Chapter 754: The Story of the Mallard Duck

Fang Ye said, "These landscape ponds are unusable for birds and other small animals.

If we slightly modify the pond, making the edges lower or adding a small slope with some protrusions for footing, small animals can drink from it, perhaps giving them a better chance of survival.

A girl in Nanjing set up two infrared cameras near a small puddle formed after rain in a small forest near her home.

She had asked residents who had lived there for five or six years, and they all said there were no wild animals around, at most rats and snakes.

However, after setting up the cameras, she captured footage of brown shrikes, azure-winged magpies, spotted doves, collared scops owls, and dozens of other bird species coming to drink, bathe, play, and court. A yellow weasel came to forage, and months later, it returned with its family. At night, hedgehogs were seen foraging in the soil.

Right next to the bustling road, under the shade of a few trees and nourished by a bit of rainwater, so many small animals were striving to survive.

The small scale of these urban ponds and green spaces matches the small scale of many wild animals."

"I've read that news too! I never knew there were so many wild animals in the city."

"During the pandemic, I took my camera to the green spaces outside my community and photographed over thirty bird species! I never imagined that in a bustling city, there could be so many natural creatures."

"There used to be a small puddle near my home, a paradise for butterflies, bees, toads, and many other animals. But after they paved the road, it became much less lively."

"Actually, cities don't need to be so rigid and orderly. A slope at the edge of a pond and some stones can create a vibrant ecological pond that is better both aesthetically and ecologically than a sterile landscape pond."

"In my neighborhood, we have white-headed bulbuls and magpies. Sometimes they rest on the air conditioner outside my window. I placed a bowl of water there and found feathers in it. Birds actually came to drink."

Viewers watched as the birds drank their fill and flew away contentedly, buzzing with excitement.

Fang Ye continued, "This story was told by Professor Wang Yan, and it happened at Peking University.

A young mallard duck mother was leading her newly hatched ducklings across the campus, familiarizing them with the environment and heading to the pond for a swim.

In the pond, the ducklings swam for the first time and had a great time.

But after half an hour, the mother mallard was ready to return to shore and realized there was a problem.

She could fly up, but the ducklings, not yet able to fly and still weak, couldn't.

The mother mallard swam around the edge of the pond, quacking anxiously, and the ducklings followed her in circles.

If they couldn't get out of the pond, the ducklings might die from exhaustion right after being born.

Seeing this, Professor Wang Yan decided to help.

Using a net to catch them might scare the ducks, causing them to flee and waste more energy.

So, they placed a ladder at the edge of the pond.

The mother mallard, very cautious, kept her distance, but once the ladder was set up, she quickly came to inspect it.

They then modified the ladder, adding plywood and felt to make it more 'duck-friendly.' After two hours, just as the sun was setting, a brave little duckling took the first step.

Soon, the entire brood followed the ladder and left the pond."

"Wow, so touching!"

Protecting wildlife may sound grand, but it doesn't necessarily require doing something earth-shattering.

Just creating some favorable conditions can make a significant difference, making cities more ecologically natural.

Nearby, a display board showed a comparison of two types of ponds and their impact on animals.

The pond was surrounded by tall trees, with shrubs and tall grass underneath, all native plants.

The varied vegetation provided abundant food for insects, which in turn fed birds, and offered cover for small animals transitioning from dense vegetation to open areas. Raccoons, civets, and otters could rest in the dense grass during the day.

These trees and shrubs were ideal resting, singing, and nesting sites for birds, being far from buildings but close to water and food sources. The leaf litter under the trees was left to decompose naturally, turning into humus and nurturing life.

In the middle of the community's greenbelt, there were decorative walls made of hollow bricks with green vines climbing them. The cavities in the walls could serve as nests for bats and birds.

There were no curbstones between the greenbelt and the road, so small animals wouldn't be hindered when crossing the road during migration.

In the corners, there were brush piles, made by stacking stones and wood and filling them with soil mixed with native plant seeds. These were planted with thorny, climbing protective plants, creating natural shelters for small animals.

As Fang Ye walked, he explained!

The greenbelt in the community was arranged this way.

Such an environment indeed attracted many small animals. Along the way, you could hear the pleasant singing of birds and see them flying between the bushes and trees.

Walking further, they reached a small plaza for visitors to rest, with benches and trash cans.

What caught the eye were various cat statues in different poses.

Some were curled up, lazily sunbathing by the flower bed. Some stood on tiptoe, paws on the edge of a trash can, seemingly looking for food. Others poked their heads out of the bushes, looking around.

A curious viewer asked, "Is this area themed around stray cats?"

Fang Ye replied, "That's right! When talking about urban animals, we can't ignore stray cats.

Some say that cats eat mice, so having stray cats is good because they help eliminate mice. In reality, cats are opportunistic predators. They'll eat mice, rabbits, small birds, and frogs—anything of suitable size, not just mice.

Researchers have studied the diet of stray cats, and birds make up 20%-30% of it. The diet varies by region, but they undoubtedly prey on birds.

No matter how rare a bird is, to a cat, it's just meat, unlike what many people think of as safe and harmless."

Some might argue that other animals also eat birds. However, domestic cats, descended from various wildcat species and bred to serve humans, are no longer part of the natural ecosystem.

When they return to the wild, they are not wild animals but invasive species, similar to scavenger fish and red-eared sliders.

Wild animals eating birds doesn't disrupt the natural balance, but stray cats do, and their impact is significant."