"Bravo, congratulations, little friend for getting it right!"
"Eh? Eh?" "Impossible, right?"
The person who had just so confidently claid that peafowl couldn't fly suddenly felt embarrassed.
He Yifei explained, "Peafowl don't fly often because their long tails are quite heavy and make it hard to take off, but they certainly can fly. When they encounter a predator, they'll fly up to a tree or cross a river for refuge. Little friend, co and get your prize."
The little boy walked up happily, and a staff mber handed him a Peafowl badge.
He Yifei looked at the card in his hand, and with a "swoosh," pulled out another one about red pandas.
The only ones who realized what was happening in an instant were three to five tourists. He picked a middle-aged man in a blue and grey striped shirt who seed to have an academic air about him: "Sir, please answer the question!"
Feeling that this tourist seed to be quite knowledgeable, He Yifei asked a slightly more difficult question, "Could you please tell the current conservation status of the red panda? Is it least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, or extinct in the wild?"
"Ah?" The man in the blue and grey shirt was flabbergasted. What are all these categories?
Visitors looked at each other, puzzled—this question seed indeed a bit challenging!
They murmured, "I rember that the red panda is a protected species. It shouldn't be 'least concern', right? And 'extinct in the wild' is impossible too, otherwise where would the ones in the zoo co from?"
"Right, let's eliminate the two least likely options first!"
"I guess it's 'near threatened'? By the way, what do all these levels an?"
After his initial confusion, the man in the blue and grey shirt caught on, listening to the whispers around him. It didn't seem so hard after all—if he picked one of the remaining four options, he'd have a one-in-four chance.
So he chose the one that seed more likely: "Vulnerable!"
"Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer," He Yifei shook his head and then pointed to another girl who had raised her hand quickly, "The girl in the dress, your turn to answer."
The girl in the dress answered crisply, "Endangered!"
"Congratulations, you got it right!"
He Yifei explained, "The wild population of red pandas is estimated to be fewer than ten thousand, facing many threats, which is why they're classified as 'Endangered'. 'Endangered' ans that if the current trends continue, there's a very high chance that the species will go extinct in the wild in the near future.
The giant panda is another species that's endangered on Blue Planet (though it's downgraded to 'Vulnerable' on Earth)!"
After hearing this, the voices and smiles of the visitors faded slightly, weighed down by a somber realization. Many weren't aware that the adorable red panda could face extinction if not protected—perhaps they had visited once or twice but hadn't paid much attention to the information plaques.
However, they also experienced a feeling that the zoo was indeed not just a place for pure entertainnt and viewing animals—it was more like a museum, with a definite educational function for science and nature.
He Yifei didn't elaborate on this topic any further; after all, it was a festive holiday, and there were more kids waiting. So he continued, drawing another card, this ti of a raccoon!
Looking over the crowd, he pointed to a high school boy in the back raising his hand, wearing a shirt with dogs on it, "The boy in the doggie shirt, it's your turn! Raccoons have a habit—when they get food, they put it in water to wash before eating. What's the reason for this behavior?"
The reactions of the visitors varied.
So widened their eyes at the card, baffled, "What? This is a raccoon? What's the difference between it and a red panda?"
"Raccoons wash their food before eating?"
"Yeah, otherwise why would they be called 'raccoons'?"
"So cleaning things is just about being tidy and not getting sick, right?"
The middle school boy in a dog shirt confidently spoke aloud, "Raccoons don't wash their food to clean it, but because their paws are very sensitive. They can perceive through touch, and when their paws are soaked in water, the outer keratin layer softens, enhancing their sensory capabilities. This allows them to more accurately understand the properties of objects!"
He Yifei clapped enthusiastically and chuckled, "Congratulations, co and get your prize!"
The tourists also joined in with a chorus of clapping!
The mother beside him bead with pride, feeling extrely honored. After the boy ca back with his prize, still high-spirited, she asked with surprise, "Son, how did you know that?"
"I saw it on the display board the last ti we ca here!" the middle schooler said matter-of-factly.
So parents who had been making wild guesses along with their kids blushed, realizing that they knew less than a middle schooler.
It would be sowhat embarrassing to get it wrong if the child asked a question while walking through the zoo together.
They thought to themselves that they really should pay more attention to the display boards and the animal keeper's explanations on their next zoo visit!
...
While the tourists were engaging in the enjoyable Q&A session, Zhuang Xiaobai was still fully imrsed in his painting!
At noon, he pulled out a big chunk of white bread and wolfed down a few bites, then grabbed a bottle of mineral water and "gulped" it down, burping from eating too fast. After resting for ten minutes, he got back into his painting with total absorption!
Many visitors were watching him from behind, but sensing Zhuang Xiaobai's "Do not disturb" vibe as he was lost in his work, they didn't dare to approach him at this ti and simply admired the painting in silence.
At this point, the painting was half done. Under Zhuang Xiaobai's brush, the scenery in the painting seed to co to life.
The morning sun had not fully risen, and a few soft beams of whitish light pierced through the misty forest. In front of the dark green thicket was a rippling pond, with tree leaves and reeds swaying gently in the breeze.
A powerful black wolf had its ears pricked and was turning its head, its expression calm and profound. People looking at the painting felt as if they could hear the distant sound of birds chirping in the quiet forest and experience the moist air of the early morning woods on their faces!
The most peculiar thing was that although the black wolf should be the most conspicuous figure on the canvas, it seed sowhat out of focus beneath the veil of mist, giving the impression of being a transient apparition, about to disappear at any mont.
After looking at the painting for a few seconds, you couldn't help but shift your gaze to the dense forest behind the black wolf.
The light inside the forest was much dimr than outside, like a black hole that captured and absorbed people's attention. A gray wolf hid in the middle of the woods, half of its head peeking through the cracks between trees, its expression both curious and cautious as it spied on the outside world, radiating a wild and mysterious aura.
Although it appeared half-hidden, the composition and chiaroscuro of the painting made it incredibly eye-catching. It held one's gaze as firmly as a magnet, and you couldn't help but lock eyes with the gray wolf!
A tourist couldn't resist whispering to a companion in a mosquito-like voice, "I feel sothing magical—like the wolf in the forest is staring right at !"
The companion responded with amazent, "I thought I was the only one who felt that way!"
"Hey, don't you get the feeling that this painting is like a tai chi, with the black wolf in the front as falsehood in truth, and the gray wolf in the back as truth within falsehood?"
"Dude, when did your critique beco so sophisticated?"
"But it really invites that kind of association!"
"By the way, this painting isn't for the event happening later, is it…?"
"What's this, a maxed-out boss slaughtering Noob Village?"
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