Shenyang Forest Zoo is China's red-crowned crane artificial breeding base, there are red-crowned cranes flying display all year round, every day with the melody of "fly higher" sounds, flocks of sub-adult red-crowned cranes will be under the whistle command of the keeper, fluttering wings fairy spirit to fly out of the collective dormitory, sweeping the lawn, over the artificial lake and then flying to the blue sky. In the dynamic rhythm, these national first-class protected animals, which are as precious as the giant panda, are arranged in a ...... as depicted in the textbook
At this time, Cao Yu, the keeper who stands in front of the cage and looks at the sky, will be full of happiness and joy as if he admires his own children.
This year is Cao Yu's sixth year working at Shenyang Forest Zoo (hereinafter referred to as "Zoo"), and he is the only graduate student in the same class to work at the zoo after graduating from the veterinary department.
Going to work in the zoo is the direction that Cao Yu decided very early. Born in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, he has been very fond of small animals since he was a child, and he has also raised many small animals. The year of graduation, just in time for the zoo to recruit at the school, Cao Yu made his dream come true and became a breeder.
When he first arrived at the zoo, Cao Yu took turns feeding lions and tigers, accompanied zebras, and became friends with the monkey king. However, his personality is slightly introverted, he always feels that his temperament is not commensurate with the fierce "king", until after working in the red-crowned crane artificial breeding base for a period of time, Cao Yu "feels very right", so he took the initiative to ask Ying to stay, becoming the youngest and only male breeder in the base.
As early as 1989, Shenyang Forest Zoo began the artificial breeding research of red-crowned cranes, and now the base has a large captive population of domestic zoos, and also provides experimental crane sources for many research projects such as "Red-crowned Crane Rewilding". In addition to daily breeding, Cao Yu is also responsible for crane breeding, flight display, conservation education, scientific research and other work, similar to the nursery staff in a human kindergarten.
As an auspicious representative and the object of praise, red-crowned cranes are also a very emotionally dedicated species, and they pursue free love and monogamy. When choosing a mate, red-crowned cranes have different aesthetics from humans, and those with thick eyebrows and big eyes and a thoughtful appearance may not necessarily be hit by the cranes, on the contrary, those with scarred bodies after winning the battle may be more sought-after. Usually, the more ferocious male cranes do not worry about the object.
After forming a family, the red-crowned crane couple will be divided into an independent set of "one bedroom and one living room", and from then on, the crane will be born together, life and death.
The "one-bedroom apartment" of the red-crowned crane couple
The egg-laying period lasts from March to the end of July, and a couple can lay an average of two eggs in a clutch, and more than three. The reason why red-crowned cranes are called cranes is also related to their lifespan, and the longest-lived red-crowned cranes can survive for more than 80 years, which is a proper birthday star. The oldest red-crowned crane in Shenyang Forest Zoo is the post-80s, and among the more than 3,000 red-crowned cranes in the domestic population, there are many juvenile cranes, all of whom are related to the couple.
However, the artificially bred red-crowned cranes do not recognize their offspring, in order to improve the survival rate of the crane flock, after the crane father and the crane mother take turns to hatch for 32 days, the baby red-crowned cranes that break out of the shell will be taken away by the breeders for artificial rearing.
Don't look at the red-crowned cranes all day long, but in their bones they are a group of very fierce birds. When carrying baby red-crowned cranes or vaccinating them, they raise their legs high and pierce thick protective gloves with their sharp claws.
Red-crowned cranes also have a habit of being particularly fond of shiny things, and if the buttons on a visitor's clothes are shiny, they will poke their heads out and peck at your buttons. Cao Yu reminded that this point must be paid attention to when visiting.
After working for several years, he was accompanied by the red-crowned crane family day and night, allowing Cao Yu to understand the appearance and habits of cranes of all ages.
The red substance on the top of the head of the red-crowned crane is the reddest in the prime of life.
Adult red-crowned cranes have a bright red raised material on their heads, which is also an important morphological sign of red-crowned cranes. This red color usually appears around the age of two and is a sign of the crane's sexual maturity. As the crane enters the prime of life, the red color on the crane's head will become more vivid. When the red-crowned crane begins to age and enters middle and old age, the red color will gradually dim until it disappears. "The crane top red mentioned in the film and television works has nothing to do with the red-crowned crane, and the red area above the red-crowned crane's head is not poisonous. Cao Yu popularized science from a professional point of view.
A small red-crowned crane with rapidly developing legs.
The growth process of the little red-crowned crane is very similar to "the story of the ugly duckling turning into a swan", "when they are small, they are also ugly, and the little red-crowned crane will start to grow and develop from the legs first." "Every year in May and June, you can always see a group of "little chicks" with slender chopstick legs in the base. Every year in July and August is the moulting period of the red-crowned crane, at this time, the big-eared sheep in the wind direction of the crane pavilion are full of crane feathers in the curly wool. For this matter, the breeders of the sheep came to Cao Yu to "reason", and Cao Yu gave full play to his optimistic temperament to comfort the other breeder, "It's an easter egg, you just use this to promote the sheep, and you will be out of the circle." ”
Recently, the crane artificial research base where Cao Yu works has received and raised cubs of other species, such as a 40-day-old macaque and a two-month-old cougar, ......It's really a kindergarten.
After cleaning dozens of crane houses every day, feeding two meals, and whistling to lead the cranes to practice 20,000 or 30,000 steps of accelerated running, Cao Yu left the rest of the time to these animal cubs who were fostered at the base. In Cao Yu's heart, the dependence, trust, and comfort brought to him by the little animals are incomparable to any other work, and even more so the money cannot be measured. When you're in a bad mood, as long as you stay with the animals, the gloom in your heart will soon disappear.
Red-crowned crane "great beauty".
Cao Yu likes a female red-crowned crane named Damei in the base, Damei's partner died of illness a few years ago, and she moved back to the group dormitory after returning to being single. Maybe it's because she lost the love of her life, but since then, Da Mei has been very close to people. When she sees Cao Yu, Da Mei will happily turn in circles, and Cao Yu will also say to Da Mei: "Da Mei is really good, another beautiful one." Cao Yu also experienced the death of a red-crowned crane, "loss of appetite, low spirits, veterinarians, and some will shrink into a ball of ...... without warning."Left. There is no official farewell ceremony at the zoo, but Cao Yu will collect the feathers of the deceased red-crowned crane to prove that it has been there.
This is the value of the zoo, it is always in that not far away, silently soothing, ** every heart in the world, and every heart is equal.
Shenyang Evening News, Shen Baoquan ** chief reporter Guan Tong.
Photojournalist Shan Xingzhuo.
Edited by Dan Li.