I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 108: Chapter 108 Considerations on Mixed Rearing of the Red Fox

The "tuánzi" on Blue Planet are even rarer than those on Earth.

Domestic zoos that want to raise "tuánzi" don't need to go through the decades of begging and signing loads of trade agreements like foreign zoos do, but the ones qualified and daring enough to raise them are at least at the provincial capital level.

Fang Ye called the city's Forestry Bureau to inquire and learned that the process to apply for giant pandas is extremely complicated!

First, one needs to prepare a pile of materials, such as the "Application Form for Administrative Permit Matters of Wildlife Protection and Management," legal person certificate, organization code certificate, and other institutional proofs.

There's also the need for a national key protected wildlife breeding permit for the panda species, the borrower's display and giant panda breeding management and public education plan, and written opinions from the forestry administrative authorities of the provincial-level people's governments of both parties involved in the display...

Just preparing these materials is troublesome!

After applying to the National Forestry Bureau, they must evaluate the borrower's giant panda breeding management plan, venue facilities, or conduct on-site inspections. During the display period, it's mandatory to establish a panda case file and a breeding log, indicating details such as panda breeding management and medical health, among a series of regulations.

In any case, Fang Ye estimated that preparing the materials, applying, and waiting for approval would take at least two to three months, and that's not even a guarantee of success. This was far more difficult than his application for contracting tens of thousands of square meters of land from the city.

However difficult, it's still worth a try!

He'll leave the task of running around for materials to a lucky employee. The employee can do the running, while he's responsible for stamping and signing.

Renting a giant panda can't be rushed, so he continued to consider other animals.

He had previously arranged a temporary small exhibition hall for the red fox, but now he could consider swapping it for a larger exhibition hall, to house different animals together!

The choice of animals for cohabitation is quite deliberate.

Avoid aggressive species. For example, male zebras are sensitive and aggresive, while female zebras are gentle. In that case, separate the male zebras for individual husbandry, display the female zebras or mix them with other herbivores, bringing back the males only for mating.

Primates are the most difficult to mix with other species. They are either focused on using violence to protect their territory or harassing other animals out of curiosity.

For instance, when macaques are mixed with deer, the mischievous monkeys like to ride the gentle deer like a transport, riding them around, and when bored, pull their tails and yank their ears. And some monkeys, uncomfortable within their troop and wanting to get close to a female, might be intimidated by the Monkey King.

When their desires are not fulfilled, they could entertain improper thoughts towards the adorable deer, rubbing against them, engaging in unspeakable acts.

Of course, the mild-mannered deer may not mind, which could be considered an unusual friendship between animals.

Overall, when considering mixed-species exhibits, one must consider various pieces of information such as behavioral characteristics. The most important thing is to learn from nature, to see which animals coexist in the wild, which can greatly increase the success rate of mixed-species exhibits.

Fang Ye thought it over and decided to mix the red fox with sika deer and bharal! With properly arranged environments and the intervention of animal keepers, these animals should be able to cohabitate.

The sika deer has white spots on its fur that look like plum blossoms and is a very representative cervid species in China.

The bharal is morphologically between a goat and a sheep, native to the area near the Himalayas, mainly living in high mountain rocky areas. It is excellent at climbing and can travel and climb on nearly vertical cliffs. However, it is very adaptable, tolerating extreme heat and cold as well as strong winds, ranging from high-altitude alpine meadows to mid-altitude scrub forests.

These animals, first of all, both the bharal and the sika deer are herbivores with generally low aggression. Even though the red fox is an omnivore and eats meat, it preys on smaller animals like frogs, small birds, and rabbits, causing no direct conflict.

If conflict arises among the animals, it is more likely due to invading each other's territory, thus specific environments should be arranged for them.

The bharal has powerful limbs, short and firm hooves, and is suited for running and jumping among the rugged mountain cliffs! Therefore, the exhibit design can include a rocky mountainous area, which the bharal will naturally favor.

The sika deer likes staying in slope forests nibbling on the tender leaves of shrubs, while the red fox can stay anywhere, so their living areas can be planted with fewer plants and more sand.

With each species having its suitable living environment and the animal enclosures placed near their tailored habitats, the chance of conflicts naturally decreases.