When you are full of interest in the other party's longing gaze, you will see a warning sign hanging on the head of the raccoon dog, which reads: Pure natural organic strawberries, no pesticides and no fertilizers, you can pick them yourself.

At the moment your mind is shaking, between feeding the other person and satisfying yourself, and then you see the second line – it's losing weight.

That's it!

You don't hesitate to pick the strawberries, wash them in the mountain spring that flows nearby, and then put the strawberries in your mouth in disbelief under your big dark eyes.

When you are surrounded by overflowing fruity aromas, you remember the importance of having knowledge or being bullied...... And this girl used to eat fish and fruits, and she was an omnivorous animal.

But in the next moment, you'll meet your distant cousin who eats melons.

Eurasian otters, once the most widespread and highest water apex predators in the land, are showing off their cuteness and toughness.

One moment they were circling around the keeper's thighs, and the next they were entering the water with the live fish, and you could see them tossing and turning underwater through the glass, faster and more agile than the fish.

Entering the water, chasing, getting out of the water, and eating seem to be just a matter of moments, and before you even have time to reach out of your phone, it is already out of the water and gnawing on the prey you have just caught.

The otter's tiny palms hold the fish's body in place like nails, and it takes less than a minute for the fish to flick its tail reflexively from the time it struggles.

It eats so well that the sound of biting the head of the fish can reach your ears even from this distance.

You hear the cheers and exclamations of the tourists around you, and then you meet its eyes.

Those small eyes reflected the blue sky, the water surface, and the eternal brilliance of the strong.

It looks at you without any emotion, and it seems to be simply gauging whether it can prey on you, which is the gaze of a top predator, at least in freshwater.

However, it eventually gave up on the hunt in the balance, and seemed to be dissatisfied with the spiny body of the fish, which had just been gnawed a few bites and was thrown ashore by the cruel predators, and before it was completely lifeless, the predators were already running for the next hunt.

One, two, three......

The otters hunt faster and more successfully than you can imagine, and their waste makes you feel sorry for the fish, and at the same time, you have a lot of complaints about the zoo.

Then you learned a new term – the reed sacrifice.

No. It's not the Japanese sake brand, it's a phrase from the Han Dynasty's Book of Rites: Otter Fish.

"In the Book of Rites, the Order of the Month", it is said that in the month of Meng Chun, the east wind thaws. Stinging insects start vibrating. Fish on ice. Reed sacrificial fish. This is a natural phenomenon. The meaning of this sentence is that these animals will appear in the first month of the lunar calendar, which is a symbol of the arrival of spring, so what is the reason for the otter sacrifice fish? ”

The narrator said: "It turned out that the ancients observed that the swimming fish returned to the surface from the bottom of the water layer in the spring, which made the hunting of otters much more convenient, and the otters actually prefer to eat the fish head when eating fish, and do not like to eat the fish body, so when the food is sufficient, they will eat the fish head, and the fish body is placed in a row like this on the ground. ”

He also said, "However, the ancients were not wrong in their understanding, otters began to hunt excessively, which meant that there were more swimming fish in the water, so in the Book of Rites and the Imperial System, the ancients saw the phenomenon of otter sacrifice as a signal to lift the winter fishing ban, which is also a manifestation of the sustainable development of the ancients. ”

Dating back to the Book of Rites, you suddenly feel the connection between your veins and this unfamiliar animal through a few ancient texts, but ......

"Excuse me, what about these fish?"

The keeper smiled and waved at you the basin of water that had not yet been put down: "Don't worry, in the wild, the fish wasted by otters will become food for other animals, and the same is true for us." ”

"The otters are fed live because they still have the potential to be released into the wild, so we want to keep them hunting as much as possible, not to waste it."

As if you were mistaken, he added.

You leave along the browsing route, your mind is full of thoughts, and for a moment you have a feeling that you don't know where to start.

The next moment, as your eyes darken, you enter an indoor exhibition area composed of stone walls, where the ancient texts spoken by the keepers and their corresponding translations are written in oversized fonts, but more are the image records left by otters in this world.

