He Yifei held a bag of mooncakes and asked Qian Keke and Tang Xiaoxin with a smile, "Kids, would you like to feed the macaws by yourselves?"
Because it was a holiday today, Fang Ye had evaluated the safety and decided that kids who made mooncakes could interact with so animals that were not very aggressive and had gentle dispositions, like red pandas and macaws.
Qian Keke said excitedly, "Wow, can we really do that?"
"Of course, we want to feed them ourselves!" Tang Xiaoxin was slightly worried, "But the macaws won't peck us, will they?"
She knew that macaws usually ate nuts and cracking tough shells was as easy for them as cracking sunflower seeds, so it would be troubleso if they pecked their hands.
He Yifei explained, "This has been approved by our zoo director! These macaws have been with us for a while and are quite familiar with humans, so they generally don't attack people. If you want to feed them by hand, we'll get you so protective gloves, and don't try to touch them, okay?"
"Mm-hmm, okay!" The two little lolis were so thrilled they nodded like pecking hens.
They inford their parents, "We're going to feed the parrots!"
The parents trusted the zoo and simply reminded them, "Listen to the animal keeper, we'll take pictures of you from outside!"
So, Tang Xiaoxin and Qian Keke put on protective gloves and entered the cage with He Yifei through the staff passage!
Onlookers outside were discussing, "Hey, they're going to feed them mooncakes!"
"The kids even get to feed them personally, I'm so jealous!"
Huh?
Several red-and-green macaws turned their heads in unison, looking our way as if they found it odd that strangers had co into their cage today.
Jingwen stood on the rope bridge closest to them, swaying unsteadily as if walking a tightrope, and ca over along the bridge. Leaning forward, it tilted its head and scrutinized them carefully.
Tang Xiaoxin, seeing the macaw's face painted like a Peking opera mask and its sharp, hard beak, greeted it nervously, "He-hello parrot, I'm here to bring you mooncakes!"
Jingwen was still eyeing her when Jinzhi flapped over and, standing beside Jingwen, courteously replied, "Hello!"
Seeing the parrot being so friendly, Tang Xiaoxin's mood relaxed a little, and a smile appeared on her face.
"What smart macaws!" Qian Keke waved and greeted, "Hello!"
"Hello!"
He Yifei handed them the mooncakes and said with a laugh, "Alright, now it's ti for you to feed them!"
"Okay!"
As soon as the mooncakes were taken out, without any signal needed, Jin Martin and Jingwu flew over, and several macaws all started squawking loudly, their cries rising and falling, full of noise and excitent.
It's alti, it's alti!
One by one, they craned their necks forward, urging to be fed quickly.
Tang Xiaoxin quickly grabbed a piece of mooncake, carefully offering it to Jinzhi, who pecked at the mooncake and began eating it with relish.
Then it pecked off a large chunk, carried it in its mouth to the perch, and used its curved claws to grasp the piece of mooncake, making it easier to eat!
The rope bridge was a bit wobbly, and it wasn't easy to stand on one foot. It was more stable on the perch.
Jingwen, seeing the mooncake filling exposed under the bitten-off portion with a walnut peeking out, quickly used its beak to break the mooncake apart, ate the walnut, and then picked out and ate a small piece of apple!
First feast on the most delicious essence.
The visitors were amazed, "They can even hold the food with their claws to eat!"
"No wonder they are so smart since they like eating walnuts."
"Ah, they are truly beautiful, but they can be very noisy as well."
When the macaws were eating mooncakes, He Yifei turned on his headset and introduced to the outside visitors, "Macaws are the largest type of parrot, and these ones are red-and-green macaws, with feathers in blue, green, and red. The colors are very beautiful, and their wingspan can exceed one ter when opened.
The birds of the Psittacifors order are mostly herbivores, classified into those that feed on flowers, mainly fruits, nectar, and seeds, as well as the grain-eating, fruit-eating, and omnivorous types. There are also a few that consu insects and carrion.
In our zoo, we usually feed these macaws various nuts, apples, waterlon, fresh corn, and green vegetables like bok choy. The fillings inside the mooncakes we are feeding them now are the sa..."
...
Red panda exhibition area!
The two children who made mooncakes for the red pandas arrived at the exhibition area. Following animal keeper Guan Shan's instructions, they poured the mooncakes onto a plate and took it over to the red pandas, placing it in front of the glass wall for an easy view for the visitors.
Guan Shan clapped her hands and called out, "Co, ti for mooncakes! Dinner ti!"
The red pandas hiding in the rock caves, in the trees, and resting on the perches heard her and scampered over from all directions, gathering around the plate to start eating.
Today's mooncakes were also a novel food for them!
Smacking their little mouths, "smack smack," they chewed with relish, their soft, white, butterfly-wing-like ears fluttering gently. Occasionally, they would lift their heads and glance at the visitors outside with their shiny black eyes.
Mooncake crumbs scattered all over the floor, sticking to their black paws and round noses, and on their white, whiskered cheeks. Far from appearing dirty, it added an unusual charm to their cuteness, absolutely adorable!
Watching the red pandas' adorable actions, the visitors' eyes shone with delight, "I love red pandas the most! They're cute from afar, even cuter up close, and even eating is cute!!!"
"Ah, ah, ah, why are red pandas so cute, do they grow up by eating cuteness?"
"Wow, their ears are wiggling while they eat mooncakes, Awei is dead, Awei is dead!"
"This one is holding the mooncake in its paw to eat!"
"This chubby little panda is so cute it's killing , I really want to touch it."
Guan Shan stroked Red Bean's head and, while at it, gave its fluffy tail a rub, then warmly said to the children with a smile, "Would you like to try feeding them by hand?"
But there was one thing she didn't say; even if the children wanted to feed them, the red pandas might not eat from their hands!
Red pandas are quite shy by nature and not very friendly towards people. Being able to accept being hand-fed by her was sothing that succeeded only after a long period of familiarity.
Sure enough, when one child excitedly picked up a piece of mooncake and held it up to Chestnut's mouth, Chestnut glanced at him warily, chewed on the mooncake in its mouth and then lowered its body and stepped back two paces.
Then it slipped past the other red pandas from behind and went to the far side of the plate, away from the child, to eat the mooncake.
The child looked deeply dismayed. He loved the adorable red pandas so much, but the red pandas didn't seem to like him!
It was distressing.
Another child wouldn't believe it, "Watch , I'll feed them!"
He tried with the other red pandas; each one of them avoided him.
At that point, Guan Shan explained with a smile, "It seems that red pandas are quite scared of strangers. Let's just leave it here for them to eat on their own! Let's go outside and enjoy watching them eat."
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