I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 743 - 742 Lively Little Pallass Cat

Sun Yuanxiao had given birth to four cubs, which was delightfully surprising!

The cubs had now started to gnaw on meat.

In order to prevent the cubs from contracting toxoplasmosis, on one hand, the food they were fed was strictly inspected, and on the other hand, Fang Ye had secretly administered some Protective Potion to them.

The little guys were chubby and simple-minded, and the “bangles” on their foreheads looked amusing.

Usually, they would crowd in Sun Yuanxiao’s warm embrace, nursing and snoozing. Having grown a bit recently and after being taken out for a veterinary examination a few days ago, they had seen the outside world and became more curious and active.

Taking advantage of Sun Yuanxiao’s time outside, one of them stealthily got up and ventured out of the breeding box for the first time.

Sun Yuanxiao was just stepping out for a brief breath of fresh air.

Upon hearing the commotion behind her, her eyes widened!

She hurried back and blocked the cub at the entrance, preventing it from getting out.

Seeing the cub mischievously trying to wiggle out, she looked around warily while gently nudging it back with her head.

After making sure the cub returned, she walked out a couple of steps, then turned back to look as if to remind them, “Mommy is stepping out, you kids stay inside, stay put, you hear?”

With a gentle leap, she jumped onto the nearby perch, lay her body down close, peering curiously with her head to see what her children were up to, to check if they were behaving in her absence.

It was like having OCD about repeatedly checking you have your keys when leaving home, or if the door was locked properly!

Pallas’s cats are sensitive by nature, and the lack of security felt in a captive environment makes this behavior quite normal.

After a while, all four cubs had crawled to the door, their little heads clustered together, peeping out.

The cubs jostled each other, each wanting to come out and move around.

But by crowding together, they couldn’t quite make it out!

Sun Yuanxiao, witnessing this scene, must have felt a sense of collapse — can you kids give me a break?

She tried to nudge them back inside with her head, but with the cubs blocking the door, she simply picked one up by the scruff and planned to carry it back in herself.

Come back with me, you!

She just stood guard at the door, pushing back anyone who tried to leave, and started a prolonged tug-of-war with the cubs.

Fang Ye, watching the scene through the monitors, couldn’t help but let out a helpless chuckle.

Being a mother is no easy task!

After giving the animal keeper some instructions, he asked Lei Zhi to drive a van and headed to Xinghe University.

At the entrance of Xinghe University, Wang Yan and his students had already been waiting for a while.

Seeing Fang Ye’s figure, he waved, “Zoo Director Fang, thank you for the trouble.”

Fang Ye smiled, “It’s no trouble at all, I’m quite interested in this too!”

Recently, numerous residential areas had explosive news about common raccoon dogs, with some media outlets even using exaggerated headlines like “Raccoon dogs in fierce battle with humans”, “Raccoon dogs attacking people” and “Overabundance of wild raccoon dogs becomes a disaster”.

Wang Yan, having recently arrived in Linhai, had discovered common raccoon dogs while observing wildlife.

At that time, he thought of raccoons, another animal that is very adaptable and intelligent in urban settings.

He predicted that in the next 5-10 years, there might be fundamental changes with raccoon dogs becoming more numerous and likely causing conflicts with humans.

He hadn’t expected that the conflicts would indeed happen, but not after a few years; instead, they suddenly erupted this year.

Residents called the zoo for help, saying that raccoon dogs were particularly abundant in their community; at night, they could hear low and prolonged warning sounds from beneath their buildings like stray dogs encountering each other, along with tearing and biting noises, which sounded quite chilling.

It seemed that raccoon dogs were fighting over territory, splitting into two groups in the middle of the neighborhood for fierce brawls.

Many raccoon dogs roamed the neighborhood paths freely, not at all afraid of humans; even when shone with a flashlight, they wouldn’t hide, and some would even approach humans, seemingly begging for food.

Evening was the time when residents went out for walks after dinner, and encountering such situations made many scared to go outside.

This time, Fang Ye, Wang Yan, and his students went to investigate together, planning to set up infrared cameras, interview residents, and understand why raccoon dogs were coming into conflict with humans, the severity of the conflict, and how to resolve it.

Fang Ye helped to load the infrared cameras, cages, GPS trackers, and other equipment onto the van and started chatting with Wang Yan.

“Why did the raccoon dogs outbreak all of a sudden this year?”

Wang Yan speculated, “I think there are several reasons, the first being the warm climate this winter, which resulted in a higher survival rate for raccoon dogs during hibernation.”

Fang Ye nodded with deep understanding!

In previous years, it would start to cool down from October, but last year the temperature fluctuated wildly between hot and cold; even in November, wearing a thicker sweater would cause you to sweat, and one could still be bitten by mosquitoes.

The osmanthus trees planted in the zoo were bewildered by this climate and bloomed briefly again after withering.

The weather truly cooled down only in December, but it quickly warmed up again in the spring.

Wang Yan continued, “Moreover, raccoon dogs encountered the pandemic during their mating season, with the streets empty; they could run around the city mating without the need to avoid the usual traffic and humans.

After the young raccoon dogs were born, the city was still empty, and at the most crucial stage of their life, unlike their parents, they didn’t have the experience of coexisting with humans. They started roaming everywhere without wariness or fear of the city.

After the pandemic, the ‘National Key Protected Wildlife List’ was revised, causing quite the sensation; many animals finally received the attention they deserved. (Earth’s list is slower to update, with just two minor revisions in thirty years.)

Wolves, red foxes, and now raccoon dogs have been upgraded to second-class protected species.

Once people realized that raccoon dogs were a second-class protected species, and that harming or killing them could potentially result in prison time, they were even less inclined to hurt them, so raccoon dogs became quite bold.”