I have a wildlife zoo

In the following days, Fang Ye was busily occupied.

First and foremost, of course, was the installation and debugging of the Intelligent Monitoring System. Old Wang had already marked the areas to be monitored on the map. It just so happened that there was an employee named Zhou Ke, who used to work in the technology park, and this task was assigned to him.

Naturally, the system's construction crew would also lend a hand.

Zhou Ke declared he was fed up with the endless coding and bug fixing, blatantly balding in his twenties, needing to wear a hat to work, unable to find a girlfriend, truly a pitiful sight that brought sorrow to those who saw and tears to those who heard.

So he would rather give up his high-paying job as a programmer and come to the zoo, just to see the adorable animals every day to relieve stress and recover his health.

Then there was the red panda exhibit and red fox exhibit that were about to be completed.

What was now lacking was the most crucial element: the educational content to accompany the exhibits!

The zoo let visitors feel the charm of animals and relax, but more importantly, it aimed to educate visitors about animals and foster an awareness of respect for nature and wildlife conservation.

This was not mere lip service.

Education was the primary responsibility of the zoo, followed by the protection of endangered species, aiding in breeding and rewilding endangered species; entertainment was integrated with education.

No matter how well the zoo was built, it was different from the natural habitat where animals lived.

The territory of a wild tiger might cover around 100 to 400 square kilometers—what's that like?

Basically, the size of a town.

Fang Ye had specifically built a 2,500 square meter tiger exhibit; it sounded huge, and indeed it was substantial for a zoo; however, when converted, it was only 0.0025 square kilometers, a disparity of tens of thousands of times—how could it compare?

Even if the animals were provided with various benefits and good treatment, to put it bluntly, it was no more than the difference between being exploited to the extreme and working under a 996 schedule.

Yet, modern people do in fact need zoos.

Like earlier, when young people saw macaques jumping on rope bridges, they couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment.

Visiting a zoo was the easiest way for urban dwellers to access animals. Without risking their lives in the wilderness, without the long and uncertain wait of searching, they could see the animals' appearances, behaviors up close, listen to their calls, and even smell their scents.

Such a comprehensive, three-dimensional experience could not be replaced by any amount of research or watching documentaries.

Without personal experience, how could one truly understand the importance of protecting animals and nature?

Zoos restricted the freedom of animals, but they were also a "necessary evil." Thus, only by providing good education could the public achieve a sense of responsibility and mission, and that was the only way to justify the sacrifices made by the animals.

Now Fang Ye was busy gathering information, creating educational display boards for the red panda exhibit.

The content of these educational boards included various aspects, such as basic knowledge about the red pandas' characteristics, habitat range, and usual diet.

Expanding knowledge, like the evolution history of the red panda, its differences from raccoons and pandas.

Fun facts, such as the red panda raising its hand in a display of intimidation; descending from trees headfirst; the red panda sticking out its tongue not to be cute, but because its tongue is actually a sensitive detector, with many large papillae, able to pick up chemical particles in the air and 'taste' the scent of predators and beasts, thus avoiding danger.

Last but not least, the current status of the red pandas' survival, the threats they face such as poaching, habitat degradation due to competition with livestock, and habitat loss and fragmentation due to deforestation, as well as the efforts made by humans to protect red pandas.

Pairing some cute and charming photos of red pandas with the educational boards would enhance their attractiveness.

An immersive exhibit, matched with such a set of boards, would ensure that visitors, after their visit, would not only know that red pandas are cute but also gain a lot of information.

Of course, the educational boards were just the simplest part.

If the exhibit design was good, the enrichment adequate, and the animals happy and exhibiting natural behaviors, that in itself was the most attractive form of conservation education.

Other things like creating interesting exhibits, such as after rain, showing the paw prints that red pandas left on the ground, digging up the area around them, and setting the prints in plaster to display on the table.

The animal keeper could ask a simple question, giving a red panda plushie to the first person who answered correctly.

But since the exhibit was just opening, getting the educational boards right was enough; other content could be gradually added later.

...

As Fang Ye researched, time slowly passed by, and he began to feel a bit tired.

So he stretched lazily and prepared to pour himself a glass of water.

Turning his head, he suddenly noticed a calico cat on the balcony, with half a mouse in its mouth, looking his way.

It was that stray calico cat!

Fang Ye instantly perked up; ever since he discovered the calico cat had visited his place, he'd been putting sausages on the balcony every day. Each time he came back, the sausages would be gone, but he had not seen it again.

This time, it looked a bit fleshier than the last, skinny visit.

Caught by his gaze, the calico cat instinctively crouched down, but perhaps the days of being fed had made it realize that the homeowner was a good person, and it hesitated for a moment instead of immediately running away.

Its mouth loosened, and the half-eaten mouse fell to the ground.

"What's this, a cat's way of showing gratitude?"

Fang Ye ignored the grisly state of the dead mouse, deeply moved in his heart.

He didn't dare to speak, fearful of scaring the calico cat away!

He knew that when cats bring people mice, it actually means they want to share something good with them.

Cats don't know that people don't like it, but they do, and think it's something nice.

Fang Ye looked at the calico cat and slowly blinked his eyes, trying hard to convey goodwill.

A slow blink might seem like a smile to a cat!

This was something a cat litter scoop official had discovered during an experiment; Fang Ye didn't know if it was true, but it was worth a try.

Meow meow meow?

The calico cat furrowed its brows, not understanding what this human was doing.

Time to make an exit.

Just as it was about to leave, Fang Ye activated his affable skill!

He said with a beaming smile, "I've fed you for so many days, you think you can leave without letting me pet you?"

The calico cat's attitude suddenly became warm!

It came over and jumped onto his lap, "Meow~" softly calling out.

Fang Ye didn't mind the mud on the cat's paws, letting it dirty his trousers and the hem of his shirt.

His hand gently stroked its head, smoothing down to the tip of its tail.

The calico cat enjoyed the petting, happily raising its tail, rubbing its cheeks against Fang Ye's palm, squinting its eyes, and purring "purr purr" contentedly.

"Hey, you're still quite thin." Instead of smooth and soft fur, his hand felt bony and Fang Ye said with sympathy, "Why don't you stay with me from now on? You can eat meat every day."

"Purr purr."

However, once the affable time ended, the calico cat paused, then immediately jumped off his lap.

It looked back at him with a surprised and questioning expression, as if it found it odd how affectionate this human had seemed just a moment ago!

Then it quickly ran away.

"Come back any time to play!"

Fang Ye waved goodbye to the calico cat, and looking back at his computer screen, he felt much more spirited!

He could once again throw himself into work with renewed energy; indeed, cats possessed a magical recharging capability.

Continuing his research, he wrote the educative display boards.

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM