I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 607 - 606: Crested Ibis Shows Affection

"Come on, oh dear, it dropped again."

"Haha, the appearance looks rather daft!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"The crested ibis's long beak kind of looks like a pair of chopsticks."

"Mm-hmm, it feels like it's trying to pick up soybeans with chopsticks, quite a challenge indeed."

The two lolitas observed the crested ibises eating loach with great interest, occasionally making a comment or two.

What need is there for performances when visiting a zoo to see animals? Their natural behaviors are the most spectacular show.

Of course, this also requires visitors to be patient enough to wait and observe. A cursory visit will naturally feel boring.

At that moment, a few more crested ibises glided over from afar, wings held high.

"Ah-ow~ Ah-ow~"

They let out high and melodious calls as they glided.

Tang Xiaoxin suddenly widened her eyes, wanting to marvel but covered her mouth, afraid a loud voice would scare them away!

The crested ibises approaching head-on spread their wide wings, with the edges gleaming pearl-like bright white, followed by a gentle touch of orange-red, as if immersed in the light hue of peach blossoms mixed with red rouge, elegant and enchanting.

Bathed in the sunlight, they emitted a faint red glow, as if several sprites were dancing under the blue sky!

They landed on the ground, and as they folded their wings, they reverted to a drab appearance.

Following their companions in the shallow water, they started searching for hidden loach in the mud with their long beaks.

Tang Xiaoxin let out a breath and exclaimed with joy, "Wow, so beautiful!"

Qian Keke snapped back to reality, excitedly saying, "I was so mesmerized when they flew over just now!"

A tourist with a hat looked at the crested ibises with a somewhat pensive expression.

He said to his companion, "Have you seen 'Last Words of the Crested Ibis'?"

His companion shook his head, "I've heard of it, but never watched it!"

The man with the hat said, "I just bought the book not long ago! It tells the story of the extinction of Japan's crested ibises.

The main character, Haruo, had a great passion for searching and observing the crested ibises. However, there were already very few left in Japan, and they were very cautious, rarely seen, leading to a series of surveys about the ibises.

In the past, crested ibises were often captured for food, their feathers made into crafts. During wars, people would deforest on a large scale, burning the trees into charcoal, drastically reducing the crested ibises' habitat.

At the time of Haruo's investigations, there seemed to be only a few dozen crested ibises left in Japan, very few indeed.

By the time the issue was taken seriously, it was already too late for protection. There was controversy over whether to protect the crested ibises' habitat in situ or to capture and breed them in captivity. Initially, the few individuals bred in captivity all died.

Moreover, with Japan's rapid economic growth came a series of environmental issues. You know about Minamata disease, right? A crested ibis kept in captivity died within less than a year, and upon autopsy, was found with high concentrations of pesticides and mercury in its body.

When there were only five left, the Japanese government decided to capture them all for breeding in captivity. But they weren't successful in breeding and all of them died without leaving any offspring."

His companion sighed with a touch of sadness, "Eh~ so many animals disappear without us noticing, I heard even giraffes are endangered now. The crested ibises in our country are okay, right?"

The man with the hat added, "Actually, our crested ibises were also in critical danger, their numbers declined rapidly, and there were no records for decades. It took three years to find them in Yang County, and by then, only seven were left!

"Just these seven lone survivors; had they not been discovered within a year or two, they might have gone extinct, just think about it."

The companion couldn't help but ask, "How lucky! How many are there now?"

"There are 5,000 now!"

The companion sincerely said, "Amazing, it truly is a miracle!"

The man with the hat went on, "We learned from the lesson of Japan's crested ibises and protected their habitats on site.

In the local fields, the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers was banned, and mining was prohibited. Even in winter, certain rice paddies were preserved for the crested ibises to forage. This is what allowed the species to reproduce and flourish once more."

"There was a news story before about someone being sentenced to ten years for killing a crested ibis with a slingshot — imagine how strong the conservation effort is."

"Tsk, tsk, got what he deserved!"

Two little lolitas were nearby, and upon hearing that the number of crested ibis had grown from 7 to 5000, they couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement!

This could truly be called a legendary history of a species.

Actually, right next to the crested ibis exhibit, there were several panels introducing this!

Looking around the world, it was an incredible case of conservation.

The information on the panels was even more detailed, not only narrating the miraculous revival of the crested ibis but also the changes it brought to Yang County and the hidden worries behind the miracle.

After all, they were all descendants of those seven, with very little genetic diversity, unable to adapt to complex environments at random; the prosperity of the population was actually very fragile, and a large-scale epidemic could wipe them out.

On the shallow bank outside, a few crested ibises finished foraging and flapped their wings to fly up to the trees.

Two stood side by side on a branch, necks entwined, using their beaks to preen each other — clearly a loving couple.

A single crested ibis stared at them intently, seemingly full of envy!

The crested ibis couple, being stared at for so long, of course noticed the scene and exchanged looks.

"Honey, that young guy across from us has been staring at you, feels like he's got some bad ideas?"

"Darling, don't worry, I only love you!"

"Come on, let's show off our love, make him realize our love is stronger than gold!"

Suddenly, the male crested ibis hopped onto the female's back.

Qian Keke immediately got excited: "Eh, are they going to mate?"

Tang Xiaoxin wondered: "That can't be right, isn't the mating season over?"

The male crested ibis, perched on the female's back, spread his wings rhythmically fluttering them, tail swaying back and forth, head hanging low, and shaking from side to side, beak flailing about.

The female crested ibis also cooperated, moving her head from side to side, their long beaks touching each other, looking as if they were passionately kissing.

The onlooking young crested ibis, feeling embarrassed, turned away!

The male crested ibis then hopped back onto the branch, wings folding, looking intently at the female.

The two ibises then tilted outward in unison, gracefully lifting their heads and opening their mouths to cry out together.

The tourists nearby, though unfamiliar with the species, naturally grasped the meaning behind this gesture!

"Wow, are they showing off their love?"

"Damn, even watching birds can feed you a mouthful of dog food!"

"Absolutely fantastic!"

After watching the crested ibises play for a while, Tang Xiaoxin and her group strolled around the Crane Pavilion.

At Red-Crowned Crane Square, with the strains of melodious music playing from the speakers and red-crowned cranes dancing above the lake, it all looked enchanting.

"And a flock of red-crowned cranes, gently, gently flying by~"

When visitors stood in front of the statue, reading about the red-crowned crane girl's deeds, the music suddenly started playing — quite tear-jerking.

Curious, Tang Xiaoxin asked an animal keeper: "Which one was the crane that flew to the tiger exhibit a while ago?"

The animal keeper pointed out a strikingly vigorous red-crowned crane in the water, spreading its wings as it walked, looking all around: "There, that's the one!"

Originally afraid that the visit to the tiger exhibit had shocked it, possibly causing stress-related illness, they had prepared premium food for it.

But, who knows if it was because Fang Ye's reassurance was too effective, once it came back, it acted as if it was invincible, strutting and swaggering around, looking like it wanted to pick a fight with everyone!