I have a wildlife zoo

After watching the bharals, Fang Ye and Lan Li continued walking and arrived near the territory of the sika deer.

The vegetation here, compared to the red fox's hill and the bharal's rocky mountain area, was much denser!

If you looked carefully, you would find that the trees were all covered with a layer of protective nets, which were designed to prevent the sika deer from gnawing on the tree bark and leaving the trees stripped bare, which would not be a pretty sight.

Although it was convenient to have the system replenish trees,

it was still better to take the necessary precautions.

In the grass across the way was a young sika deer, clearly smaller than the adult deer.

It ran quickly to the edge of the enclosure and gazed at the tourists through the wooden fence!

Its ears were long and large, and its brownish-yellow fur was dotted with white spots, resembling plum blossoms, the most distinct feature of the sika deer and the origin of their name!

The young sika deer was somewhat curious about the tourists, staring at them with its big, round black eyes, which were lined with eyelashes, making it appear beautiful, cute, and endearing.

It had to be said, it was very photogenic!

No wonder in many fairy tales or cartoons, deer are portrayed as symbols of purity and beauty.

"Wow, this little deer is just too cute!"

The tourists adored the little deer, and suddenly it opened its mouth and let out a crisp and tender sound, "Neigh!"

Parents with children couldn't stop laughing, "Hey, this little deer's call is so funny!"

An anime fan, with a stunned expression, pinched his own cheek, "Damn! Did I hear wrong?"

The little deer reiterated in a clear tone, "Neigh!"

It was not an illusion, that was exactly how it sounded!

"Neigh! Neigh!"

It called out several times in a row!

After the initial shock, the anime fan got excited, took out his cellphone, "This little sika deer is so 'comics and anime world!' Let me record a video for you!"

The little deer suddenly turned and ran away!

"Eh~" The tourists watched its retreating figure with a tinge of regret.

"Yu~ Yu~~~!"

Then, from a distance, there came a series of high-pitched, pleasant whistle-like calls.

The tourists immediately started looking around curiously, "Who's whistling? It's quite melodious!"

"Seems like it's from inside the exhibit!"

"Is it the animal keeper blowing a whistle? Are they training the animals?"

"Yu~ Yu~~~"

The delightful whistle-like call was long and piercing!

Fang Ye coughed twice to draw the tourists' attention and smiled, "This isn't one of our animal keepers blowing a whistle, but the call of the sika deer!"

"Zoo Director Fang! Hello, Director Fang!"

"The call of a sika deer?"

Fang Ye nodded with a smile, "Yu yu deer calling, eating the wild apples! Has everyone heard this line of poetry before?

The call of an adult sika deer sounds like this 'Yu yu.' Currently, the sika deer are in their mating season, and the male sika deer will make loud calls, louder than usual, to warn other competitors! Isn't the call quite pleasant to the ear?"

"Indeed, it's lovely!"

As they were talking, a sika deer ran onto the grass from behind the trees, emitting a pleasant "yu yu" sound, its eyes wide and wary as it looked towards the visitors.

At this point, a visitor stroked his chin and furrowed his brow as if he had noticed something amiss, "Zoo Director Fang, you said this is the sound of a male sika deer calling out in warning. Is this one male?"

"That's correct!"

"Then why doesn't it have any antlers on its head?"

"Huh, indeed!"

The visitors suddenly thought of velvet antlers!

Could the antlers have been cut off to sell for money?

It's one thing for a breeding farm to do this, but an animal zoo as well?

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Director Fang, this doesn't seem quite right. Shouldn't a zoo be a place to showcase the natural beauty of animals?"

Before Fang Ye could respond, another visitor cut in, "Didn't you see the sign over there? It says that all the antlers in the park have been removed because deer can fight. The antlers are cut to ensure their safety!"

Fang Ye explained with a smile, "Although it's explained on the sign, let me clarify it further for everyone here.

Why do we cut off deer antlers? First of all, like human fingernails, antlers keep growing and would fall off naturally every year, even if we did not cut them.

Newly grown antlers are called velvet antlers and are covered with a layer of fuzz that gradually hardens into bony antlers.

The antlers we cut are not velvet but fully ossified antlers, which are of little value.

When they reach their mating season, to make their antlers more advantageous in fights, they will sharpen them against trees and rocks, making them sharp and pointed. After being sharpened, the antlers are like long, sharp spears. You can imagine what they are like!

Male deer can be very aggressive! Not only do they attack each other, but during their mating season, they may even attack female and young deer.

This behavior is very dangerous for both the animal keepers and the other animals.

Deer are sensitive and cautious creatures, even somewhat neurotic, which is a vital trait for their survival in the wild. They are always on alert at the slightest rustle of grass, ensuring they are never too close to predators and remain unharmed.

This sensitive nature is inscribed in their genes and does not disappear in a captive environment.

Sensitive as they are, it's unpredictable when they might feel threatened by humans. If an animal keeper is feeding them, and suddenly something ticks them off, they could thrust straight into the chest, and just like that, a gaping hole could mean the end of a life.

That's why we remove their antlers, to ensure the safety of other animals and the keepers.

I understand everyone's desire to see sika deer with antlers on their heads as it's a beautiful sight.

However, if we left the antlers on, you might see more than just their beauty. You'd also see them locked in violent combat, which can be quite bloody. Would you be able to accept that?

The visitors looked thoughtful!

Indeed, what they wanted to see was the cuteness and beauty of the sika deer, not antlers piercing into other animals' bodies, blinding their eyes and causing blood to gush everywhere. Just the thought of it was a bit horrifying.

Fang Ye finally joked, "The most important thing is, even if we could sell those two antlers as velvet, they wouldn't fetch much money. They wouldn't even cover the breeding cost."

The visitors laughed at this comment, "Haha, indeed!"

Even if other zoos gave the same explanation, there might still be suspicions that the antlers were removed for sale, but the maintenance cost of this wildlife park definitely exceeds that of velvet.

Not just the antlers, the bharals' horns were also polished and treated to blunt the tips.

For things that may cause visitors to have doubts, it's necessary to prepare signs in advance and introduce the situation to them. One can't wait for questions to arise before explaining.

Many things in the zoo are actually counterintuitive and require an understanding of animal behavior to comprehend.

For example, the monkey exhibit uses wire netting as a barrier. Transparent glass walls would certainly look nicer and make taking photos of animals more convenient.

It might be uncomfortable for humans, but for monkeys, the wire netting increases the spatial utilization, expanding their range of activities and allowing for more climbing behavior, actually increasing their welfare.