Ponytail pondered, "Are you talking about the role of wildlife in the ecological environment?"
Fang Ye said, "The truth is that our separation from nature is too deep now, and many people lack an understanding of wildlife. They either demonize the animals or underestimate them.
Take this incident of the Amur tiger coming down from the mountains. At first, it was all about spectators and live broadcasts. Everyone was having a great time watching the excitement, saying that the ecological environment has improved. But then, when there were attacks on people, everyone suddenly became scared and anxious.
The commotion it caused here seemed like some sort of terrifying event. Many people feel that having a tiger nearby is unacceptable, yet in Russia, where there are far more tigers, they deal with over 100 human-tiger conflicts every year.
Some conflicts are minor, just tigers appearing around villages, while others are more serious, like tigers attacking livestock or dogs, and even people. There are different solutions for different conflicts.
Mount Liupan in Ningxia is one of the areas with the highest number of wild leopards in China. There, leopards can be found as close as 200 meters from villages. In winter, they also come down from the mountains to the relatively warmer farm fields and areas near residences to forage and keep warm.
While coexisting with humans, the leopards try to minimize contact with people to avoid conflict. The locals occasionally see leopards in the mountains and have never been attacked, so they affectionately call the leopard ’gentleman.’ Isn’t this also a harmonious coexistence?
It’s not that we can’t coexist. We have been coexisting with these animals from past to present, and they are not as scary as some think. Only through knowledge and understanding can people’s attitudes and ideas gradually change."
After listening, Ponytail said sincerely, "Thank you, Director! I will take note of the examples you mentioned. With them, I’ll be more persuasive when debating with trolls online."
Fang Ye couldn’t help but laugh and cry, "Why bother trying to convince trolls? I’ve never seen a troll admit they’re wrong online. They are stubborn even when they’re wrong. You might as well talk to your classmates and family members and consider it a form of science outreach. You’re a student at Xinghe University, right?"
Ponytail sighed, "Yeah. If I had known these animals were so interesting, I wouldn’t have studied software. I’m thinking about changing my major next semester!"
Fang Ye did not want to comment on the matter of changing majors, since it was tied to the student’s future development, but he suggested, "You could sit in on Teacher Wang Yan’s classes. He used to conduct research around Mount Liupan. I heard him talk about these things."
...
Liu Xueqing opened the door and stepped onto the balcony to take down some clothes.
Today was the weekend, and she was planning to take Yingying to the zoo, having heard that new animals were on display. Your journey continues with freewebnovel
While taking the clothes, she habitually glanced at the flowerpot on the edge of the balcony.
On the blooming trellis, there was a bird that resembled a pigeon, with a neck ringed with spots.
It was a spotted dove, which also turned its head to look at her.
Last time when Fang Ye was live-streaming, he mentioned that a pigeon was laying eggs on someone’s balcony; that person was Liu Xueqing.
Yingying’s grandmother had some flowers and plants on the balcony, and in one pot, the flowers had died. The empty pot was left untouched, and unexpectedly, a dove came to use it as a nest and laid an egg in it.
Initially, the dove, upon seeing people, was frightened and on guard, but since it had already laid its egg, it was reluctant to leave.
Liu Xueqing called the rescue center and they advised her not to worry, told her it was fine to take clothes as usual, just not to disturb the bird too frequently.
In fact, Liu Xueqing was quite delighted to have a bird come to her home; such a rare occurrence! Moreover, it allowed Yingying to observe animals at home and foster compassion.
She mentioned it to her family. Yingying’s grandmother welcomed the dove with a laugh, saying its nest-building was a sign of good fortune. Yingying was overjoyed and couldn’t contain her excitement, rushing to check on the dove’s egg-laying whenever she got home.
Liu Xueqing educated her not to stress the dove, as it might abandon the nest and leave. Therefore, Yingying would observe the dove only for a short while and, if she wanted to look longer, she would stand on a small stool outside the balcony.
The balcony door was usually left open for ventilation, except when it was hot in the summer and the air conditioning needed to be on. But now, they were careful to keep it closed when unnecessary to avoid disturbing the dove, and even lowered the volume of the TV inside the house.
The collared dove laid another egg in the flowerpot the following day, and the pair alternated shifts to keep watch, occasionally appearing together. However, the flowerpot could only accommodate one and a half doves, so the other usually stood on the railing looking around.
Liu Xueqing guessed that the female collared dove seemed a bit more timid, while the male dove would valiantly chase them away.
A few days after the egg was laid, Linhai experienced a bout of rain.
Perhaps the rain had caused the nest to become damp, so the following day the doves took turns bringing dry twigs from outside to the home, adding them to the flowerpot.
Yingying, eager to lend a helping hand, picked up some grass and branches from the lawn below the apartment complex and brought them back to the flowerpot.
At first, the collared doves flapped their wings as if they wanted to drive Yingying away, but in the end, they half-heartedly stuffed the dry twigs she had brought under their bodies.
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Two weeks had passed since the collared doves arrived, and Liu Xueqing’s family had grown accustomed to the presence of this special household member. The dores had also become less frightened and startled at the sight of them.
However, when approached closely, they would still crouch in the flowerpot, tuck their heads, and hide under the cover of other plants, putting on a "you can’t see me" act.
While retrieving clothes, Liu Xueqing noticed something fluffy underneath the dove.
Thinking it was just feathers for nesting, she was surprised to see the fluff move!
Upon closer inspection, her eyes widened, and she unconsciously covered her mouth.
The baby collared dove had hatched!
Its yellow down made it look somewhat like a chick or duckling, and its large eyes remained tightly shut, unopened.
Overcome with excitement, she quickly took a couple of photos.
Liu Xueqing had already taken many pictures: of the doves incubating, of them carrying twigs to build the nest, documenting the dove’s growth process, occasionally sharing them on her social media.
It used to be fashionable to show off one’s children, but now, not so much—showing off animals seems much more interesting.
Friends, colleagues, and even her boss would jokingly ask about the current state of her family’s collared dove upon meeting, urging her to post updates quickly.
"Hey, Yingying, our family’s dove has hatched its egg!"
Yingying heard the good news right after waking up.
She climbed onto a stool and eagerly peered at the newly hatched little collared dove through the balcony.
Although her view wasn’t very clear, the excitement was overwhelming!
Stretching her arms out, she imitated a little bird and started running back and forth in the living room.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
A question popped into her head: "Mama, how old do birds have to be to fly?"
Liu Xueqing laughed, "I don’t know, let’s observe together!"
Soon after, Yingying’s father drove the family of three to the zoo.