I have a wildlife zoo

In the lion exhibit's office, another animal keeper named Xin saw this scene on the monitor and was startled.

He hurriedly took out his phone and called Fang Ye to report, "Hello, Director… Yes, just now Brother Li was bringing food to Yueyue, and it seems like a little accident occurred…"

On Fang Ye's end, he immediately stood up upon receiving the message, his eyes grave, "Alright, I'll be right there!"

Yueyue was not very experienced at motherhood; from the monitors, it was apparent that her movements with the cub were slightly rough, not as gentle as they should be.

When licking her cub, she'd press on it with her paw instead of cradling it in her arms. While the cubs were feeding, it seemed Mimi was also a bit uncomfortable as they bit her, occasionally pushing the cubs away and not allowing them to suckle, irritatedly growling in a low tone.

It was him who had gone over with the first postpartum food, and at that time, he could feel Yueyue was somewhat anxious and tense, so he cast a soothing skill at her.

Generally speaking, if a mother can care for her cubs, it's best to let her do so.

Hand-rearing can't provide as comprehensive care, such as when a cub urinates while sleeping, getting their abdomen wet, and the accumulation of urine can cause dermatitis in the groin area.

Under natural conditions, the mother would notice and lick the cub clean.

There are also issues like cubs not adapting well to formula milk and developing diarrhea, among other problems.

However, Yueyue became somewhat sensitive and suspicious after pregnancy, and even a minimal disturbance could trigger a strong reaction from her.

If she's too sensitive, a slight rustling might cause her to pick up the cubs and move them from one place to another. Frequent moving can easily result in the demise of the cubs.

In a worst-case scenario, stress can even lead a mother to cannibalize her offspring. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

The zoo's precautions were quite thorough, setting up a quiet birthing environment, allowing the mother to enter the birthing room in advance, preparing postpartum food, and placing an additional wooden partition to minimize disturbances to the mother as much as possible.

Therefore, between the choices of hand-rearing and letting Yueyue care for her own cubs, Fang Ye discussed the matter with the animal keepers and decided to first observe the situation.

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred the second time food was delivered.

…

The bucket clattered to the ground, and Yueyue's roar grew angrier.

Li immediately realized something was wrong and tried to soothe her, "Yueyue, it's me…"

Yueyue stared at him, seeming to recognize him, but still showed no pleasure, her mouth wide open revealing two rows of sharp teeth, and she panted menacingly, "Hah!!!"

Her demeanor clearly stated she was unwelcome, as if to say get lost!

Li quickly made his escape!

After Li left, Yueyue licked the meat but did not eat it.

She returned to the birthing room and lay down to watch her cubs.

Even though Li had left, Yueyue was still somewhat restless, aggravated by the sound of the little lions' "wah ahh ahh" cries.

The three little lions lay together resting, but one was particularly restless, kicking its legs and crawling around on the ground, having been calling out just before.

Feeling this place was not very safe, she decided she needed to find a different place for her children.

…

Fang Ye was already walking quickly, but as he neared the lion exhibit, he received another phone call and started to run.

"Yueyue! Yueyue!"

Arriving at the entrance to the birthing room, Yueyue was eating something with her head down, blood around her mouth.

Seeing someone approaching, she growled alertly.

"Oh dear!"

Although Fang Ye had already heard the news on the phone, witnessing the scene still made him involuntarily sigh; he cast another soothing skill and walked in.

Yueyue paused for a moment, her mood stabilizing significantly, and she went to Fang Ye's legs, nuzzling against them like a docile kitten.

"Oh dear, Yueyue!"

Fang Ye sighed helplessly as he stroked Yueyue's head, "I'll be taking your kids with me for now, alright?"

Entering the birthing room, he picked up several lion cubs that were cuddled together, sleeping soundly, and cleaned up the floor a bit.

After closing the door and walking out, Fang Ye carried a bucket while animal keeper Li cradled one lion cub, and Xin held two cubs, silently following beside him.

Reaching the corner of the corridor, tears "plop plop" fell from Li's face, and he started to cry sorrowfully with a "woo woo".

He lifted the lion cub slightly forward to prevent the tears from falling on it.

"Waah aah aah!"

The little lion twisted its body and began to cry out as well.

Fang Ye patted his back, consoling him, "What's there to cry about? It's alright. This is all very normal."

In the process of animal growth, countless hurdles are encountered.

The several lion cubs being born smoothly was already quite lucky.

With bad luck, they could have been miscarried during pregnancy or had a difficult birth due to abnormal positioning, or have been accidentally smothered after birth. These situations could all happen.

Even just now, if the little lions hadn't been alone but together with their siblings, they wouldn't have been picked up, and what happened later wouldn't have occurred.

Fortunately amidst misfortune, Xin reacted very quickly, immediately calling him, and Fang Ye rushed over as fast as possible, saving the remaining cubs just in time.

Xin said, "Brother Li, it really isn't your fault! Stop crying... your crying is making me upset too."

But Li just kept crying.

Indeed, no one was to blame. However, he was very fond of these lion cubs and wished for each of them to grow up healthy and robust.

He had not expected to lose one so soon.

After staying in the office for just a few minutes, Lin Ying also rushed over.

Feeling rueful, she then said, "Director, I'll be taking them away now, alright?"

Her reaction was relatively calm, as the veterinarian was accustomed to seeing animals depart.

"Yes, Xin, you go with her," Fang Ye replied.

After they had left, Fang Ye said to Li, "You've been working hard lately, you should take a break, get some good rest."

Li wiped his tears and nodded, "Okay!"

Then, as if something occurred to him, "Director, I'd like to visit the Beast Soul Monument."

Fang Ye said, "Let's go together then."

…

The simple black monument stood quietly under the shade of the trees.

Fang Ye placed an apple in front of the Beast Soul Monument, and both closed their eyes, mourning the little lion for a moment.

Seeing Li hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, Fang Ye spoke gently, "What's on your mind?"

Li asked doubtfully, "Do lions eat apples?"

Fang Ye was amused, "Isn't it about expressing our sentiments? As long as the sentiment is conveyed, that's what matters. We can't put a piece of meat there, can we? Rotting meat would look so unsightly. Uh, if you prefer, you can put a box of milk."

Li couldn't help but laugh, "True."

Yet he quickly contained his smile. He felt he should be more upset.

Fang Ye said, "The profession of an animal keeper is tied to life itself, which is why we treasure life all the more."

Li became thoughtful, with many fragmented thoughts about life and death floating in his mind.

Although he hadn't fully grasped it, he felt there was truth in what the director said.