I have a wildlife zoo

The foxes were quite interested at first, but after a while, they seemed to realize something. How come this strange mouse stops moving the moment it is caught, and then comes back to life once it is let go?

Their enthusiasm for hunting gradually decreased, and they would only chase and catch it if it ran close to them.

It seems that this toy is fun for a while, but interest is quickly lost if played with continuously!

After all, hunting requires focus and is much more exhausting than mere play—most importantly, you can't eat it. Being able to eat would probably make it very exciting.

After watching the foxes play for about ten minutes, Fang Ye took the opportunity when Electric Rat was caught by Xiaoqiao and still pretending to be dead, picked up the Electric Rat, turned it off, and put it back in his pocket.

He came up to Xiaoqiao, crouched down with a smile, and said, "How about it, still upset, or feeling a little happier now?"

Xiaoqiao lifted her head, looking quite a bit happier and not as aggrieved as before.

"Ying ying~"

It seemed to say, "Alright, since you brought a toy for your master, I'll forgive you this time."

Fang Ye reached out his hand and gently stroked Xiaoqiao's head. Sugar Pack, the Crown Prince, and Youyou lay about a meter away, watching him pet Xiaoqiao as if enraptured by a TV drama.

After petting the fluffy tail for a while, Xiaoqiao suddenly got angry and turned around to bite!

"Ouch!"

Fang Ye was startled and quickly withdrew his hand, thankfully quick enough to avoid being bitten.

Xiaoqiao glared at him huffily as if to say, allowing you to touch my head is already a big compromise, you're never satisfied, and you even touched my tail!

That place is off-limits!

Fang Ye looked at Xiaoqiao's proud demeanor and couldn't help but laugh, thinking, "The mind of a fox is truly inscrutable, changing at a moment's notice."

He turned his head towards Youyou, who was watching the drama from the other side, and beckoned, "Youyou, come over and let me pet you too?"

"Ying~"

Youyou ran away timidly, but Sugar Pack happily trotted over, "Ying ying" vocalizing, and lay down on the ground exposing her white belly.

"You haven't had enough petting yet!" Fang Ye said with a laugh, as he scratched it again.

After leaving the enclosure, Zhuang Xiaobai asked curiously, "Zoo Director, I noticed that when the foxes were hunting just now, in addition to directly chasing prey, they also seemed to jump up and pounce from the air. Is there a reason for this?"

Fang Ye's expression suddenly turned solemn, his frown and gaze wavering as if reminiscing about the past, "You've come to the right person with this question. Have you ever heard of a palm strike that comes from the sky?

It is said to be a powerful martial arts technique passed down among foxes for generations, known as the 'Fox Ascent Palm Strike.' Later, Bodhidharma saw it and was inspired to create the 'Buddha Palm,' now part of the Shaolin Temple's scripture library."

Zhuang Xiaobai's face was lined with disbelief, "You think I haven't seen Stephen Chow's 'Kung Fu'? What nonsense you're spouting, as if it were true."

"Haha, just kidding, just kidding."

Fang Ye's face was beaming with a smile as he proceeded with a more serious explanation, "Well, indeed, this is a commonly used hunting technique by foxes, mainly for catching small rodents in dense grass.

They use their incredibly sensitive ears to detect the 'rustling' sounds of the animals moving, then pinpoint the precise location of the prey, and leap into the air toward it.

Think about it, running directly through the grass would make noise and alert the prey, causing it to flee, but pouncing from the air can surprise them and increase the success rate of hunting."

Zhuang Xiaobai realized, "So that's how it is."

Fang Ye added, "With a move like 'Fox Ascent Palm Strike,' the coverage can reach as far as 5 meters and 2 meters high. The higher the jump, the stronger the force upon landing.

Combined with the fox's ability to localize sounds, it can break through thick layers of snow and capture small animals buried a meter or even deeper beneath the snow.

Of course, there's also a downside to hunting in this way. You can't see what the prey is, and sometimes a fox might catch something like a shrew that it doesn't want to eat, and then it would just throw it away.

Actually, the ways foxes hunt are quite diverse, and some are far beyond human imagination.

For example, in an open area with no cover, they might adopt a hunting method similar to a fake decoy, approaching quietly when the prey is not looking, and freezing when it is being watched. They would slowly inch closer until they are near enough to sprint forward.

An American hunter once observed that a fox played with a stick near a group of ducks, repeatedly tossing the stick and picking it up. After the fox walked away, the curious ducks waddled over to take a closer look. That's when the fox ran back and snatched one of them.

That's why in many literary works and folk tales, foxes are often portrayed as tricksters, marked with the trait of cunning and deception."

Zhuang Xiaobai was truly enlightened and couldn't help but say in a strange tone, "Sly, so sly!"

It exuded a strong vibe of patriotic drama, and by the accent, it was at least that of a colonel.

...

After playing with the foxes, Fang Ye picked up a bouquet of flowers and a large durable cardboard box and headed to the tiger exhibit!

It was also an enrichment prop he drew yesterday.

[Bouquet of Flowers]: When animals sniff it, their mood increased by 20%.

Note: As the scent dissipates, the effect will disappear after three days, turning into a regular beautiful bouquet of flowers.

[Durable Cardboard Box]: More durable than ordinary cardboard boxes, increasing the satisfaction of tearing by 20%.

Upon arriving at the tiger exhibit, he greeted the animal keeper Bao and entered through the staff entrance.

At that moment, Jiaojiao and Ice Cake were playing in the pond!

Ice Cake was still quite young, and Jiaojiao thought it wasn't time for Ice Cake to learn to swim, preventing it from playing in the water every time it tried to go.

However, seeing Ice Cake's longing to play in the water, she allowed it to play in the shallow end, standing by the edge and blocking it back whenever Ice Cake playfully tried to run towards the deeper end.

The water depth in the shallow pool was about 5-15 cm, the shallowest part would not submerge a little tiger's head even if it laid down in it.

Right then, Ice Cake stood in the water, eyes fixed on a floating leaf, pawing and splashing in the water, enjoying itself immensely.

Seeing the leaf drift away, it crouched down and leapt! Pinning the leaf in its small paws.

But with that leap, a splash of water erupted, hitting its own face, and with a blink of its eyes, it shook its head with its mouth open.

Jiaojiao quietly lay on the side, looking at Ice Cake playing with the water with a soft gaze.

The splashes from Ice Cake's jumps also hit her face, and Jiaojiao, seemingly in a playful mood, slapped the water with her massive tiger paw, causing an even larger splash!

Rain started drizzling from the sky, and Ice Cake became drenched, looking like a drowned rat. Initially, only the fur on its belly was wet, but now it was damp all over.

"Waahhh!"

Whining, Ice Cake pounced towards Jiaojiao, biting and gnawing at Jiaojiao's tiger paw. Jiaojiao lowered her head and began gently licking Ice Cake's fur with her tongue.