I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 517: The Elephant Eats Bamboo

Pingping stopped next to a concrete pillar feeder.

Her trunk stretched into a hole, searching inside!

After fumbling around for a bit, she pulled out a piece of apple and stuffed it into her mouth, savoring the treat.

Next came a chunk of sweet potato!

After eating a few pieces of food, just as she was about to munch on the last piece of apple, she seemed to have a thought.

Hesitating for a moment, she turned her head, and with her trunk holding the piece of apple, she reached out to Fang Ye.

Fang Ye pointed at himself, surprised, "Ah, for me?"

Pingping’s shiny black eyes looked at him, and her trunk shook up and down as if signaling him to catch it!

Fang Ye was somewhat touched, caressed Pingping’s trunk, and pushed the trunk back a bit, "What a good girl! Thank you, but you should eat it yourself!"

Seeing Fang Ye wouldn’t eat it, Pingping rolled it back and ate it herself.

Netizens were astonished, "Wow, this elephant! So sentient."

"That’s normal, elephants are among the smartest animals in the world." Experience more content on Freewebnovel

"Normal my butt! I’m an elephant keeper, and I’ve never had an elephant give me food."

"Obviously, your bond isn’t deep enough, once it is, this is what naturally happens!"

"I @&¥! ..."

"I think it’s because of the zoo director, it must see the director as a friend!"

"No doubt, I’m never surprised by anything the animals do around the Archdruid."

On the way, Fang Ye saw Meiling and Meilan.

The two elephants were close companions in the enclosure, almost inseparable, hence easily recognizable.

Fang Ye smiled and waved, saying, "Hello!"

Meilan, seeing Fang Ye, slowly came over with her trunk extended, also greeting him.

Fang Ye stroked Meilan’s trunk!

Meiling stayed a few meters away, unwilling to come closer, impatiently flapping her ears and pacing back and forth on the sandy ground.

Then she began to curl her trunk in the sand out of boredom, idly rolling the sand.

Seeing Fang Ye touch Meilan’s trunk, she seemed somewhat jealous!

She took strides and slowly walked over.

Her large head squeezed in from the side, blocking between Fang Ye and Meilan, looking down at Fang Ye as if to show off her dominance, while her trunk tugged on Meilan’s, opening her mouth and emitting a deep sound.

Move along, move along! Didn’t you say you were going for a walk with me!

"Every time I see the elephants playing, I can’t help but wonder why some people hunt them for their tusks."

Fang Ye said, "In our elephant activity area, we have all kinds of enrichment facilities, like this feeder. It’s not only for inserting food, but also serves as an entertainment device. When playing and foraging, it can exercise the muscles of the elephant’s head and trunk, which is very beneficial for their health."

After playing with the dough twist for a while, Pingping lifted his head and raised his trunk, skillfully pulling at the bamboo leaves, trying to yank the bamboo out.

I pull, I pull!

When pulling at the bamboo inserted between the gaps in the dough twist, the band would also shake, and it took some effort to pull it out.

But it’s precisely this kind of exercise that was needed.

Pingping pulled out the bamboo and, with his trunk wrapped around it, stuffed it into his mouth and started munching away.

He seemed to be enjoying it!

"Shocked, do elephants eat bamboo too?"

"That’s not right, isn’t bamboo exclusive to pandas?"

"Is this elephant going to steal the pandas’ job?"

"Besides red pandas, are there other animals that eat bamboo? I really can’t think of any!"

"Bamboo rats eat bamboo," said the animal keeper.

The online viewers had initially thought that Pingping was pulling the bamboo for play, but he actually started eating it.

They expressed their confusion and started discussing it.

When bamboo was mentioned, everyone naturally thought of pandas.

In their minds, elephants ate grass, apples, carrots, and the like.

Fang Ye explained, "Bamboo is indeed in the elephant’s diet! Not only do they eat bamboo, but bamboo shoots as well.

Elephant teeth are divided into incisors and molars, where the incisors are what we usually call tusks, and molars are for chewing food.

Humans replace their teeth vertically, but elephants do it horizontally.

Elephants have six sets of molars in their lifetime, with the teeth continuously growing from the rear to the front, pushing out the old molars.

During the replacement of molars, hard fibrous plants like branches and bamboo assist by breaking down the old molars during chewing, ensuring they fall out naturally in time. If the molars can’t be replaced properly and new and old teeth press against each other, it can lead to deformed growth and other dental diseases.

So, elephants need to regularly eat fibrous plants like bamboo and branches to help with the replacement of their teeth and maintain oral health."

As he was speaking, Pingping finished the bamboo leaves on that stalk.

He wrapped his trunk around the bamboo pole, reached to his side, and started scratching an itch!

The viewers marveled at the sight.

"I’ve learned something new today!"

"First time knowing that elephants eat bamboo!"

"It’s good for eating and playing, awesome!"