Chapter 680: Cunning Humans!

The keeper entered the activity area and placed the boxes in various places!

Some were hidden high up in the branches, some in haystacks, some in the bushes.

Some were buried in the ground after digging a small hole with a boot, then covered with nearby fallen leaves, and some were stuffed into the gaps between bricks.

Fang Ye smiled and asked, "Does anyone know why we do this?"

Regular viewers of Fang Ye's live streams or visitors to the zoo were familiar with the concept of food enrichment.

They quickly answered, "Because this simulates the natural foraging behavior of animals in the wild! In the wild, animals spend a lot of time foraging each day. In the zoo, without foraging opportunities, they get bored with nothing to do!"

"It helps exercise their various abilities, like their sense of smell and their paws."

Fang Ye said, "That's right. During the foraging process, an animal's brain is in an excited and happy state, similar to how we humans feel when playing games and spending money. The process of spending money is the most enjoyable.

Before spending, you think about how much you can recharge, what cards you can draw, showing off in the guild, everyone praising you, and forming a powerful team in the arena. When you draw cards and see the colorful lights, you get very excited.

But after spending, the excitement fades, and you start to feel bored, even regretful, thinking you could have spent the money on something else, like having hot pot with friends."

"Ouch! That hit home."

"Too real! Every time I spend money, I regret it afterward."

"Can the director remove the surveillance cameras from my room?"

Fang Ye continued, "For animals, the joy starts to fade once they get the food. Food enrichment extends their joy, providing positive welfare for the animals.

Foxes are very smart animals. If the food is hidden too simply, they can easily find it, reducing the effectiveness of the enrichment.

So our keepers have to outsmart them in the process of hiding the food.

You might notice the keepers rubbing the branches and stones in various places. This is to spread the water used to thaw the mice, which carries their scent, in different spots.

Also, when digging holes to hide the mice, not every hole contains a mouse. Some holes are empty.

The keepers also use their feet to shuffle the leaves, creating traces of movement to mislead the foxes.

If the foxes want to find the mice more accurately, they need to use their sense of smell more effectively, unless they are willing to waste their energy.

Wild animals are very energy-efficient."

The viewers were fascinated: "Wow! This food enrichment is so advanced."

"Listening to the director's explanation, I feel like I'm watching a sports match!"

"Really, you can't see the ingenuity behind these seemingly ordinary actions without the director's explanation."

"I can almost see the foxes cursing the cunning keepers while searching for food! /laughcry"

"With such enrichment and environment, the animals can definitely retain more of their natural instincts!"

"I never knew there was so much to feeding animals."

When the keeper finished and left the activity area, the foxes couldn't wait to rush in!

Xiao Qiao, who hadn't been lured by the food earlier, had stayed in the activity area, pretending not to care but secretly observing the keeper's actions.

When the keeper looked at her, she quickly turned her head, pretending nothing happened.

She probably thought she had found a loophole, feeling very smug!

With a smirk, she thought, "I'm the smartest fox."

She jumped off the rock and quickly ran to a bush, digging up the fallen leaves with her paws and happily digging into the soil.

The soft soil, with fresh traces of being turned over, was a sure sign that the keeper had hidden something delicious underneath!

Her paws moved like little motors, rapidly tossing the soil aside.

But as she dug, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

It shouldn't be buried too deep, so why couldn't she find it?

She frowned, sniffing the air carefully.

Staring blankly at the hole, her eyes gradually narrowed, emitting a sharp aura.

Panting heavily, she bared her teeth, revealing sharp canines, and was furious.

"Damn, they tricked me! Humans are cunning liars!"

Tang Bao followed the traces and scent, eventually stopping in front of a stone.

Tilting her head, she looked at the stone, then at the fallen leaves, seemingly puzzled by the clues.

"Hmm, did the keeper double back here? Which way did they go?"

The viewers watched the foxes search for food with great interest: "Haha, Xiao Qiao got tricked and is so angry!"

"Anyone want to bet on which fox will find the food first?"

"The head tilt is so cute!"

Fang Ye said, "Animals are very sensitive to their environment! From the scent of a pile of droppings, they can gather a lot of information. By looking at the traces on the grass, they can tell which direction an animal went.

Just like how ducks know when the spring water warms up and cicadas sense the autumn wind before it arrives, animals react to seasonal changes before we humans even notice.

In an unchanging environment, animals lose their keen sense of their surroundings, becoming indifferent to changes, or even fearful. Pet cats might get startled by a mouse.

These enrichments encourage animals to explore and master their environment, making them curious and confident, displaying a lively and active state.

Youyou used to be a very timid fox, scared of people and even pretending to be dead. Now, she's much braver."

"That's true! When I visited the zoo last time, I greeted Youyou, and she even barked at me."

"That's great!"

"Mi Laodi" gifted an airplane!

"Gongzi Ka Xiaoyao" gifted an airplane!

"Brewster" gifted 20 dumplings!

Prince was very sharp when it came to food.

Sniffing around, he quickly found a small box hidden in the bushes and dug it out.

Lowering his head, he sneakily looked around, took out the mouse, and hid it in a corner, burying it in the soil again.

While Prince was hiding the food, Youyou peeked out from behind a tree trunk, showing a sly expression as if she was secretly laughing.

"Hehe, I've noted this spot! I'll dig it up later!"

Tang Bao, sniffing carefully in the activity area, suddenly noticed a familiar figure behind the glass wall.

"Hey, isn't that the director?"

Excitedly, she rushed to the glass, wagging her tail and chirping, "Yingying!"