I have a wildlife zoo

The animal keeper noticed something unusual and quickly called out, "Brother Aotian! Come here, come, here's a carrot for you!"

They used food to lead Brother Aotian away.

Another animal keeper brought over a towel, kindly saying, "Did you get sprayed with saliva? Here's a towel to wipe it off. There's a faucet over there where you can rinse off. Our alpaca here has quite the temper, and if someone laughs at it, it might spit."

Zhu Yu took the towel and grumpily wiped the bit of saliva from his face.

After walking away, he complained, "That saliva is so disgusting! You really shouldn't mess with alpacas."

Wu Jiancong patted his shoulder, laughing, "It's just a bit, it's alright!"

The little incident with the alpaca didn't dampen their enthusiasm for the visit.

Along with the crowd, they arrived at the elephant enclosure!

The first impression of the elephant enclosure was its spaciousness.

A glance revealed an expanse of yellow sandy soil stretching endlessly.

In the middle of the enclosure, a dozen meters away from visitors, was a large pond, with a dense forest visible in the distance.

What also stood out were several shade structures that looked like giant mushrooms, dotted across the center of the enclosure!

Between the exercise yard and the visitors was a trench about three meters wide and several meters deep. On the edge of the exercise yard's trench were thick logs erected as a barrier to stop any elephants from trying to cross, while the visitor's side also had a green belt of shrubbery and a wooden fence for separation.

Liu Wei couldn't help but exclaim, "This enclosure looks so big!"

In Linhai Zoo, he thought the lion and tiger exhibits were already large, but the elephant enclosure seemed even more grandiose.

Gao Kaijin called out, "Hey hey, there's an elephant over there!"

An Asiatic elephant stood there, its massive body covered with a layer of yellow dust.

It was standing next to a small puddle by the edge of the trench, looking at the tourists with keen interest.

The group hurried over.

Nearby, quite a few tourists had already gathered, and they watched the elephant, exclaiming noisily, "Wow, an elephant!"

"Kid, look at the elephant!"

Some children were even waving and greeting the elephant.

This elephant was Pingping, who was relatively young and had a more playful and lively personality.

Although it had been hurt by humans, it was also rescued by humans, so its attitude toward them was generally friendly.

During the rescue, it had been very nervous when hoisted for transport, unsettled about its uncertain future!

Upon arriving at Linhai Zoo, to its surprise, the activity areas were spacious, and the environment seemed to be especially prepared for elephants, making it very comfortable to live in.

After the quarantine was over, it quickly grew content without a second thought for anywhere else.

Watching these cheering visitors outside, its fan-like ears happily flapped back and forth.

Let's give you a little surprise!

It sucked up water from the puddle with its trunk, then lifted its long trunk, shook it, and "puff"—sprayed water towards the visitors. Instantly, a curtain of water soared into the air, showering down a flurry of white droplets.

"Oh!!!"

"Hahaha!"

The visitors sprayed by the elephant burst into shouts of alarm, with some even letting out excited screams!

Pingping's mouth opened wide, as if it were happily smiling!

Liu Wei wiped the water droplets from his head and laughed, "Wow, soaked by an elephant!"

Zhu Yu said, "This is actually pretty fun!"

Being sprayed by an alpaca and having water splashed on you by an elephant were completely different experiences.

Even other tourists pushed forward, wanting to feel what it was like to be drenched by an elephant!

Wu Jiancong said, "Sexy elephant, live water spray!"

Gao Kaijin raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Bro, you're not right!"

However, Pingping swayed its trunk, appearing to wave goodbye to everyone before quickly stepping away.

It came to a stop at a spot where a huge cylinder lay on the ground.

The cylinder was about two meters in length and roughly one meter in diameter!

Half of it was buried in the sandy ground, leaving a semi-circular section exposed on the surface, which was also dotted with several small holes.

Gao Kaijin looked on with curiosity, "What's this thing for?"

Pingping approached the cylinder and stretched its trunk into one of the round holes, seemingly exploring something inside.

Liu Wei was also puzzled at first, but after seeing this scene and recalling what he had learned from the animal keepers during a previous tour, he guessed, "Isn't this some kind of enrichment device? The kind where they hide food inside."

Once Liu Wei said this, his friends suddenly caught on, "Oh, oh! That must be it!" Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

They saw a nearby display board with an introduction to the enrichment cement cylinder.

Elephants are highly intelligent creatures. They don't enjoy eating food piled up on the ground, as that's pretty boring for them.

They like to acquire their food in complex ways that pose a challenge.

Zoos that keep elephants not only require spacious grounds but also need to provide enough interesting elements to attract the elephants. Otherwise, the elephants would just stand bored in one spot and would not walk back and forth to get exercise within their space.

This type of enrichment cement cylinder is not visible to the elephants, so they need to rely on their sense of smell to locate the food. Then they use their trunks to reach into the round holes and rummage through the sand for food.

The elephant's trunk is not only strong enough to pull out a large tree but is also delicate enough to pick up a single leaf. It is covered with receptors for both olfaction and touch, and the sense of smell is incredibly acute as well.

According to zoologists' research, an elephant's sense of smell is twice as keen as that of a bloodhound and can detect the scent of water from up to 19 kilometers away.

So, this kind of enrichment cement cylinder not only trains their sense of smell but also their trunks' ability to bend and grasp flexibly.

The benefits don't stop there!

As elephants step over the cement cylinder, their knees and legs bend, which exercises the flexibility of their joints.

It's a multitasking device.

After rummaging for a while, Pingping pulled out a chunk of carrot and ate it.

Seeing three elephants gathered in the distance, it also walked over!

Liu Wei noticed the elephants in the distance raising their trunks, seemingly slapping at something, constantly sprinkling down bits and pieces, but it was unclear what they were doing.

He said with great interest, "Let's go, let's go take a look!"

There were quite a few visitors in this area too!

When Wu Jiancong saw one person surrounded by visitors, his eyes lit up suddenly, "Yo, isn't that the zoo director!"

Zhu Yu exclaimed, "Damn, the Archdruid is there too. The person I admire the most is the zoo director."

With the elephant exhibit opening, Fang Ye certainly wanted to come over and take a look.

He also took on the role of answering visitors' questions, cheerfully resolving their doubts.

He introduced to the visitors, "That biggest one over there is called Bobo, and the other two are called Meiling and Meilan!"

Bobo is a forty-three-year-old female elephant transferred from another zoo.

Bobo looked somewhat old and feeble, and her health was not very good.

For a captive elephant, this age is actually quite advanced. Not many zoos manage to take good care of elephants.

But if taken care of properly, she should still live for a long time.

Take the large leopard from Xining Zoo, for example. It was in poor health before, but after being housed with Princess Aoxue, it became more active, its mood improved, and it grew healthier and more spirited each year.

Meiling and Meilan came from the same camp, and the two elephants got along very well. Their original names were not very euphonious when transliterated, so they were both given new Chinese names.

There was also a male elephant, but he wouldn't be transported over until June.