There are pictures from early ancient books, Tibetan otter skin costumes, big-character posters calling for the export of otter skins during special periods, and newspaper reports about the fish pond owner's pleas for help and experts' answers on how to kill otters.

You have seen how its habitat has been reduced to a fishing pest from an early symbol of the seasons with the expansion of human beings, how its habitat has gradually shrunk, and of course, how the otter has returned to the public eye since the beginning of the new century, thanks to environmental and animal protection efforts.

A few steps further on, in the dim light, you see a small otter survey point on display in the zoo, with infrared cameras, an artificially made otter box, and even a first and second generation, with a display board on the side of the number of otters attracted by each change.

You seem to see the process of the conservators' understanding of this animal from unfamiliarity to returning to familiarity, and of course, there are inevitably contradictions and misunderstandings.

The otter's habitat coincides with that of humans, and the fat, fat, and immobile fish in the artificial fish pond are like eating a buffet for them, and their strong hunting ability allows them to hunt chickens, ducks and geese, which has attracted great dissatisfaction and opposition from the villagers in the habitat.

If it was before, you might have said that these territories belonged to otters, and now they are just a cool thing about humans returning what they owe, but after seeing the otter sacrifice, you have a better understanding.

You feel distressed about the little fish that was wasted by otters just now, let alone a domestic fish pond?

And if you eat everything, it's not unacceptable for people to lose a few pieces, you have to waste it, isn't that a people's mentality?

But when you look at the otter's little black eyeballs through the swimming fish, you sigh again, what can you do, this is human nature.

So, what can be done, how do you balance the relationship between the two, you go on, and then you see the story of an animal worker caught between an animal and the villagers of Guanba village.

A litter of otters arrives in Guanba Village, where they take up their dwelling, and the villagers go from the calm of watching the bustle to the anger of being disturbed, to the indifference and disappointment of having no way to report it, and the delightful to the nervousness of the animal guards, to the exhaustion of running around trying to maintain the relationship.

The personnel on both sides walked the tightrope every step of the way, but thankfully, before the worst of the worst was reached, the Foundation's compensation arrived.

This story is just one of the better of thousands of disputes between animals and people, and as animal protection and human life become closer, such disputes are inevitable.

Then you see the answers from the insurers – commercial insurance and the local wildlife accident compensation fund.

As well as a long list.

It was a list of provincial forestry bureaus and insurance companies that had signed "government rescue liability insurance for damage caused by wild animals."

This means that whenever a wild animal damage occurs, the farmer only needs to provide information such as video or pictures of the scene of the incident, and after the insurance company underwrites the accident to verify the scene, the farmer can receive a certain amount of compensation.

With government leadership and policy simplification, this insurance will undoubtedly become a lubricant between wild animals and farmers and farmers.

Then, you see the name of your hometown, and suddenly, your eyes turn red.

It turns out that in a place you don't know, your hometown is also working silently.

Chapter 88

Big round eyes, small black nose tips, smooth and shiny fur, and small claws are all pluses!

What is it like to stare at you from the other side of the glass?

There is no doubt that it is the feeling of +1+1+1 of favorability and continuous ascension.

What if you sat in a dark room and looked at it through the glass and the lake? Isn't it like you're in a fairytale space?

Visitors to the otter area are enjoying the sensation at the moment, with a two-metre-high and six-metre-wide glass tank that makes visitors feel as if they are not in a zoo but in an aquarium.

The only thing that distinguishes it from the aquarium is that the glass panels are made of steel to divide the glass area, rather than the all-glass model, as is the case with most aquariums today.

Although this operation affects the experience of visiting, it ...... It's cheap.

The price of a whole piece of water-resistant glass is almost ten times that of ordinary pressure-resistant glass, which is okay, but not necessary.

The sun is getting higher and higher, and the warm spring sunlight is very gentle when it reaches the bottom of the water, like a mother's hand soothing everything underwater, This is only a corner of the whole lake, but it is like a complete miniature world to show the beauty of the lake to passing tourists.

