The nearby visitors, listening to Guan Shan's explanation, suddenly realized, "Oh, that's how it is!"
"Red pandas look similar to cats, but indeed, they're not the sa creatures; the differences are quite significant!"
"The cat we had at first, when it ca to our house, wouldn't poop in the dirt we prepared for it. Instead, it pooped under the sofa and bed, all over the place, and it stunk so badly. My mom was so mad that she picked it up by the tail to scold it, and the cat cried out pitifully."
Guan Shan said, "That kind of behavior belongs to what we call negative reinforcent training! It's not good for the cat's physical or ntal health. If you want to train it to exhibit certain behavior, you can use food rewards to conduct positive reinforcent training."
Amamiya Kokoro's confusion was resolved, and she felt a wave of relief. She quickly refocused her attention on the activity in the enclosure.
Bamboo had just been inserted into the perches, and food hidden in the snow—the red pandas began a new round of exploration!
Red Bean climbed up a perch and, on the slanted platform, moved forward slowly as if walking on a balance beam.
Brown Sugar, very clingy to her mother, followed right behind Red Bean's butt.
However, her posture was much more cautious, almost lying on the perch, keeping her center of gravity low and inching forward bit by bit.
Her belly rubbed against the perch, leaving a trail in the snow which thinned out behind her!
Snowflakes occasionally fell from under her feet, and her little tail wobbled behind her, maintaining balance.
Up ahead, a bamboo tube was fitted onto the perch with a clump of fresh bamboo leaves inserted into the gap between the tube and the perch!
Red Bean raised a paw and scraped at the bamboo tube.
The bamboo tube was already very smooth, and with the added snow, Red Bean's paw slipped!
Plus, standing on the snow-covered perch, her base wasn't very stable. As she tried to save herself, one of her paws missed the perch, and she fell off.
Splat!
She landed in a soft pile of snow below.
Snowflakes fluttered down from above, dusted by the recent commotion, covering Red Bean's head with a layer of powdered sugar.
"That's hilarious!"
"Hahaha, she missed her step!"
"Why are there such adorable animals? Even when they slip, it looks so cute!"
"I feel like I'm going to lt into the pile of snow from the cuteness!"
Not only did the visitors see Red Bean's fall, but Hawthorn, who was playing with Chestnut in the snow, got a shock when he saw his mother fall from the perch!
Brown Sugar also watched her mother with so anxiety and let out a soft call.
In fact, there wasn't much to worry about! The perch wasn't too high, only about half a ter tall, and there was a soft cushion of snow below.
With their own thick fur to cushion the fall, Red Bean didn't feel anything.
She erged from the pile of snow, lightly jumped up, hugged the tree trunk, and climbed up, quickly returning to her previous position.
Watching this, Brown Sugar couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
Mom is so aweso! I need to work hard too!
Standing up, she took a step forward.
Splat!
She too slipped and fell down!
Hawthorn watched his mother climb back up the tree with a serious face, feeling relieved.
Just as he turned his head, a sudden whooshing sound accompanied a dark shadow falling beside him!
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Hawthorn was caught off guard and scared out of her wits!
"Hmph, hmph, hmph!"
She flipped over with her paws raised, showing off her black belly as she let out a series of intense pig-like squeals!
Her tail swept through the snow, and her hind legs kicked continuously!
Chestnut had just dug out an apple and was enjoying it when she was startled by Hawthorn, gently tapping her face with a paw as if to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay! It was just your sister who fell."
Hawthorn righted herself and scurried behind Chestnut!
After exchanging a glance with the adorably clueless Brown Sugar, she slowly regained her composure, sticking out her tongue with a look of residual fright.
The visitors burst into laughter at the scene!
Guan Shan explained, "Don't let the red panda's funny behavior fool you into thinking it's surrendering. Actually, this is their defensive posture!
When frightened, they stand up and raise their paws, which makes them appear larger, and the stark contrast between their black underbelly and their reddish-brown fur confuses predators, providing an opportunity to escape.
Red pandas are naturally timid and sensitive creatures. Although they have beco accustod to their environnt here, Hawthorn still got quite the scare, even if she's a little braver than her sister."
This is basic knowledge about red pandas that regular zoo visitors are aware of.
A visitor remarked, "I saw a news story where a red panda entered a hotel and rolled around on the bed with its paws up; was that a defensive posture as well?"
Guan Shan got angry at the ntion of this, "That situation indicates severe stress! Clearly, the red panda was trying to find a place to hide; finding nowhere to escape, it had no choice but to hide under the bed.
Think of all the bacteria and viruses a red panda could carry from running outside; could you really sleep on that bed at night? And with such sharp teeth and claws, what if it scratches soone?"
At Linhai Zoo, animal keepers always follow the red pandas closely during their outings, forbidding visitors from touching them.
Though they look cute, they can actually be quite dangerous.
Keepers also remind people of the differences between wild animals and pets, letting visitors know that these creatures are at their most beautiful in their natural environnt.
Guan Shan continued, "Nowadays, otters, owls, monkeys, and so on are kept as pets abroad, featured in videos, and so so-called 'zoos' use close interactions with these animals as an attraction. These are all animals unsuitable as pets.
Such harmful trends could lead to the problem of wildlife smuggling, threatening their wild populations. Behind every wild animal turned into a pet, there could be dozens or hundreds of its kin reduced to bones."
The visitors nodded in agreent, recognizing not every zoo takes responsibility!
After visiting the red pandas, Amamiya Kokoro and her friends strolled around the giant panda exhibit.
Switching to a wintry environnt, two giant pandas seed to be in great spirits, amusing themselves.
Zhuangzhuang climbed onto the perch and hung upside down. He dropped from above headfirst.
For pandas, falling from trees is a daily occurrence, leaving them restless if they don't fall a few tis a day.
As he fell, Zhuangzhuang naturally used his hefty back to absorb the impact, his bottom resting against a nearby rock.
Lying on the rock, he squinted his eyes in a leisurely manner, enjoying the coolness brought by the ice and snow.
This weather feels so comfortable!
Then with a relaxed release of his grip, he tumbled down the slope, using his paws to push against the snow to keep rolling when his montum slowed.
After several rolls, he lay back on a flat patch of snow, his paws moving snow all around, flinging up puffs of snowflakes.
He hadn't been this happy since the last ti it snowed!
Amamiya Kokoro snapped a few photos with a sweet smile on her face.
Watching Zhuangzhuang so content, she too felt sincerely happy!
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