I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 559 Let's Swing Together!



After listening to Fang Ye's explanation, the tourists turned their attention to the red-crowned cranes, looking for the ones bowing their heads, searching for food in the water. In the deep-water area, the surface of the water could submerge their hind feet, while in the shallow area, it was just ten centimeters deep, revealing the underwater mud. A red-crowned crane in the shallow area had its neck bent like a snake and hanging down. It placed its beak into the silt, slowly rotating its head to stir up the mud, then smacked its beak twice as if chewing. This red-crowned crane, with its head lowered, walked forward while keeping its beak in the silt, leaving behind a winding, shallow trail. It stamped its feet twice with a splash, then lowered its head to draw circles again. Fang Ye said, "The lake is stocked with small shrimps, which are also a main food for the flamingos! There's also shrimp skins, fishmeal, and cornmeal made into flamingo paste. Did you see that flamingo stamping its feet? They trample the ground with their feet to make the food underneath float up." A red-crowned crane in the deep water, with its slender legs not reaching the bottom, floated on the surface like a pink swan. It dipped its head to look below, then its powder-white tail rose as it buried its head deep into the water. The way it fed looked almost identical to that of a swan. "Ga, ga, ga~ gu, gu~" The call of the flamingo sounded somewhat similar to that of a goose, with a distinctive nasal tone. With hundreds of flamingos, the tourists were too dazzled to take it all in. Lili suddenly noticed a red-crowned crane in the middle of the lake, stretching its neck rhythmically and calling out loudly, its head mechanically swiveling left and right across the horizon, snapping back after each turn. It was as if it was asking, "Who am I, where am I, and what am I going to do now?" Seemingly caught by a strange impulse. Finding it very amusing, she pointed at the red-crowned crane and said to her companions, "Hey, look at that one!" When Lin Hao and the others looked over, several nearby red-crowned cranes, as if infected, straightened their necks, swinging their heads left and right in unison, becoming echo machines, rhythmically calling out in unison, "Ga, ga~ gu, gu~" Who am I? What am I going to do? It looked as though a travel agency had organized a trip and, when the tourists arrived at the bus station, they suddenly realized the bus hadn't come! Looking around bewildered, where's the bus? Where's the driver? Where's the tour guide, and why hasn't the guide arrived either? Hopefully, they haven't been scammed? Bewildered and at a loss! The tourists, watching them "ga, ga" calling out and turning their heads in confusion, couldn't help but laugh! "Yo, what's going on here?" "Those confused little eyes!" "Hahaha, this is so funny, are they dancing?" "Let's sway together! DJ, music!" The number of red-crowned cranes rhythmically moving their heads and calling out grew, gradually spreading throughout the group, all swaying their heads together, faster and faster, like some bizarre dance, a mesmerizing and spectacular scene! The tourists all wanted to share their thoughts, but the uniform calls of the red-crowned cranes drowned out all other sounds, making it impossible to hear one another speak. They could only quickly snap some photos, take a video, and record this extraordinary spectacle. About a minute had passed! The loud cries of the flamingos abruptly stopped, and their heads became still. There was a moment of utter silence around them, with only the low, brief cooing of the flamingos, their beaks pointing to the sky, as if they were still longing for more. Some of the flamingos lowered their heads to continue foraging, while others raised the feathers on their shoulders and tails, spreading their wings to reveal a hint of black beneath the pink feathers, as if showing off to the other flamingos around them. The visitors couldn't wait, "Park Director..." Fang Ye knew what they wanted to ask, "Isn't it fun? Bobbing their heads is the most common courting behavior of flamingos! Flamingos have many interesting social behaviors, which are mostly related to courtship. Their breeding season is around March to June, and these social behaviors can help synchronize their breeding cycles because their habitats are complex and variable. If they fail to mate when the salt lake water is at the right level and food is most abundant, they might miss the opportunity and won't be able to breed this year. These social behaviors are very important. So, visit our zoo more often during this period, and you might get to see more of their fascinating behaviors. Although you can see them after the breeding season, it won't be as frequent, just like the peafowl displaying its feathers." These flamingos, settling down in the zoo, have already missed part of the breeding period, and it's uncertain whether they can breed this year. Breeding starts with nest-building, but after the flamingo exhibit was completed, the animal keepers took over this job for the flamingos. They chose several bags of selenium-rich red soil that's most suitable for nest-building and moved them to a quiet corner behind the island. It's not visible from the front, but there's a peeping spot at the back. After mixing the red soil into a thin mud, they shaped it into a nest that looks like an upside-down basin with a small pit inside. Each flamingo nest was arranged separately, and to the uninitiated, it might look like a minefield. In the wild, flamingos build nests by gradually bringing mud to create a tall tower about 15-45 centimeters height and 40 centimeters wide, placing the egg in a depression at the top to prevent it from being cooked by the high ground temperature or being flooded if the water suddenly rises. The flamingos, although they saw the nests built for them, seemed to have no immediate intention of using them. Perhaps they needed some time to adjust. A visitor asked, "I remember seeing a video of flamingos, a whole group walking quickly in the water in one direction while bobbing their heads!" Fang Ye laughed, "Coincidentally, the English name for flamingo is 'Flamenco,' just like the Spanish dance, and they are just as passionate and unrestrained when they 'dance.' This behavior usually occurs during the peak of the mating season!" Lin Hao expressed his regret, "Oh, what a pity, I have to go back to school soon for my defense and won't be able to see their Flamenco dance!" Daigo patted his shoulder, "No worries, I'll record a video and share it in the group." Lin Hao, "Great, thanks a lot!" While it's easy to say, watching a video is definitely not as good as seeing it in person. Take the overwhelming scene of these flamingos bobbing their heads and singing together for example. Standing here in person, watching it spread from a few to many, and listening to the clamorous sounds that overshadow all other noise brings a profound sense of amazement, shock, and wonder—how much of that can a video convey? Moreover, visiting a zoo where the environment is rich and filled with various enrichments allows animals to display a wide array of behaviors full of uncertainty, and this sense of unpredictability is itself a kind of surprise. There are also educational exhibits and animal keepers' explanations that can provide more knowledge about animals, which are equally interesting. Lili, remembering something, warned, "Daigo, the video of the pelican biting my head better not end up in the group! Delete it now!" Daigo chuckled, "Hey, joy shared is joy doubled. It's fun when everyone watches together!" Lili, feigning anger, raised her fist, "You're asking for it!"

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