Chapter 751: Chapter 750: erkat Sentry Chapter 751: Chapter 750: erkat Sentry erkat exhibit!
The appearance of erkats is already quite amusing, with their comical black eye circles. Coupled with their role as Timon from “The Lion King” animation, they’ve beco animal celebrities on the internet, attracting many visitors to watch.
The area of the venue isn’t large, as erkats are small in size, but the environnt is very enriching.
The activity area is covered with a thick layer of fine sand, and the terrain is rugged and undulating, with dry, low trees, giving it a very desert-like atmosphere!
In the center of the venue is a sand dune that soars high—just the right height for visitors to co eye to eye with the erkats.
You can see several holes going in and out of the sand dune, not dug by the erkats, but artificial pipes, so they won’t collapse and bury them, allowing for hiding.
There are also toy balls and cardboard boxes for the erkats to explore.
Right now, one erkat stands at the very top of the sand dune, on tiptoe, with its paws tucked in at its chest, turning its head left, then right, its gaze vigilantly watching the surroundings, serving as a lookout for the group.
Other elevated spots also have erkats on lookout, scanning east and west or looking up at the sky, making “cooing” noises as they call out.
erkats can mate and reproduce all year round, and these erkats adapted quickly to the new environnt of the zoo, soon producing offspring.
Adult erkats have slender bodies, with sharp triangular heads, and bright, spirited eyes, exuding a sense of intelligence. The newborn erkats, at about five or six weeks old, are short and round, looking like little furry macaques.
“Heyyo, Timon, is that you, Timon!”
“Cute and cuddly!”
“So tiny!”
“Those dark eye circles, must be staying up late!”
Fang Ye said, “The black eye circles of erkats are ant to reduce the glare of the intense African sunshine, helping them to spot predators in the sky.
Their terrestrial predators are jackals and cobras, and in the sky, eagles and hawks!
They can drive away land predators with shouts and mock battles, by circling and harassing, but with those in the sky, they can only hide in their burrows, so it’s common to see erkats gazing upward.
Their vision is very good, able to spot raptors a kiloter away, and avoid them in advance.”
The animal keeper had hidden so insects in the sand, and the young erkats were scraping around, searching for food.
The outside world was novel, and using new skills was fun for them.
So of the young erkats, wanting to show off their newly learned skills to the adults, started scratching the tails of those on lookout, swiping with their little paws.
But the adults, busy with their lookout duty, didn’t pay attention to the little ones.
Compared to the youngsters, the adult erkats were much quicker at digging holes, their paws a blur, sand flying behind them, and soon they had excavated a large hole.
Digging in the sand, searching for food, standing guard, or just basking in the sun!
So erkats leaned against each other, grooming each other’s fur.
erkats are social animals, with a strong sense of community and deep affection for each other.
Just then, the sentinel on top of the sand dune seed to have spotted sothing.
Suddenly it let out a loud, short bark, a warning call similar to that of a dog!
“Aow!”
Turning its head, it barked again!
This erkat appeared to hold a high status within the group; after two calls, the other erkats imdiately scattered.
It was like students skipping school to play gas in an internet café, suddenly hearing soone shout, “Teacher’s coming!”
So erkats leapt up and hid in the crevices between stones, with just the tops of their heads peeking out, while others darted into their burrows or took cover inside a nearby cardboard box.
They fled with incredible speed, kicking up sand with their feet, casting up a cloud of dust in a single swift movent, and then they were gone, as if a ninja had used the art of earth evasion!
The adult erkats reacted quickly. So young erkats, not staying close to the adults, looked up at the sentry, unaware of what had happened. They appeared quite bewildered and realized everyone had disappeared. They paused for a mont before they began looking for a place to hide.
The netizens watching were stunned!
“Hey, that was so sudden, I didn’t even realize what was happening!”
“Haha, the one hiding in the cardboard box is hilarious!”
Fang Ye couldn’t help but laugh as well, “Keeping watch is one of the most interesting behaviors of erkats! When you visit the zoo, you should pay close attention to this.
The sentinel erkat will climb to a higher point to survey the safety of the area. Once it detects danger, the sentinel will sound a loud alarm, and the other mbers will quickly dive into their burrows or cease their activities within.
At the sa ti, the sentinel will be the first to co out of the burrow to check if the danger is still present. Only when the danger has passed and the sentinel stops the alarm, will the others erge from their burrows.
Adult erkats can make 30 different calls, each with a unique aning. They can distinguish between aerial and terrestrial predators and even the level of danger.
Within the erkat community, the more experienced sentinels are more trusted by their companions. If the sentinel is very experienced, the other erkats will quickly hide. Otherwise, they might look up and around to confirm the presence of a predator!”
After a while, once the sentinel confird there was no danger and called out twice, the other erkats began to slowly erge from their hiding spots.
Young erkats also have to learn to keep watch from their elders, starting from a very young age.
They have the appearance of children trying to act grown-up while on watch, which looks very cute.
But keeping watch is no easy task. Young erkats, still in developnt, find it hard to balance on their two legs, and after a while, their legs grow sore.
They drop back to the ground, yawn and take a rest, or lie on their companions, frolic, chatter, emit a few sounds, and continue their watch.
The warm sun casting down only intensifies the erkats’ drowsiness.
After about fifteen minutes, the round bright eyes of the young erkats gradually narrowed into slits.
They beca increasingly wobbly but still persisted in keeping watch, looking very cute.
Just born cubs need to sleep for long hours, and even if they want to stay diligent, their bodies simply don’t allow it.
Their heads slowly drooped down and, with a “thud,” hit the ground!
And just like that, with their heads on the ground, they began to “zzz” and went to sleep.
Seeing this amusing scene, the viewers couldn’t help but laugh.
At that mont, an animal keeper ca in, placing a sweet potato spiked with green beans, resembling a porcupine.
“Eh, I saw on a docuntary that erkats eat insects, do they also eat vegetables?”
“This isn’t food, is it? It’s for playing with, right?”
The erkats observed this strange porcupine cautiously before slowly approaching.
With tails up, arching their backs, they began to chatter noisily!
One erkat took the initiative to attack, slapping it with a paw and knocking two green beans off its back.
It was just a ruse!
With the alarm lifted, the adults resud their sentry duties and patrols.
The little erkats that shrunk back earlier now approached with curiosity, began biting the sweet potato porcupine, and pulled off all the green beans from its back.
It turned out quite interesting, and the youngsters had a great ti, inadvertently building up their courage.
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