The split glass is not as impressive as the whole piece, but it is not without its benefits, as long as a few windows are covered with wooden blocks, then the natural dividing line can frame the scenic area, so that it can be turned into an underwater fish tank exhibition area - and it is also changeable, and can be adjusted with the change of the underwater landscape.

At the beginning of April, the most interesting scenery is naturally underwater.

The sprouts of the reeds have broken through the withered bodies and silt of their predecessors, and they stand in the water like bamboo shoots on land.

They are accompanied by a lotus leaf that trembles and stretches towards the water, and although it does not match the size of a disc in the ordinary impression at the moment, it is only the size of an egg, but it can already become a shelter for many animals.

Above, the seemingly calm surface of the lake is actually full of life, and tadpoles and widows chase me through the budding lotus stems and leaves, and then are taken away by a wave of killers lurking in the shadows. However, even ruthless underwater killers have to back down in front of the grass carp that swims by.

Although this person has a gentle personality, his eyes are not very good, so he occasionally brings some "small fresh meat" to his stomach when he eats grass.

COMPARED TO THEM, THE TROUT IS MUCH CALMER, THE CHINESE TROUT IS THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE IN THE AQUARIUM, THE CRUCIAN CARP-LIKE APPEARANCE AND BLING BLING BODY COLOR, EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT FISH ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE MISTAKEN.

As a widely distributed fish in the country, they are now in a state of preparation for marriage, and the males are brightly colored, shining like jewels even underwater, while the females are much darker, but their long fallopian tubes are ready to be put in place, and everything is waiting for the males to decide between them.

"Trout are very different in their breeding and they need mussels to act as their nursery." A gentle male voice sounded softly on the edge of the exhibition area, and in order not to disturb other visitors, the commentary here was not loud and needed to be played by pressing a button.

A child poked the red fish button, and the commentary was accompanied by a gentle voice and a picture with a very documentary feeling.

"During the breeding season, the female will lay her eggs into her gills through the mussel's outlet, and then the male will discharge sperm near the mussel's inlet, and when the sperm is sucked in by the mussel along the current, the fertilization is completed, and the fertilized egg will develop and hatch in the mussel's gill, and leave the mussel's body after becoming an adult."

"However, the mussel is not simply the role of the tool mussel, when the trout approaches, the mussel will also throw its children on the trout, the larvae of the mussel are called hook larvae, the hook larvae in the larval state will be adsorbed on the gills and fins of the fish to form a quilt parasitism, by absorbing the nutrients of the fish development, and so its metamorphosis will grow into a small river mussel after it will be separated from the capsule, and as the most parasitic trout of the river mussel, according to the data, they have stronger resistance than other fish, which is also a symbiotic relationship."

At the moment when the words fell, a female trout coincidentally showed the tourists how it lays eggs, and at the same time, the high-definition mobile phone camera also captured the scene of the river mussel throwing out the calf.

This scene immediately excited the surrounding tourists.

"Oh~ They are parasitic on each other, so let's take advantage of each other." Several tourists immediately pointed at the two little guys in the water tank, and then one of the tourists asked: "Is this tank connected?" ”

"yes, wow, there's no diagram on it, these fish tanks are connected to the big lake outside, what's wrong?"

The tourist immediately wondered: "That said, it is all connected, how can this guarantee that there must be gourd slices (trout soil name) and river mussels on the side of this explanation machine?" Wouldn't it be embarrassing if they swam away? ”

Another tourist was speechless for a moment, and immediately patted him, "You are in charge of other people's houses, there must be a way!" ”

After arguing, the two grabbed the young man pushing the cart, this person was Pu Luo, who was restocking the drinks and peripheral vending machines in the rest area, but he was caught by the strong man: "Ah, this." ”

Pu Luo glanced at the tourists who were waiting for him to answer in front of the observation window, and temporarily became a commentator: "The hydrological environment in this viewing window is indeed connected to the big lake, and the aquarium in it can come and go freely, but just like humans, animals also have their own tendencies. ”

