Chapter 3 What Are You Doing, Director!
Through the Eye of Observation, Fang Ye seemed to sense Jiaojiao's feelings.
The longing for food!
A normally weighted female tiger in the zoo needed to eat about 12 to 15 jin (approximately 6 to 7.5 kg) of raw meat a day, while the male tiger's appetite was around 18 to 20 jin (approximately 9 to 10 kg).
The Eye of Observation only displayed a few basic pieces of information.
Fang Ye instinctively felt that he could see even more!
With a single thought, his mental energy began to deplete even faster in his mind.
Suddenly, beneath Jiaojiao's stat panel, a few more items appeared.
Health status: Good
Aggression desire: Low
"Roar!!"
Jiaojiao suddenly let out a roar, her muscles tensed, her back arched, and her tail flicked across the ground, looking around warily, as if sensing some kind of threat.
"Yikes!" Lan Li nearly fell over, and Fang Ye also got a fright, interrupting the casting of the Eye of Observation.
Jiaojiao looked around with a puzzled gaze, her tense muscles slowly relaxing, returning to her docile demeanor, quietly sitting there, waiting for Fang Ye to feed her.
Fang Ye had a realization: "Animals have a very sharp sixth sense! The so-called 'beast-like intuition.' The Eye of Observation puts certain visual pressure on animals while observing them.
If it only gathers common information, there's not much issue, but wanting to access deeper information can trouble them. It seems there's a technique to using this skill."
Not bad!
With feedback from the Eye of Observation, Fang Ye felt much more confident.
It seemed Jiaojiao was in a reasonably good mood today and didn't have much of an aggressive urge; there was hope for completing the task.
"Zookeeper, here you go!"
Lan Li threaded a large chunk of fresh beef onto a long stick and passed it to Fang Ye.
She herself didn't dare to feed the tiger!
"Hmm!"
Fang Ye took it and was about to feed Jiaojiao when a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.
"What if I just hand the meat over directly?"
It was both to test Jiaojiao's reaction and to get himself accustomed to it in advance!
After all, he was planning on making close contact with Jiaojiao later!
He removed the meat from the stick, and in the astonished eyes of Lan Li, held it in his hand and steadily reached into the cage, murmuring softly, "Good girl, come on, it's mealtime..."
"Zookeeper! What are you doing, Zookeeper!"
Accompanying Lan Li's tearful exclamation, Jiaojiao stood up on her hind legs, her massive paws resting on the horizontal bars of the iron fence, and she tilted her head and bit down!
"It's okay, it's okay~"
Fang Ye smiled with calm composure, "Such a big piece of meat, the tiger can't possibly swallow it in one bite, I won't get bitten."
Though he said this, two drops of cold sweat appeared on the back of his neck.
Watching the tiger crunching the meat, with fangs as sharp and thick as daggers moving under his eyelids, was indeed a bit of a thrill!
Lan Li let out a cry of amazement, "Eh???"
To Jiaojiao, there didn't seem to be anything different about today, and she had no idea what the humans outside were thinking.
Her mind was simple; her eyes focused only on the piece of fresh beef, eating with contented concentration.
When only a small half remained, Fang Ye let go, and the beef fell to the ground, swept away by Jiaojiao's front paws.
As she neared fullness, her eating movements became slower and more deliberate.
After finally finishing, Jiaojiao lifted her head, licked her paws and the corners of her mouth clean, then leisurely strolled to another spot, lying down on the concrete floor. She glanced at Fang Ye, who hadn't moved away, then idly gazed out of the cage at the scenery, apparently deep in thought.
Eye of Observation!
[Amur Tiger: Jiaojiao
Age: 3 years old
Mood: Bored/Daydreaming]
"Eh," Fang Ye sighed internally.
The level of zoos on the Blue Planet was truly poor!
Animal welfare isn't just about feeding animals until they're full—that's the bare minimum.
To make animals feel comfortable in captivity in zoos requires much work.
For example, to spare them from the pressure of being constantly watched by visitors, to give them opportunities to express their natural behaviors, and so on.
There's a lot of meticulously thought-out details inside!
But the animals here can only stay in dull, monotonous cages day after day.
"Director?"
Lan Li called out softly.
Fang Ye came back to his senses and smiled, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave, I still have something to do."
Lan Li blinked, asking with confusion, "We've already cleaned the animal houses and fed them for today, right?"
"I'm planning to go in and play with Jiaojiao for a while. Don't you think she's very lonely?"
╭(°A°`)╮
Lan Li's mouth fell open in shock, "Director, you're not kidding, are you?"
Do you think Jiaojiao's meals aren't good enough and you're planning to be her next course?
Seeing that Fang Ye was serious, really about to open the cage door, Lan Li panicked, clutching his wrist and dragging him back like a rabbit pulling up a carrot, "Director, tigers are really dangerous! And there are rules in the zoo!"
Fang Ye scratched his head, "That's true, you should step back first."
Lan Li was about to lose her mind, "That's not what I mean!"
Why did the director seem like a completely different person today, starting to court death in inventive ways?
He must have knocked his head silly from that collision earlier, right!
Fang Ye explained, "First, we feed Jiaojiao every day, so she's quite accustomed to us now, and therefore, familiar gestures shouldn't be too alarming. Look, wasn't she very well-behaved when she was eating just now?
Second, she is naturally quite docile, and now that she's full, she has even less desire to attack anyone.
Third, as a zoo, it's our responsibility to provide better welfare for the animals. Looking at Jiaojiao, don't you think she's very bored?"
It seemed reasonable, but actually, everything he said was nonsense. For an animal keeper, the idea that an animal wouldn't attack because it's familiar with them was absolutely unthinkable!
But Fang Ye had the Eye of Observation, and that made him want to take the risk.
After hearing Fang Ye's words, Lan Li glanced at Jiaojiao unconsciously and suddenly felt an illusion, as if she saw two flames flickering in her eyes.
Only those flames looked somewhat dispirited.
"Well, then, Director, be careful," Lan Li said earnestly, "I'll get the hose used for washing the cage over there. If she dares to bite you, I'll spray her."
Fang Ye couldn't help but pat her head, "Don't worry, I'm confident."
Actually, if Jiaojiao really tried to bite him, that soft rubber hose would be useless—nothing more than a slightly larger water gun, purely fit for giving a tiger a bath.
But after all, it was the thought that counted.
Once Lan Li got the hose, and with a serious expression, gestured an 'OK' to him, Fang Ye calmed his emotions and entered the cage.
Inside the cage.
Jiaojiao was lying on the ground, staring blankly outside, when she suddenly heard the sound of the iron gate moving.
She instinctively looked over.
Hmm? Wasn't this the human who had been feeding her recently?
But usually there was a fence between them, so why not this time?
Seeing Jiaojiao looking towards him, Fang Ye felt nervous, yet somewhat excited.
From a distance, he first used his Eye of Observation skill.
Mood: Puzzled.
Safe!
With a smile on his face, Fang Ye walked in a diagonal line, slowly approaching Jiaojiao's position while being cautious, keeping the Eye of Observation constantly active.
He was afraid that walking straight up to her would startle Jiaojiao.
Approaching slowly like this gave her time to adjust.
If there were any changes, there would also be some buffer.
When he was less than 3 meters away, Jiaojiao's body twitched slightly, looking a bit nervous.
Mood: Anxious!
She bared her teeth and huffed warningly, like a cat getting angry.
Fang Ye immediately stopped moving, gazing gently at Jiaojiao, still maintaining a smile on his face.
Outside the cage, Lan Li swallowed and gripped the hose, not daring to even breathe heavily.