I have a wildlife zoo
Chapter 560: The Cinereous Vulture That Couldn't Fly
After the chorus, shaking their heads was not the end of the ritual.
Some flamingos spread their wings, showing off for three or four seconds before drawing them back in and beginning to preen their pink feathers.
But this preening was different from their previous vanity!
Before, they meticulously preened their feathers, spreading the grease evenly, over and over, to make themselves look more splendid, which took a long time.
Now, they twisted their heads to one side of their body and quickly slapped their wings then folded them back in, pretending to groom their feathers with their beaks for a moment or two.
Their movements appeared somewhat stiff and rigid, the sort meant for display.
Other flamingos stretched their necks forward until their tails rose above their shoulders, then they spread their wings and placed them behind their backs, tips pointing towards the sky, in a ninja-like pose, before striking a pose.
With a low "ga" call, they straightened themselves back up and continued to bob their heads or preen.
Still, others were like leisurely old men stretching out, kicking their legs to the side, and extending their wings.
Their motions were also stiff as they stretched their bodies while uttering short calls.
Flamingo behavior is rich and varied, and the array of different postures dazzled the onlookers.
Lin Hao and his friends strolled leisurely by the pond, admiring these beautiful flamingos.
They saw an exhibit plaque that resembled a mirror, displaying the scene behind the flamingo enclosures.
In front of a large, spacious mirror stood several flamingos, looking at their reflections.
The question above asked, "Do you know why there is a mirror behind the flamingo enclosure?"
Lili guessed, "Didn't the zoo director say that flamingos are birds that love to preen? Looking at themselves in the mirror, admiring their beautiful reflections, could lift their spirits?"
Lin Hao frowned, "I can't remember where I read it, but apart from a few animals like dolphins and great apes with higher intelligence that can recognize a reflection, most animals cannot distinguish if a mirror image is real or not. But it's probably to make them feel happy, right?"
Daigo scratched his head, "It seems it's not that simple! Let's look at the answer!"
They turned the plaque around, and the back of the mirror revealed the answer.
Of course, it's not for these flamingos to primp and preen!
Flamingos generally live in large flocks, and only with enough numbers do they feel emotionally stable enough to breed. A zoo can typically have at most a few dozen to a hundred individuals, which is far less compared to wild flocks.
By looking at the mirror and seeing the reflection of many conspecifics, the flamingos feel as if they're surrounded by a large flock, not realizing the images are fake. This increases their sense of security, thereby increasing their desire to reproduce.
"So that's how it works!"
Lin Hao exclaimed, "So much effort goes into getting these animals to reproduce. It's quite a technical job!"
They turned the mirror back around and, after finishing their visit to Flamingo Lake, they headed towards the plateau exhibition area.
Cinereous vulture cage!
The ground was made of various sized rocks forming a gravel beach interspersed with some wild grass, with a small puddle in the back.
Behind the enclosure, lush, tall trees served as a backdrop. Although lacking the stern and harsh feel of a plateau, it was visually softer and more appealing to the visitors, with the foliage providing a sense of security for the vultures.
Like flamingos, people might envision them on beaches with sea breezes, beside tall palm and leafy trees, with the sea breeze blowing, the blue sea shimmering, seagulls flying, and lounging with tourists in a paradise-like setting.
In reality, they often live in salt lakes, where the water is full of mud, with neither grassland nor green trees, an environment that's far from aesthetically pleasing.
It's not convenient to create an immersive experience for them. Providing a shallow pool with mud is the most important thing.
A cinereous vulture was drinking water by the pool, while another stood on the tree stump below.
To most people's aesthetic standards, cinereous vultures look quite ugly.
Most of their body is a dark brown color, with grey-brown feathers on their chest that are puffed up, resembling a fur collar on clothing.
The down on their heads is fluffy and disheveled, which isn't very appealing either, resembling moldy long hair.
They conjure up words like scruffy and filthy, though their gaze is sharp, imparting a sly vibe.
Some children and parents exclaimed, "Wow, that bird is so ugly!"
Daigo was a bit puzzled, "I remember the last time I came here, there seemed to be only one cinereous vulture, how come there are two now?"
Lin Hao guessed, "Maybe they've introduced another for mating."
Lili said, "I don't find cinereous vultures ugly, actually. I think they look rather amusingly stupid."
Just then, the cinereous vulture on the tree stump spread its wide and large wings, which were three meters across, looking very imposing. It frightened the child who had just called it ugly!
The child, thinking the vulture had become angry and was about to attack, quickly hid, feeling guilty, behind their parent.
In reality, the cinereous vulture didn't understand anyway.
Hopping on the tree stump and repeatedly flapping its enormous wings, the vulture's large body needed quite an effort to take off.
After flapping its wings for a while, it finally took flight.
It flew in small circles within the cinereous vulture cage, rising gradually with the aid of air currents, and slowly flew up high.
It came to rest leisurely on the high perch, taking in the distant view!
At that moment, an animal keeper came over and entered the cinereous vulture cage.
They wore a glove and carried a target stick.
Daigo and his group, who had looked and were ready to leave, suddenly stopped, curious at the sight.
"Oh, this looks like they're about to do behavioral training!"
"We can't miss this."
"What kind of training is the cinereous vulture about to do?"
The red pandas were now well-trained, occasionally performing in front of visitors.
The animal keeper began with an introduction, "Hello everyone, this cinereous vulture was recently rescued by us. After recuperating at the rescue center, it was brought to the cinereous vulture cage for exhibition.
We always try to release rescued animals back into the wild if possible. However, this cinereous vulture was previously kept inappropriately; it's very human-friendly and can't be released back into the wild.
Cinereous vultures actually enjoy resting at high places. You might have noticed that this one only runs on the ground and doesn't fly, because it was confined in a dark, dismal cage before, kept as a show bird and never had the chance to fly."
The visitors, who initially thought it was just an ordinary cinereous vulture, now looked at the cinereous vulture on the ground with a hint of pity, learning about its tragic past.
"Wow, that's so cruel!"
"Birds of prey are all protected, starting with the second class; capturing one definitely results in several years of sentencing."
The animal keeper said, "So now the training is to prepare it for the ability to fly.
The cinereous vulture cage has been recently remodeled. It used to have only rocks on the ground, but now we've added tree stumps of various heights to train it to jump from lower to higher places, gradually mastering the ability to fly."
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