Yingying asked in wonder, "What kind of bird is this?"
Liu Xueqing was not quite sure, "Could it be a pelican?"
Given the large pouch-like structure under its bill, it must be a pelican.
Yingying’s father said, "I saw on their official account that Waterfowl Lake has opened recently, right? It seems they’ve brought in quite a few water birds, like swans, mandarin ducks, flamingos, and the like."
"Oh~" Liu Xueqing suddenly felt puzzled again, "Then why is the pelican here? Shouldn’t it be at Waterfowl Lake?"
Yingying’s father shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn’t know either!
The zoo had treated the flying feathers of the swans and other birds that were to be released into Waterfowl Lake, clipping one among every one or two feather shafts.
Clipping the tips of their wings restricted their ability to fly, which, although convenient for management, was somewhat barbaric, and visitors didn’t feel comfortable seeing it.
This method of feather-clipping was a bit better, allowing short-distance flying ability but preventing them from flying too far.
Waterfowl Lake was not covered with a big net like the bird exhibit!
Therefore, these birds did not necessarily stay obediently in Waterfowl Lake, and some flew out.
This pelican must have seen the watery environment of ring-tailed lemur island and decided to land here.
Yingying repeated twice, "Pelican? Pelican?"
This bird looks so strange, and its name is strange too!
"Dad, take a photo of it!"
Yingying’s father laughed, "Okay!"
The lotus leaves in the water had already grown out, but the flowers had not yet bloomed.
The deep green wave-shaped leaves grew in clusters in the water, and the pelican swam leisurely among them, looking very relaxed, just like an ink wash painting.
The pelicans at Linhai Zoo were white pelicans, whose feathers appeared pure white but upon closer inspection revealed a faint pink tint. The black flight feathers beneath their wings and the signature yellow throat pouch made them distinctive.
With a dip of the head, its long bill could touch the surface of the water.
Compared to the pelicans in the water, those on the shore looked much sillier.
At the moment, it was pecking at a capybara’s head!
The ring-tailed lemurs got along well with the capybaras; they really liked the capybaras, would ride on them, hug their thighs, and flock around them—and the capybaras didn’t mind the attention.
Two of the capybaras were usually kept with the ring-tailed lemurs, while the other two mingled with other animals, rotating periodically through the tropical bird exhibit, raccoon exhibit, mixed-species areas, and various exhibits.
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The capybara was bent down eating leaves when the pelican opened its mouth wide and clamped down over the capybara’s head.
It seemed quite curious about the capybara.
What’s this thing? I’ve never seen it! Can it be eaten?
The capybara, with eyes half-closed, wore an expression of serene indifference and shook its head.
It glanced at the pelican as if to say it was speechless!
Is there something wrong with this bird’s brain? I’m one meter long; do you think you can swallow me whole? Do you have any sense of how big your mouth is?
One could say that the pelican is the goofy character of the bird world!
Whether or not something is edible, it will first open its mouth to try to gulp it down.
Upon seeing cats and dogs, it will try to gulp them down.
Upon seeing geese, it will try to gulp them down.
Upon seeing giraffes, it will try to gulp them down.
Even when it comes to children visiting the zoo and the animal keepers who care for them daily, it will attempt to snag their heads with its mouth, which is both amusing and incredulous.
The pelican pecked at the capybara’s back again, and the capybara, squinting its eyes, shook its body!
Visitors found it very entertaining, "Haha, are they scraping therapy for it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, right there, use some force, master!"
"The capybara has such a good temper!
"Huge as they are, a pelican can’t swallow one whole!"
"So is this the legendary ’pelican gobble’?"
"It’s like when I play the claw machine, no matter how I try, I can’t grab the toy!"
The pelican, seemingly unwilling to give up, spread its wings and took a few steps with its large webbed feet, tilting its head and nipping at the capybara’s cheek again.
The capybara, by now accustomed to the attention, nonchalantly continued munching on the leaves!
Having realized it truly couldn’t swallow the capybara, the pelican retracted its neck, looking quite wronged.
A visitor commented gravely, "Despite the pelican’s amusing appearance, it’s actually a very ferocious bird! It really wanted to eat the capybara, if only it could swallow it."
Another tourist, somewhat worried upon hearing this, said, "Then it feels like these ring-tailed lemurs might be a bit in danger!"
"Shouldn’t be, right? They’re so agile; they surely won’t just stand there and let the pelican swallow them like the capybara."
Someone asked animal keeper Yang just to be sure!
Yang couldn’t help but laugh, although pelicans weren’t his responsibility, he knew what was going on from chatting in the group, "Not at all, these pelicans are quite picky eaters, only eating small crucian carps the size of your palm!
When they first arrived, our keepers tried to feed the pelicans some blackfish, but they wouldn’t eat them.
This attempt to swallow a capybara is just an expression of the pelican’s instinct to try swallowing anything when it’s leisurely.
Over at Waterfowl Lake, there’s a chance to witness the pelicans being fed.
The ring-tailed lemurs are too big for a pelican’s appetite! Can’t be swallowed at all.
There might be videos of pelicans eating birds, but if they’re full from fish, they won’t eat birds unless it’s a very exceptional case."
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Relieved, the visitors finally let go of their concerns.
The ring-tailed lemurs were also very curious about this new visitor!
There were seven or eight ring-tailed lemurs watching the capybara and the pelican, some squatting on the rocks, others sitting on treetops with their bright orange eyes intently focused on the pelican.
One particularly brave lemur approached the pelican.
As soon as the pelican saw the ring-tailed lemur approaching, it immediately stretched its neck and opened its beak to grab the lemur!
The ring-tailed lemur instantly became alert and stopped, flattenings its body against the ground like a toad, then forcefully kicked with its hind legs, its long tail whipping like a propeller to control its direction, and with a "swoosh", it jumped onto an adjacent branch and from there to another tree!
It created distance in an instant.
Turning its head, the pelican looked stunned as if to say, "Wow, what a move!"
Several ring-tailed lemurs watched the pelican for a while, then leisurely turned and walked away, making room for others to come and observe.
Because the pelican’s open beak was a bit scary, everyone maintained a distance.
The ring-tailed lemurs had their own entertainment.
Right then, two of them were playing with a three-section bamboo tube hanging from a tree, making it swing back and forth.
A hole had been made in the middle of the bamboo tube, just big enough for a ring-tailed lemur’s paw to reach inside!
Compared to the rough bark, the bamboo tube was much smoother, making it a challenge to cling onto it while maintaining balance and fishing out food from the hole.
One ring-tailed lemur tried it, then quickly jumped away, while another tightly hugged the tube, sticking its mouth right beside the hole to pull a piece of apple closer. The apple caught on the edges and couldn’t come out, so it just held on and began to eat.
Right now, two ring-tailed lemurs were grooming each other’s fur, appearing to have a close relationship.
There was a "hammock" made of sticks, ropes, and canvas, hanging under a tree trunk. One lemur sat in it, watching the others, then jumped to another place.
Life was rich.