Rescue workers described starving pandas drinking water from rivers, many of them dying from it. Some starved pandas, near death, would go to villagers' homes and eat anything they could find, even sheep.
The reports caused a huge stir, sparking a massive panda rescue effort in China, with international support as well."
"Oh, how pitiful."
"Luckily, they were protected! Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to see these adorable pandas today."
Fang Ye continued, "However, the plight of the pandas at that time actually had little to do with bamboo blossoms!"
The visitors were shocked to hear this, as it contradicted what they had always known.
"Really?"
Fang Ye explained, "The 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' records: 'When bamboo flowers, it withers that year.'
Bamboo flowering is a natural phenomenon. Most bamboo species flower every 15-120 years, and after flowering, they die.
There is a certain periodicity to bamboo flowering, causing large areas of bamboo to die simultaneously.
However, pandas eat over 30 different types of bamboo. If arrow bamboo flowers, there are other types of bamboo they can eat. It's not like different species of bamboo flower at the same time.
Think about it, pandas have survived for millions of years, experiencing countless bamboo flowering events.
If they really died in large numbers every time bamboo flowered, such a fragile species would have disappeared long ago and wouldn't be here today.
Every species that has survived to this day is a strong survivor of nature, with great resilience!"
Liu Xueqing couldn't help but ask, "If bamboo flowering didn't starve the pandas, what caused their starvation?"
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