I have a wildlife zoo

Liu Wei listened to the animal keeper's explanation while observing the environment of the venue.

The stream flowed and widened into a large pond.

On the edges of the pond were natural reed beds, swaying gently, giving off a natural and comfortable feeling.

In the middle of the pond was a small island, with tree trunks spanning across from the island to the creek bank, and some trunks stretching from the island to the water.

The trunks retained their complex roots, which were like a maze to the otters; once they dived in, they disappeared.

Some otters rubbed against the trunks, scratching their itch, moving from their mouth to their cheeks, from their cheeks to their stomach, then flipping over to scratch their back, scratching however they pleased, their small eyes squinting with contentment.

There were also otters that zipped down the trunks into the water like they were sliding down a slide.

It seems that the environment here really suited their liking.

And Amamiya Kokoro's attention was on the otters' cute appearance!

The small-clawed otter is the smallest of the thirteen existing otter species in the world, with a delicate frame that resembles an elongated gourd, a round belly, a round head, a short snout, and long white whiskers, making them look very adorable.

She gazed, enchanted, at the otters showing their bellies and playing, "Kawaii!"

She took several photos of the otters.

The animal keeper continued, "In China, there are records of 3 kinds of otters! They are the Eurasian otter, the Asian small-clawed otter, and the smooth-coated otter. Among them, the Eurasian otter has the widest distribution. Historically, their presence ranged from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the southeastern coastlines, from the north to the tropical rainforests."

"You can take a look here; we have a comparison chart of several otter species."

Next to it, an informational display board outlined the body lengths and weights of several otter species, along with illustrations, which made for a direct comparison.

This included some of their more distinct features, such as the flattened head and round tail of the Eurasian otter, versus the short, round head and broad, flat tail of the Asian small-clawed otter.

A curious visitor asked, "If otters are so common, how come I've never seen them or heard any reports about them?"

The animal keeper smiled and said, "Well, that requires going back a long time ago!"

The educational displays in the otter exhibition area were sequenced.

The display at the entrance introduced their characteristics, giving visitors a basic understanding, the middle panel covered their history, and further on, the displays discussed the reasons for their decline and the threats they're currently facing.

The animal keeper walked on to stand beside the middle display, and the visitors followed along.

"'The east wind thaws, hibernating insects stir, fish rise to the ice, and the otter offers fish.' This excerpt comes from the 'Book of Rites!' More than two thousand years ago, our ancestors described and recorded otters in the classics.

Dadi begins to thaw, the ice melts, and fish rise to the surface. Otters also begin to catch fish and line them up on the shore. To ancient people, it appeared as if the otters were performing a ritual offering, which was a peculiar behavior.

Following the otters' fish offering, the fishermen entered the marshlands. When jackals made their offering, the hunt began in fields; when doves transformed into hawks, the nets were set up; plants shed their leaves, then came the entry into the mountains; insects were still active, so no fire was used in the fields. They abstained from fishing spawning fish, from killing embryos, from slaughtering the young, and from overturning nests."

Seeing the otters making offerings with fish indicated the end of the winter fishing ban, and fishermen could also start fishing. You see, our ancestors were quite remarkable; they understood the principles of sustainable development thousands of years ago."

"Wow!"

"Our ancestors really had wisdom!"

"Taoism speaks of the unity of man and nature, living in harmony with nature, while Confucianism talks about the compassionate heart and benevolence—forgiveness, our culture does have this kind of gene."

The tourists listened with great pride.

"Because otters are adept at catching fish, ancient people domesticated them to help with fishing.

It can be said that otters played a very important role in the production and daily life of our ancestors.

In regions with recorded Chinese language and writing, otters were almost omnipresent; historical documents and local records from ethnic minority regions often mentioned otters too. It can be said that otters once lived in every corner of this land, wherever there was water, their presence could be found.

This is a distribution map of otters in history based on ancient texts, as well as records from Linhai county archives about otters, everyone can take a look."

The tourists crowded around with enthusiasm.

Liu Wei also showed interest in the animal keeper's explanation and proceeded to check the display boards, curious to see if there were any otters in his hometown.

The maps displayed otter distribution in green, and across several images, it was evident that otters were widely distributed.

The contrast came with maps using yellow to indicate otter distribution after the year 2000; the patches of green had been reduced to a few scattered spots.

He was shocked, "Why did it decline so much all of a sudden?"

The animal keeper's tone became slightly heavier, "Otter fur is smooth, waterproof, and warm, considered a top material for clothing. Since otters live near water, they were also deemed pests by the fishing industry, and various parts were used for medicinal purposes, so they have always been hunted throughout ancient times.

However, the impact wasn't that severe until last century, when otters faced massive hunting, possibly the darkest period they encountered in their tens of thousands of years of existence.

For example, in Hubei, in just the year '55, over fourteen thousand otters were hunted, and in Hunan, up to twenty-five thousand otter pelts were collected in the peak year.

That's why, after the establishment of our Wildlife Protection Law, several species of otters were listed as second-class protected animals, but it did not reverse their declining trend.

The Eurasian otter, with the widest distribution, has completely disappeared from many provinces, and in the provinces and regions where it still exists, the population quantity generally dropped by eighty to ninety percent, even reaching 96%-99% in some places. And for the smooth-coated otter, it has been decades without any trace.

Aside from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the population density is relatively low and the exploitation of natural resources is lesser, the otters in the entire eastern and southern parts of China are on the brink of extinction, with only sporadic distributions remaining.

To still find the existence of otters in Linhai is really something precious and rare."

The tourists suddenly fell silent, feeling uncomfortable, some even sighed deeply.

The animal keeper said, "Although hunting of otters has decreased now, their population has still not recovered and continues to face many threats. For example, water pollution, a decrease in prey due to fishing, and the construction of dams.

Water pollution might be the biggest problem they face!

Otters are an indicator species; they cannot survive in places with poor water quality.

In polluted waters, the concentration of various heavy metals in the bodies of fish and other prey can adversely affect otters.

In the last century, otters in many European regions suffered devastating effects due to water pollution caused by the widespread use of DDT pesticides, and it was only after these pesticides were banned that the populations started to recover."