章節 139: Chapter 705: Hawthorn's Startled Pig Squeal
The nearby visitors listened to Guan Shan's explanation and suddenly understood: "Oh, I see!"
"Red pandas look similar to cats, but they are indeed different creatures with quite a few differences!"
"When we first got our cat, it wouldn't use the litter box and pooped everywhere, like under the sofa and bed. It smelled terrible, and my mom got so mad she picked it up by the tail to scold it. The cat screamed so miserably."
Guan Shan said, "That's a form of negative reinforcement training! It's bad for the cat's mental and physical health. If you want to encourage a certain behavior, you should use food rewards for positive reinforcement training."
With her question answered, Rain Palace Xin felt relieved and quickly turned her attention back to the activity area.
Earlier, bamboo had been placed on the perches, and food was hidden in the snow, prompting the red pandas to start a new round of exploration!
Red Bean climbed onto a perch, walking slowly forward as if on a tightrope.
Brown Sugar, very attached to its mother, followed behind Red Bean's butt.
However, its movements were much more cautious, almost lying flat on the perch to lower its center of gravity, inching forward bit by bit.
Its belly pressed against the perch, almost like a cloth wiping the surface, thinning the snow behind it!
Snowflakes occasionally fell from its feet, and its little tail swayed behind to maintain balance.
Ahead, a bamboo tube was attached to the perch, with fresh bamboo leaves wedged between the tube and the perch!
Red Bean raised a paw and tried to grab the bamboo tube.
The bamboo tube was already very smooth, and with the added snow, Red Bean's paw slipped!
Standing on the snow-covered perch, its footing wasn't stable, and as it tried to recover, it missed a step and fell off the perch.
Plop!
It fell into the soft snow below.
Snowflakes from above, disturbed by the fall, gently settled on Red Bean's head, covering it with a layer of frosting.
"That cracks me up!"
"Hahaha, it missed a step!"
"How can there be such adorable animals? Even slipping looks so cute!"
"I feel like I'm melting into the snow myself!"
Red Bean's fall wasn't just seen by the visitors; Hawthorn, playing in the snow with Chestnut, saw its mother fall from the perch and got startled!
Brown Sugar also looked nervously at its mother and let out a soft call.
In reality, it was nothing serious! The perch wasn't very high, less than half a meter, and there was soft snow cushioning the fall.
Red pandas have thick fur for padding, so Red Bean felt nothing at all.
It emerged from the snow and quickly jumped back up, climbing the tree trunk and returning to its previous position in just a few moves.
Seeing this, Brown Sugar couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.
Mom is amazing! I need to try hard too!
It stood up and took a step forward.
Plop!
It slipped and fell too!
Hawthorn, having watched its mother climb back up the tree with a serious face, had just relaxed when a dark shadow suddenly fell beside it with a whoosh!
Caught off guard, Hawthorn was scared out of its wits!
"Oink oink oink!"
It flipped over, exposing its black belly, and let out a series of intense pig-like squeals!
Its tail swept through the snow, and its hind legs kicked frantically!
Chestnut, who had just unearthed an apple and was happily eating it, looked at Hawthorn in surprise and gently patted its face.
As if comforting it, "It's okay, it's okay! It's just your sister who fell!"
Hawthorn got up and scurried behind Chestnut!
It exchanged a glance with the dazed Brown Sugar and slowly calmed down, sticking out its tongue and looking a bit shaken.
The visitors, seeing this, couldn't stop laughing!
Guan Shan explained, "Don't be fooled by how funny red pandas look when they do this, like they're surrendering. This is actually their defensive posture!
When frightened, they stand up with their paws raised to make themselves appear larger. The contrast between their black bellies and reddish-brown fur is meant to confuse predators, giving them a chance to escape.
Red pandas are naturally timid and sensitive animals. Although they're now familiar with this environment, Hawthorn, despite being braver than its sister, still got a good scare."
This is basic knowledge about red pandas that frequent zoo visitors are familiar with.
One visitor said, "I saw a news story about a red panda that wandered into a hotel and rolled around on the bed with its paws up. That was a defensive posture too, right?"
Guan Shan got angry at the mention of this: "That situation showed severe stress! The red panda was clearly trying to find a place to hide but had nowhere to go, so it burrowed into the bed.
It was rolling on the bed, carrying who knows how many bacteria and viruses from outside. How could anyone sleep soundly in that bed afterward? And with such sharp teeth and claws, what if it scratched someone?"
At Linhai Zoo, when red pandas go out, keepers always follow closely, prohibiting visitors from touching them.
These cute animals can actually be quite dangerous.
Guan Shan continued, "Nowadays, people abroad keep otters, owls, monkeys, and other animals as pets, making videos, and some so-called 'zoos' use close interactions with these animals as gimmicks. These animals are not suitable as pets.
This bad trend leads to wildlife smuggling, threatening their wild populations. For every wild animal that can be kept as a pet, there are dozens or even hundreds of their companions' corpses behind it."
The visitors all nodded in agreement, understanding that not every zoo is responsible!
After watching the red pandas, Rain Palace Xin and Anzi visited the giant panda exhibit.
In the new snowy environment, the giant pandas were in high spirits, entertaining themselves.
Zhuang Zhuang climbed onto a perch, hung upside down with its head facing down, and fell from above.
For pandas, falling from trees is a daily occurrence, and they feel uncomfortable if they don't fall a few times a day.
As it fell, Zhuang Zhuang naturally used its thick back to absorb the impact, landing on a nearby rock with its butt.
Lying on the rock, it squinted its eyes, looking lazy and enjoying the cool sensation of the snow!
This weather is truly comfortable!
Then it let go and rolled down the hill, pushing itself with its paws when it couldn't roll anymore.
After a few rolls, it lay on its back in a flat snowfield, digging at the snow and tossing up flurries of snowflakes.
The last time it was this happy was the last time it snowed!
Rain Palace Xin snapped a few photos, a sweet smile on her face.
Watching Zhuang Zhuang enjoying itself, she felt genuinely happy too!
P.S. Recommended book: "I Have a Zoo," also a zoo-themed novel, a budding new work!
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