I have a wildlife zoo

Having observed the Oriental storks, he then strolled around Waterfowl Lake!

The color of the lake water was clear and pure, resembling a lustrous, transparent green emerald. Bathed in the dazzling Sunshine, it emanated a tempting glow that made one irresistibly drawn to it.

Around the lake shore, many willow trees stood, their slender branches swaying. The verdant leaves fluttered as if dancing gracefully.

Numerous visitors were leisurely walking along the lake shore, or resting on benches, admiring the beautiful scenery here.

Of course, the most dedicated were the Old Mages, each having claimed their own territory, they'd been crouching in the shade of the trees for a long time, holding their long and short "cannons."

Whenever they saw an exciting scene, "click, click" they would press the shutter continuously. The crisp sound created a distinctive feature of the landscape around Waterfowl Lake.

A black swan swam lazily in the water, occasionally paddling its feet.

A rather plain-looking little swan, seemingly left behind due to its playfulness, called out softly and diligently paddled its feet. Its body rose and fell in motion, causing ripples, until it finally caught up with the black swan.

The little guy was probably a little over a month old!

Compared to the fluffy look of a newly hatched chick, it seemed meatier and much more active.

As long as the parents did not swim too fast, catching up was easy.

A netizen asked curiously, "This little swan looks so lonely and pitiful on its own, why is there only one? Where are its siblings?"

"Last time I came to play with the animals, the animal keeper said that the families of black swans could get mixed up, and the chicks might end up following other parents! Then one family might have lots of chicks, and another very few."

"Ah, does that kind of thing happen? 😂"

"But that's not right either, is this a single-parent family? There's only one parent, where's the other half? Aren't swans supposed to be very faithful?"

"Could it have died?"

Fang Ye explained, "This child is not its own, but adopted! It was single before and fought a fierce battle with a pair of black swans, claiming the territory as its own. The black swan couple lost and ran off, abandoning this chick. Since then, the chick followed it."

"Wow!"

"Well, it turns out to be a stepfather!"

"But really, you can't tell, they seem very close!"

The little swan nestled close to the big swan, following it everywhere like a shadow, the big one going wherever the small one followed.

It occasionally flapped its wings and kicked its legs, splashing water, seeming quite at ease and not at all forced.

The black swan appeared to be quite good to the chick as well, showing no disdain or aggression even though it was not its own.

The two swans, one large and one small, swam leisurely in the lake, and near the bend in the reed bed, they encountered a single swan with four cygnets.

The single-parent swan puffed out its chest and held its head high, not looking sideways, appearing serene and composed, while the parent of four twisted its neck to glance at it, acknowledging with a respectful gaze as if to greet.

Then it turned its neck the other way and continued to lead its chicks forward.

The little swan looked at the four siblings on the opposite side and seemed to ponder why there were brothers and sisters in other families, but only it was alone in its own?

Looking back, it realized that "old dad" had already swum leisurely away and hastily paddled to catch up.

"What's the story with this one?"

Fang Ye said, "This one, well, this is a tragic goose. It was living happily with its wife, but then the neighbor Old Wang took a liking to it, chased it away, and the mother swan ended up following Old Wang."

The swan couple divorced; Old Wang chased away the kids to have another brood with the mother swan, and all the cygnets followed their father.

"It might be hard to see clearly from this distance, but don't the wings and feathers look a bit disheveled? When you get closer, you can see the injuries on its wings where several feathers have been plucked."

The netizens were all shocked, "This plot could make a dramatic novel!"

What with rich second generations wooing beautiful wives, the henpecked son-in-law being kicked out, and a super dad raising four kids on his own....

"Damn, is it really that dramatic?"

"So not all swans are faithful, huh!"

"We can only say they are relatively faithful. Swans have quite a low divorce rate, but there's nothing they can do if other swans bully them because they are strong and powerful."

"If that one paired up with the one from before, wouldn't that be lovely?"

"But both of them are male swans! Er... though it seems like, for swans, having the same sex doesn't really matter?"

"By the way, can swans breed in the summer?"

Fang Ye said, "For big swans like them, the breeding season is usually in May and June, while black swans can breed all year round. However, if the temperature gets too high in the summer, the eggs might go bad and fail to hatch."

"The park director is really impressive. You know everything about the swans at Waterfowl Lake."

Fang Ye laughed and said, "I don't know about every single swan family. I just know a few families with more obvious characteristics.

The real experts are these old men who come to take pictures every day and have even named some of the swans.

Which swans fell in love with whom, which cygnets ran off with another family, who took their babies out for a stroll today, who enjoys playing in which area... they know it all by heart, even better than us animal keepers. I also heard it from chatting with them."

Seeing an old man turn his head and wave, he nodded and smiled back politely.

The single dad swan swam forward a little, and then looking back at the little swans that fell behind, he swam back to them again.

He curved his neck, stretched it forward, and repeated the motion, uttering a melodious call, "Oh~oh~"

The little swans imitated the adult, bending and lifting their necks in the same way.

The young birds had short necks and lacked the adult swans' slender elegance. They comically stretched their necks and elevated their bodies in an effort to imitate their parent.

Seeing his children catch up, the single dad suddenly flapped his wings, with his webbed feet continuously paddling on the water. His white feathers slapped the surface, creating a loud "plop plop" sound and stirring conspicuous ripples on the water.

The black swan appears to be all black, but the feathers on the outer side of its wings are actually white, hidden underneath when folded, like a white shirt under a black suit, only visible when it spreads its wings.

Stretching its neck and placing its feet behind, it flew a short distance at a low altitude above the water.

It was quick to raise its wings in a gliding posture and then tucked its feet forward as it descended.

"Ssst—"

Its webbed feet skimmed across the surface, drawing a beautiful streak of white spray, blurring the reflection of the reeds in the clear green lake water along with the sound of breaking waves.

At the same time, its body leaned back, and its wings folded inward, restoring its dignified black appearance.

"Wow, the swan looks really beautiful when it flies. It's like surfing!"

"I didn't know black swans had white under their wings. It's my first time seeing it!"