"The plants you like, the places you want to hide, the rocks under the water, whether the bottom is mud or sand or hardened stones, the temperature of the water, the light or the darkness, these are all artificially adjustable. As long as the environment is good, the fish will naturally move closer to their favorite places. ”

"The reason why this trout is here is because they have their very important partners in the ...... That's right, it's the river mussel, the trout must have the cooperation of the river mussel for breeding, so in the breeding season, as long as you make sure that there are a large number of river mussels left in front of the window, they will naturally gather in order to give birth to the cubs, as for how to leave the river mussels here...... Guess what, teachers? ”

"Yes, this kid is right. Once an adult, the mussel is not very good at moving, it moves at a speed of about 2-3 centimeters per minute, and it can walk about a meter in an hour, so as long as the mussel is sprinkled here at first and then offered the mussel's favorite food, they will not go very far. ”

- It's just a matter of getting too far away to catch them, and it's not too much of a problem for the little short-legged ones.

"In addition, there is another reason why the mussels are not leaving." Pu Luo pointed to the sky: "The position we are where we are now is about 3 meters underwater, in comparison, the position of the river mussels is almost four meters underwater, this is almost the deepest place in this lake, and the river mussels are hiding here to avoid their natural enemies." ”

Saying that, Pu Luo's eyes rolled, and he picked up a white crane refrigerator magnet in the small basket of replenishment and pinched it in his hand, at this moment, there were already twenty tourists around him, Pu Luo waved the prize in his hand, and asked the tourists: "Does anyone know what the natural enemy of the river mussel is?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a child raised his little hand straight, and when he touched him, the child replied proudly and loudly, "Sandpiper and clam fighting." ”

"That's right!" Pu Luo handed the small prize to the child, and continued to explain in the child's excited cheers: "When the river mussel was still young, it had more natural enemies, most of the wading birds and migratory birds could eat it, and some fish with better teeth could also eat it, but when it grew to a large size, its natural enemies were much less, and there was almost only one left, that is, the only existing crocodile in our country - the Chinese alligator." ”

"The Chinese alligator doesn't eat Want Want Senbeja, it's a complete carnivore, but the eyes are not very good, and they want to nibble on anything they see on the water, which happened to be captured by the video. Although the alligator looks very cute, its bite is very powerful, its teeth are like walnut clips, and it can easily bite the sturdy shellfish and eat the meat inside, even if it is the size of a palm, it can't bear its bite. ”

"But we don't have Chinese alligators in the zoo, Chinese alligators like to live in the south, we are too cold for them here, but after the native biological area goes out, it is the crocodile museum, where you can also see crocodiles, and there is a docent brother to tell you the difference between our crocodiles and Chinese alligators, there is about an hour before the explanation of the crocodile area will begin, everyone walks forward slowly, and you can catch up with the explanation when you visit at a normal speed."

As Pu Luo's words fell, there were immediately fewer tourists around, but some tourists left in a hurry, and some tourists chose to stay here.

The long underground tunnel is spacious and sheltered from the wind and has an underwater environment to view, and it is clear that these visitors are planning to use it as a resting spot.

Of course, this is also what was expected when the zoo was built.

So not only did they put benches here, but they also put a lot of trash cans and vending machines for drinks and snacks, as well as vending machines for the zoo.

Pu Luo put the cart aside, took out the remote control, turned on the TV next to the rest area, and began to play some small clips of the zoo on a loop, including but not limited to the knowledge of the aquarists on the side, and the most recent highlight - "Cormorant Dynasty".

"The Cormorant Dynasty" is still a short film of only about 10 minutes, not because the zoo is not good, but mainly because the protagonist of the dynasty is still a sub-adult cormorant, who has just arrived at the zoo and has not yet laid his own base.

That's right, it's about the cormorant that Pu Luo just collected a few days ago, codenamed Prince.

These days, Pu Luo regrets his anger at that time!