I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 679 - 678: The Porcupine Full of Quills

One hand supported Youyou's bottom, while an arm embraced her body.

The movement was exceedingly gentle, as if cradling a small infant.

Youyou obediently let him pick her up, her paws resting on Fang Ye's arm. Hearing his words, she let out a "yīng" in response, seemingly in protest.

However, Fang Ye laughed and said, "Anyway, since the prince is so chubby, a little bit of sneaking food is fine. It's even a good chance to lose some weight."

Seeing Lan Li taking pictures of her so close, Youyou seemed a bit embarrassed and shyly buried her head in Fang Ye's elbow.

"Hmm? Feeling shy?"

Fang Ye couldn't help but laugh, and he gently kissed Youyou's black ear.

Are the people gone?

Youyou lifted her head, her clear, bright eyes looking towards the camera before burying her head again.

Her gaze was coy and slightly seductive, setting the viewers' hearts aflutter! They were once again struck by Cupid's arrow.

"Alright, alright, go play by yourself."

Fang Ye put Youyou down on the ground, and instantly, she ran away in a flash.

In the end, he came up to Xiaoqiao and greeted her with a smile, "Xiaoqiao?"

Xiaoqiao grunted, turned her head away, and haughtily ignored Fang Ye!

Big meanie, always deceiving me, saying you'll come to play with me often, but you only play for a little while each time.

Even when you come over, you don't greet me first but go to the other foxes.

Now I'm unhappy, don't look for me! You won't get to pet me!

Seeing Fang Ye reaching out, she snorted and opened her mouth to reveal sharp canine teeth, ready to bite in a fierce manner.

Fang Ye quickly withdrew his hand and soothed her, "What's the matter, are you angry? I didn't want to bother you just now because I saw you eating!"

Xiaoqiao's ears flicked back, showing she was not pleased.

Grumbling and grunting as if to accuse him of his crimes!

Fang Ye spoke in a soft, gentle voice to soothe her, and after a long while, he finally managed to get Xiaoqiao's forgiveness, albeit reluctantly, allowing him to pet her a few times.

While being petted, she occasionally let out high-pitched "yīng yīng" cries, squinted her eyes, and happily wagged her fluffy tail non-stop.

Viewers watching this scene couldn't help but exclaim:

"The zookeeper really treats the animals as if they were his own children, even coaxing them when they're upset."

"Every time I visit Xiaoqiao, she's perched on a rock or a log, exuding an aloof and 'strangers keep away' demeanor. Even the animal keepers don't seem to get a friendly reaction from her, but under the zookeeper's touch, she also reveals her gentle side."

"I've always felt the zookeeper has magic! The animals seem to understand what he says."

"Actually, the zookeeper once said, there's no special trick; it's all about treating animals with sincerity and love. When you're kind to animals, they can feel it.

I once adopted a stray cat that seemed to have been abandoned due to illness. It looked pretty ugly. I patiently treated it with medicine every day, and now it's healed. It doesn't like being held or petted by others, but when it sees me come home, it runs over very enthusiastically."

The porcupine enclosure!

In order to replicate the porcupine's natural habitat, it resembles a rural earthen slope with grasslands and sparse sand and gravel, scattered with fallen leaves, large rocks, and some large tree trunks and dead branches serving as shelter.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

Porcupines are not as agile as red foxes, so instead of glass walls, there's a stone wall serving as a barrier.

Inside the activity area, several porcupines are gathered together. Some are sniffing around on the ground in search of food, and a few are lying on the grass, lying there quietly basking in the sun, bathed in sunshine, appearing very docile.

Porcupines are sociable animals, with only the solitary ones being alone, so they are kept in groups.

Their black bodies have black and white interspersed quills that resemble arrows, and the quills are longer than their bodies.

The quills on the head and neck are finer, resembling a gray-white brush, and they wobble as they move.

"What the heck is this, a hedgehog?"

"It's a porcupine, don't you recognize a porcupine?"

"Indeed, I've never seen one!"

"My understanding of porcupines comes from the story of porcupines keeping warm. Their quills will prick each other, so they have to maintain a distance that's neither too far nor too close."

"It does look a bit like a hedgehog, but those quills are really long!"

Indeed, a good number of visitors mistakenly call it a hedgehog! Mixing up animal names is a common occurrence.

Fang Ye introduced, "This is the Malayan porcupine, a common animal in the southern regions of our country!

Although it is covered in quills and is also a nocturnal animal like the hedgehog, they are not related at all. Porcupines are true rodents, more closely related to animals like squirrels and rats!

As for why it's called 'pig,' the name comes from the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas,' which describes it as 'having the shape of a pig but white, with quills large like hairpins and black-tipped, called the grand swine,' which implies a pig with quills!"

"Makes sense, a hippopotamus isn't a horse either!"

Although porcupines are a common countryside animal, they are indeed quite interesting to watch.

The most captivating feature is their long, hard quills on their backs!

Watching the porcupines roam and forage, their quills swaying gently, a netizen couldn't help asking, "Oh, Mr. Zookeeper, I forgot where I read that porcupine quills can shoot out like hidden weapons, is that true?"

Fang Ye laughed and said, "You might have been influenced by cartoons! That's actually not the case. Porcupine quills are just hardened hairs growing from hair follicles, and there's no muscular tissue around the follicles that could launch the quills, so they can't be fired.

Their quills are a passive defense weapon, both hard and sharp. Due to their structure, once they stick into something, they easily fall off, complete with barbs on them.

These quills usually lie flat on their backs, but when porcupines encounter an enemy and feel scared or angry, they will quickly stand their quills on end.

These quills are hollow, and the ones on their tail are like a bunch of broken spikes held together. When shaken, they rub against each other, making a 'clack clack' warning sound, similar to the function of a rattlesnake's tail. Everyone, take notice!"

If intimidation doesn't work, the porcupine will turn its back and rump towards the enemy and back into them. If a predator tries to attack, it will get poked. Once the porcupine's quills enter the attacker's body, they bury deeper and deeper, causing immense pain to the victim, and the wound could become further infected.

So, most carnivorous animals are well aware of the porcupine's ferocity and never risk offending them. Some predators, either out of ignorance or extreme hunger, that attack porcupines might kill them, but they end up with gaping, spiny wounds – potentially their last meal."

"Wow, impressive!"

"This thing is like a dragon turtle with a thorny shell! Attacking me is like hitting yourself."

"'Because I'm Too Afraid of Pain, I'm Going to Max Out My Defense' /dog emoji"

"I watched a documentary about a leopard hunting a porcupine. In the end, it managed to eat it, but its mouth and paws were full of quills, bleeding continuously, it was awful. It seemed to end up dying with a quill pierced into its heart. But with such severe injuries to its paws, it wouldn't have been able to run fast anyway, so it was doomed."