I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 581 : Foot Fetish Benefits

Seeing Pingping rest his foot on the railing, Kong "click" snapped a photo and tossed a piece of carrot in, landing it by Pingping's mouth.

Pingping picked up the carrot with his trunk and ate it, while Fang Ye held a long ruler-shaped stub and began to file down Pingping's toenails.

Su Hui exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, so well-behaved!"

"The animal keeper gives a signal, and the elephant lifts its foot right up!"

"Its toes are like big steamed buns, each toe bigger than my fist."

"What if it gets hurt during the process, won't it get angry and kick someone? Feels like this job still carries some risk!"

"Trimming its nails will make it more comfortable when it walks, Why would it get angry over something that's good for it! See how docile it is."

"It's remarkably human-like, understanding not to fuss when something good is being done for it!"

"Elephants are indeed very smart!"

The visitors, afraid of disturbing his work, spoke in hushed voices, but everyone was craning their necks to get a better look and taking pictures, observing the elephant's feet.

Another keeper, Qing, was keeping order on the side, asking everyone to keep a one-meter distance from the railing to facilitate the keeper's work.

While filing Pingping's foot, Fang Ye said with a laugh, "It's not a matter of being smart; giving elephants a pedicure is really beneficial for them, and the elephants likely understand that. But understanding alone isn't enough to get the elephant to cooperate.

The most important thing is our routine behavior training!"

"At first, we would guide the elephant to touch a target stick with its foot. When the elephant does it correctly, we would use a clicker 'click' to signal it did the right thing, and then we'd reward it with a small piece of food it likes, like apples or carrots, to make it keen on the training.

The process of behavior training is also a process of building trust between the keeper and the elephant. It sounds simple, but in practice, it is quite complicated. The first step alone took a month."

"After getting used to the first step, we then raise the target stick higher, guiding the elephant to place its foot in this pedicure window, and gradually acquaint it with the check-up and pedicure process and various tools, mastering the process step by step."

"Oh~"

The visitors let out a sound of dawning realization.

Yan Ganghui felt a wonderful sensation in his heart.

In the past, he thought animal keepers were just cleaning up and feeding the animals, no different from raising chickens or pigs. Now, seeing this, it's clearly not a simple job.

It requires understanding animals, grasping various theoretical knowledge, building emotional bonds and trust with the animals, coupled with skilled techniques, to achieve such cooperation.

Zoos are not just places for people to look at various exotic animals; they also demonstrate the green ways of farming, ways to harmoniously coexist with nature, and understanding the content behind-the-scenes behavior training, sparking people's concern and care for nature.

Linhai Zoo really opened his eyes!

He had come to understand what a good zoo should be like.

Fang Ye filed Pingping's toenails, with dust and chips falling off in piles as he worked.

Though pedicuring looked easy, it was quite an effort.

After filing, he took a small knife to trim the overgrown dead skin on the elephant's toenails.

"If we don't cut this carrot, it feels like it would be finished after just one toenail!"

"It looks like it's enjoying it!"

"So obedient, like it's been put in a trance! Doesn't it tickle?"

"Master, put some strength into it! I can take a bit of strength!"

"Haha, giving it a scrub, are we?"

Fang Ye scraped off the dead skin, patted Pingping's foot, then took two steps back and smiled, "Switch feet!"

Actually, the bottom of the foot hadn't been fully tended to yet, but since one foot had been lifted for too long, he was worried it'd get tired.

Kong moved to the other side of the foot-care window, used the target stick to point at its right foot, and nudged it towards the bar.

Instantly, Pingping obediently drew back its left foot and placed its right foot on the bar!

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"This behavior training is really well done!"

The visitors exclaimed in admiration.

Fang Ye praised, "Well done, Pingping, really great!"

He bent down to file the foot and explained, "Traditional behavior training uses a sharp bullhook which can easily harm an elephant, forcing it to submit and perform actions.

But training that's based on fear is very dangerous too. You never know when the elephant might go berserk, and it's not good for animal welfare. Nowadays, it's advocated to use them as little as possible.

The method we're using is called positive reinforcement training: we gain the elephant's trust and make it willing to cooperate with us. The purpose of behavior training isn't just for foot care but also for body sampling, skin treatments, wound care, and more, generally to keep the elephant healthy.

Of course, that's not to say that bullhooks or aversive training should never be used.

These days, zoos typically use plastic or wooden modified bullhooks that have no blade and can't harm the elephant, but they still provide an unpleasant stimulus.

I once heard from an acquaintance who's an animal keeper that they had an orphan elephant they wanted to be nursed by another female. Positive reinforcement training didn't work, and the female was unwilling and even hit the young one.

So, they used a bullhook to threaten her, forcing her to nurse. If she didn't nurse properly, they would poke her, and after a few times, she accepted the young elephant."

The visitors contemplated this, as it indeed posed a difficult problem!

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"Feels a bit like educating kids! Sometimes no matter how nicely you persuade them, they just won't listen, and it takes a good spanking to make them behave."

Someone said with feeling, "Don't mention it, my blood pressure skyrockets just from helping my child with homework! I've almost burst a blood vessel in frustration."

"Eh, if you don't spank the kids, they don't listen, but after you do, you regret it!"

They then curiously asked another question, "Zoo director, is there any danger in trimming an elephant's foot?"

"How often should an elephant's feet be trimmed?"

Fang Ye laughed and said, "Of course there's danger. These slanting bars between the fences are to prevent the elephant's trunk from reaching out. Plus, foot trimming is done by two people, one keeper does the trimming while the other observes and feeds the elephant to soothe its mood.

Normally, we brush the elephant's feet two to three times a week. A major trim like this might happen once a month to grind down excess toenails and ensure the elephant walks with its sole touching the ground.

Oh, Qing, bring that overgrowth piece to show everyone!"

As Qing went to fetch the overgrowth, Fang Ye asked Pingping to switch feet and started scrubbing its sole with a brush: "Have a look at its sole!"

Eager for a clearer view, the visitors crouched down, snapping photos while observing.

Some didn't mind getting dirty and even lay down on the ground to look up from below, their curiosity burning brightly.

Pingping inside munched on apples, watching the visitors' actions with bafflement.

What are all these people doing? Are my feet really that beautiful?