I have a wildlife zoo

The drone slowly ascended into the sky!

From its slanted overhead angle, the landscape of Lemur Island was fully captured, with various plants scattered about.

The east side of Lemur Island was relatively open, with low and sparse aloe plants, because ring-tailed lemurs typically sunbathe in the early morning; hence, the sunbathing area was established where the Sunshine rises in the east.

On the west side of the island lay a ten-meter-long, twisted fallen tree trunk spanning a wide expanse of water, resting on several huge rocks. In front of these rocks, there were passageways that seemed to lead to another place.

There was also a five-meter-tall African baobab on the west side, and in the middle of the water were two wooden poles about three meters high, each topped with a small square wooden platform.

Platforms also protruded in front of the window on the opposite wall, forming different pathways along with the fallen tree trunk between the sky and the water surface.

Although ring-tailed lemurs could hang from tree trunks like macaques, they usually did not, preferring to walk on top of them. Thus, the platforms were not connected by vines.

Netizens were dazzled by the rich scenery of the island, "Damn, what tree is that? It looks like something I've seen in documentaries?"

"It must be an African baobab!"

"Is that a cactus?"

"Eh, speaking of which, where are the lemurs? I don't see any of them!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After capturing the scenery, the drone slowly flew back, and Fang Ye glanced at the live comments, "The lemurs are still in the back shed and haven't come out yet! I'll take you to the back shed shortly."

Coming back to their senses, the netizens turned into curious little beings, buzzing with countless questions, "Director, why make it an island like this? Can't ring-tailed lemurs swim? What if they swim to shore and escape?"

Fang Ye chuckled, "Ring-tailed lemurs are naturally afraid of water, of course, they can't swim, so as long as the water is a bit wider, preventing them from jumping over is enough. When leaping in the trees, ring-tailed lemurs can jump as far as 8 or 9 meters! That's why our water surface is 10 meters wide."

"Shocked, they can jump that far."

"Haha, exactly 10 meters, that's pretty good. It seems like designing a zoo requires a lot of understanding of animal habits."

"Making it into an island is pretty interesting, but it feels like visitors on the opposite shore might be too far away to see clearly?"

"Director, what's going on over there? I see tree trunks and aerial platforms leading somewhere."

As he walked forward, Fang Ye introduced, "That's the indoor exhibit area! When it rains, ring-tailed lemurs can go into the indoor exhibit to stay dry. Inside, we have perches, enrichment toys, and we also place their food there to increase the attraction for the ring-tailed lemurs.

Just like a netizen mentioned, if it's too far and unsatisfying, then here in the indoor exhibit area, you can observe the ring-tailed lemurs up close!"

Upon reaching this point, the netizens could also see the situation inside the indoor exhibit area.

The edge of the glass curtain wall beside the path was fitted with a sunshade canopy to provide visitors with shade and reduce glare, while simultaneously preventing direct Sunshine from overheating the interior.

The ceiling was a metal mesh, and the floor was covered with yellow sandy bedding material, mimicking a dry desert environment, with the wall behind them colored a grayish-yellow, resembling a natural and uneven rock face.

The inside area was 200 square meters, much smaller than the island, with scattered perches, umbrella-shaped grass huts, and little wooden huts where ring-tailed lemurs could hide and seek shelter.

Besides observing from the path outside, visitors could also view from inside the exhibit hall!

Inside the exhibit hall, there were some educational boards about ring-tailed lemurs, and the glass curtain wall formed a broad 120-degree angle with the outside, allowing visitors from both sides to barely see each other.

"Director, I've touched ring-tailed lemurs in other zoos before. Can visitors go onto your Lemur Island and play with them?"

"Yes, yes, ring-tailed lemurs are very gentle and not scared of people at all!"

"Ah, but isn't there a danger? What if someone gets scratched?"

Fang Ye thought for a moment and said, "That's actually a good question!

Well, ring-tailed lemurs are generally of a gentle nature and suitable for interaction, but every individual animal has its own personality. The ones used for interactions in zoos usually have a milder temperament or are more timid, so they generally won't attack people, and it's okay for visitors to touch them. The more assertive and hot-tempered ones won't be placed in interactive areas.

Moreover, animals used for interactive programs are regularly quarantined and dewormed, so getting bitten is not really a big problem.

But still, there is a risk associated with prolonged contact with ring-tailed lemurs, and we worry about the potential harm from mischievous children who may be a bit too rough. What if someone pulls on a lemur's ear or tail while touching it?"

"Ah, so does that mean we can't touch them?"

"It's a shame, such a beautiful Lemur Island, it would definitely be interesting to go on the island to play."

The netizens felt quite regretful!

Fang Ye changed the topic and said, "It's not that you can't have close contact or touch them, but it's definitely not okay when there are too many people. Our zoo will open Lemur Island to the public in a limited way, allowing a small number of visitors to go on the island in batches during weekends, holidays, or festivals, probably letting a few dozen visitors play on the island each day."

"Wow! That's awesome!"

"Just a few dozen visitors, it's like a drop in the bucket though!"

"Damn, I really want to play on Lemur Island!"

As the netizens were excited, Fang Ye and Lan Li had already arrived at the back of the enclosure.

Upon entering, Fang Ye suddenly paused, sniffing the air like a dog and remarked, "There's a smell!"

Lan Li also nodded and said softly, "There's a smell!"

The netizens asked curiously, "What kind of smell?"

"Is it the scent of ring-tailed lemurs?"

Fang Ye drew a deep breath and described, "A faint musky odor, somewhat similar to a pigsty!"

"Eh, do ring-tailed lemurs stink?"

"Shouldn't be, I remember touching a ring-tailed lemur, and it didn't smell bad!"

Fang Ye explained, "Ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands in three places, around the anus, armpits, and wrists. Usually, they don't smell much and they do pay attention to their hygiene.

The scent glands in male lemurs are more developed than in females, not only for the purpose of competing for females during the breeding season but also as a weapon against enemies. When displaying to an opponent or an enemy, they will rub their tails on the scent glands, and then waft the odor towards the opponent by waving their tail.

It's like scratching your crotch or picking your feet and then holding your fingers up for the other person to smell! Imagine how disgusting that is for the opponent. This form of display is quite effective.

Among male lemurs, the more developed the scent glands, the higher the status."

Netizens laughed uproariously, "Hahaha! What the heck is that!"

"The director's weird analogy!"

"It's all in my head now!"

"I can't look at ring-tailed lemurs the same way again."

Fang Ye added, "Apart from showing dominance to rivals, scent glands are also used for marking territory. They secrete a smelly fluid as road markers and territorial signs, especially in these types of enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces, the smell is quite potent!"

Lan Li and I didn't notice this smell when we first saw the ring-tailed lemurs because they had just been relocated to a new place, so there wasn't any odor. Give it a day, and it's a different story.