Chapter 717: Parrot Competition?

The alpacas weren't the only ones experiencing issues!

The penguins, accustomed to being watched by visitors, appeared quite puzzled by the absence of familiar faces. They would look around from their stone platforms, trying to spot any visitors.

"Visitors, where have you gone?"

The penguins weren't necessarily lonely, just used to the presence of visitors. The sudden disappearance of visitors left them feeling uneasy.

Other animals like giraffes, elephants, lions, and tigers exhibited similar behaviors, often standing motionless and gazing toward the viewing areas, wondering when the visitors would return.

Not all animals were affected by the absence of visitors.

The water birds in the zoo's waterfowl lake, such as pelicans, continued to enjoy themselves. They ate when hungry, flew around when they felt like it, swam when tired, or basked in the sun on the perches. They remained curious, occasionally pecking at random objects, sometimes even the heads of swans, leading to inevitable battles.

Their behavior showed no difference from when visitors were around.

Some animals were even happier and more carefree, like the red pandas and giant pandas.

The two red panda cubs, Hawthorn and Brown Sugar, usually played around their parents but would get nervous and startled by visitors' attention. Now, they were much more lively, running around the grass, using Red Bean as a saddle and playing leapfrog on her back.

Cloud and Zhuang Zhuang enjoyed their meals, slept soundly, and played happily every day.

In the past, at Hong Kong Ocean Park, two giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, had tried to mate for nine years since reaching mating age at five, but failed each year. However, during the pandemic closure, they successfully mated naturally.

This shows that the constant observation and noise from visitors were significant disturbances for the solitary giant pandas.

Many other animals also preferred not to mate in front of visitors. Some zoos would move them to off-exhibit areas or dedicated breeding bases during breeding periods to provide a quiet environment for romance.

The zoo closure presented an opportunity; perhaps without visitor interference, Cloud and Zhuang Zhuang might successfully produce a pair of adorable panda cubs.

The parrots were the ones truly affected!

Parrots are highly intelligent, and enriching their environment is a challenge for keepers, who must constantly come up with new activities. Otherwise, the parrots quickly grow bored of their toys.

They are also the zoo's most social animals. Previously, when the birdhouse was temporarily closed for green peafowl egg incubation, the parrots showed signs of collective depression, worrying the keepers who feared a contagious disease.

Now, without visitors, they were once again feeling down.

So, Fang Ye decided to organize an entertainment event for the parrots to cheer them up.

In a meeting with the keepers, they discussed the idea. With no need to give visitor presentations, everyone had more free time.

Apart from routine animal care and meetings, they spent their free time strolling around the zoo, playing cards, soaking in hot springs, or enjoying hotpot.

Hearing about the fun idea, everyone eagerly joined the discussion.

Keeper Xiao Yang furrowed his brow in deep thought, "Organize an event for the parrots? How do we do that?"

He Yifei rubbed his chin and chuckled, "Why did I suddenly think of a school sports day?"

Keeper Xiao Nie, who had been thinking seriously, suddenly brightened up, "Now that you mention it, I have an idea! We could let the parrots participate in some activities from human sports days! Like a tug-of-war competition, which is simple and has a competitive element."

Keeper Xiao Xin enthusiastically suggested, "For competition, how about soccer! We could set up goals on both sides, and the parrots would win by getting the ball into the goal."

Keeper Xiao Bao said, "That might be too difficult! Tug-of-war is simple; just divide the parrots into two teams and make sure they don't run off. But can they understand which goal to take the ball to in soccer?"

Fang Ye smiled, "Our parrots are quite smart, so we can consider it! The rules aren't the main thing; what's important is that the parrots have fun and find enjoyment. These two events sound good. Any other ideas?"

The intelligent macaws that had drunk the magical water were very clever. They could understand simple rules with a bit of explanation.

Other parrots might find it harder to understand, but they admired their leaders and followed instructions well.

Watching how their leaders did it, they would quickly learn.

"Hmm... How about a flying race with obstacles, flying from one point to another? See who flies the fastest?"

"Add a relay race for some teamwork! One parrot flies from the first point to the second, and the second parrot takes the baton to the third point!"

"That sounds too complicated! How would parrots understand the baton-passing rule and know which way to fly?"

"Haha, but it sounds fun. It would be interesting if it worked."

"Oh, I have an idea! Similar to the soccer game, we could have a bean-picking competition. The parrots compete to pick up beans, and the one who picks the most in a set time wins."

"With so many parrots, team events are better so everyone can participate. Individual events would be harder to manage."

Everyone shared their ideas freely, discussing various activities, but they ultimately decided that tug-of-war and soccer seemed the most feasible.

As for the competition tools, tug-of-war required just a rope, a common enrichment item in the zoo.

For the soccer game, they needed small balls suitable for parrots. Walnuts were a natural option, but giving walnuts to parrots would be like handing them food...

So, the crafty keepers would have to carve some wooden balls.

...

Such a fun event for the parrots had to be live-streamed.

Once the competition tools were ready, Fang Ye called Blue Carp and started the live stream!

"They're live!"

"Ugh, staying home all day is so hard! I feel like I'm going to mold!"

"Who isn't? We can't go out and play now!"

"Only the cute animals can soothe my wounded heart!"

"Director, please live stream more during this time. The zoo is closed, so you should have plenty of free time."

"Yes, yes, stream for eight hours a day, that wouldn't be too much!"

Fang Ye laughed, "It's not just everyone feeling cooped up; with the zoo closed and no visitors, our animals are also feeling a bit out of sorts, especially the parrots, who are quite down.

Today, we're planning a competition to help them expend some energy and rediscover their joy!"