I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 680 - 679: So There Are Such Animals Around Us

"The porcupine's thorny armor is practically invincible; no animal seems able to defeat it. Logically, their numbers should be quite large and they should be common, but it feels like porcupines are a rarity?"

"The last one who thought he was invincible stopped thinking!"

"Not to mention, homo sapiens who can throw stones and use clubs from a distance are not something they can deal with!"

Fang Ye laughed, "Although a porcupine's quills are formidable, they are not without flaws!"

Their quills grow backward, and these spines are very effective against usual predators because most predators approach their prey from behind and then launch an attack. At that time, all it needs to do is raise its quills, and the predator has no solution.

However, some predators are very clever! For example, red foxes will circle around the porcupine and then strike from the front. There are also wolves that hunt in packs, surrounding you. If you protect your rear, you can't guard your head.

Moreover, quills fall off after use and take some time to regrow. If they encounter a tough opponent and their quills are used up, during this period, the porcupine loses its defense and becomes very vulnerable, and anyone can attack it.

Another thing, their reproduction is quite troublesome. They only mate during the autumn and winter seasons, and the gestation period is quite long, around 90-110 days. They give birth only once a year, typically to just two or three young, and then there's a prolonged lactation period of about 50 days.

Just as the porcupine becomes a mother and is still nurturing her young, other rodents like mice and rabbits could already be grandparents."

"I see!"

"The male porcupine wonders, with so many quills on the partner, mating is already challenging, let alone overbreeding?"

"You make a good point!"

Fang Ye said, "During mating, the female porcupine will lay its quills flat."

As he spoke, he called the animal keeper over and threw some corn kernels into the enclosure.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two handfuls of corn kernels were thrown in, and the porcupine basking in the sun immediately stood up. The more cautious porcupine hesitated on the spot, while the livelier one already trotted toward the corn kernels.

Although the porcupine was small, it moved quickly when it ran!

Like a robot vacuum with legs, its lower legs were constantly flipping as it dashed to the front of the activity area and began feasting on the corn kernels.

One temperamental porcupine, wanting to monopolize the treat, raised the quills on its back, causing its body to puff up significantly, somewhat akin to a peafowl opening its tail.

Its tail shook, making a "clack-clack" sound, a threatening gesture as it backed into its companions.

The intimidated porcupine glanced at it and decided not to start a conflict, walking away to another spot.

The online friends had just listened to Fang Ye explaining the porcupine's method of intimidation and, hearing it now, immediately let out gasps of amazement.

An elderly man with whitening hair and a young child, who appeared to be grandfather and grandson, visited the zoo together and stopped at the porcupine exhibit, watching the porcupines eat corn with great interest.

The grandson asked curiously, "Grandpa, have you seen this before?"

The old man reminisced, "Porcupines, oh, we used to have these on the mountain! Back then, the land was barren and the grain yield wasn't high, and there were wild boars, too. Scarecrows were no use, and the fields were often left in a mess.

One time, my older brother and I went up the mountain to plant sweet potatoes and saw a trail of sweet potato scraps leading into the bushes. We suspected something was hiding there. I was braver back then and didn't think much of it; I chopped through the bushes with a machete and uncovered a mound of earth.

A spiky creature poked its head out and startled me; it was a porcupine! Then it retreated back into the mound. I set up some firewood outside, hoping to smoke it out, all the while fanning the smoke inside with my clothes.

But after burning for a while, my brother came running over and asked what I was doing. He scolded me fiercely, saying, 'Are you trying to burn down the mountain?' We quickly put out the fire, and as it died down, two porcupines skedaddled from the hole and disappeared into the grass behind."

The grandson said earnestly, "Grandpa, we shouldn't harm wild animals!"

"Haha, that's all in the past now."

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.

The netizens also overheard the grandfather's story and joked, "Set fire to the mountain, and you'll sit in jail for sure!"

"A wisp of smoke on the mountain, a police station mobilized down below!"

After the grandfather and grandson left, Fang Ye said, "The uncle just mentioned that there were porcupines in the mountains when he was young. This is exactly what we want to show visitors in our local fauna exhibit, to introduce them to the local animals.

Everyone naturally gravitates towards star animals like giant pandas, elephants, and tigers. Many visitors come to the zoo specifically for them, but there's little knowledge of the local fauna.

Most zoos do not invest much love and care into the local wildlife.

Yellow-breasted buntings, Eurasian eagle-owls, light-vented bulbuls, wild boars, porcupines, otters, dragonflies, frogs—these animals are beautiful and charismatic. To put it more extremely, even if the zoo only exhibited these native animals, it would still be quite interesting. What do you all think?

Apart from birds and small insects, the average person rarely gets to see native wildlife. They might only have heard about these animals from their elders.

By introducing some of these local animals to the public, helping them realize they've coexisted with these species for thousands of years, and fostering thoughts like, 'So we have these animals nearby' and 'They're really beautiful,' then we've achieved the purpose of our local fauna exhibit.

In the future, the exhibit for local wildlife may gradually expand, and some of the animals that have been rescued and can no longer return to the wild will also be displayed here."

The netizens were full of admiration, "I think it's great! If city residents have seen these animals in the zoo, they'd be less likely to harm them if they encounter them later and would pay more attention to the environment around them, ensuring not to litter in the wild."

"I envy the people of Linhai to have such a zoo! I've lived in my hometown for over thirty years, and I never knew what animals were around."

"I feel this could be promoted in zoos all over the country. Each zoo's local fauna exhibit could be made up of local animals, making it unique! It'd certainly create a strong feature, and the public would definitely love it."

"It's difficult! Most zoos are just thinking about how to make money, bringing in star animals, and they're not interested in exhibiting these common creatures. Linhai Zoo can be said to be an exception."

"I love animals and even applied to be an animal keeper for a while, but it was very different from what I imagined. My everyday tasks involved soliciting visitors, selling merchandise, and letting guests feed the animals. I lost interest and resigned after a while. The keepers here spend their days figuring out how to enrich the animals' lives and make it more enjoyable, like the red fox keepers hiding food in various places and even making fake moves. It's worlds apart."