Chapter 37 part 2

However, it was better for them to pin the blame on the South China tiger than to turn their scrutiny toward her. So she quietly observed from the sidelines, finished her meal, and then went off to consult a designer about planning the tiger enclosure.

Generally speaking, even if wild animals run into a zoo, they will eventually be released back into the wild. It’s impossible for them to just stay in the zoo like that. For example, the Siberian tiger that recently wandered into human settlements was eventually released back after its data was recorded.

It’s just that Big Cat is a South China tiger, so things become uncertain. Fortunately, she’s a female tiger, and it’s impossible for her to conceive again for three years before her cubs grow up. Otherwise, if it were a male tiger, there would definitely be a flurry of activity, with most of the fertile female South China tigers currently in zoos being brought over for blind date.

After all, even though the recent appearance of the South China tiger has made everyone aware that they still exist in the wild, their numbers can’t possibly be large, and in all likelihood, there are probably no more than ten. Otherwise, given the tiger’s range, it would be impossible for there to be no trace of a South China tiger found for over twenty years. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, even if Big Cat can go back, her offspring likely won’t.

Moreover, a tiger that had lived among humans for three years would struggle to adapt to the wild again, unless it had undergone rewilding training from an early age.  

But rewilding is an extremely difficult process. Looking at the entire world, there is only one successful case of releasing tigers back into the wild, and that was in Russia. All other attempts have ended in failure, which shows just how challenging it is.

Therefore, Kong Bi hopes that the two little guys can enjoy a comfortable living environment as much as possible after they are born, rather than cold steel and concrete.

The first building Kong Bi decided on for the tiger park was an artificial waterfall.

As one of the few feline species that enjoys water, the tiger’s enclosure must have a place where they can bathe. Kong Bi’s requirement for this area is that it should be close to the visitors’ viewing point, preferably located along the main path leading through the tiger enclosure. The water flow above the waterfall doesn’t need to be too strong; the main purpose is to create a rocky platform. This elevated position, looking down at the visitors, will significantly reduce the tigers’ stress. The pool below the waterfall, combined with a glass wall, will provide visitors with a better viewing experience.

Ideally, this viewing area should be situated on higher ground so that visitors standing can see the tigers at the water’s surface, while those who crouch down can see the tigers underwater.

Other areas will be enclosed with sturdy netting, supplemented by artificial rocks and trees to prevent visitors from having a completely unobstructed view of everything inside the tiger enclosure. This will provide the tigers with spaces to hide from the visitors’ sight. In a few locations, some high or low narrow observation slots made of piano wire can be incorporated, offering a chance to secretly glimpse the tigers.

Next is the final and most thrilling viewing point: a section where a trench serves as a barrier.

This method is relatively rare in China and is mainly seen in specialized zoo design books. Simply put, a deep pit that tigers cannot jump across is dug between the tigers’ enclosure and the viewing area for visitors. The bottom of this trench is covered with uneven materials like gravel, making it uncomfortable for the tigers’ paw pads to step on, thus discouraging them from frequently entering it and preventing them from climbing up from below.

This effectively prevents the possibility of tigers attacking people due to visitor provocation.

On the tourist side, fences are used to block the tourists’ impulse to slide and feed the tigers, and relatively high shrubs are planted to create a visual gap for tourists, making them think that there is no deep pit in front of them but flat ground, which can bring people a great visual shock.

Just think about it, a tiger is staring at you more than ten meters away from you, and the barrier that prevents it from running in seems to be just the railings in front of it that any adult can climb over with a little effort. This scene will definitely make people unforgettable for life.

However, there are two main reasons why this type of design is rarely adopted in China. Firstly, it requires a large area of land, and for a densely populated country like China where land is precious, wasting so much space just to create a visual impact for tourists is not considered worthwhile. Secondly, one should never underestimate a person’s capacity for self-destruction. Although a well-designed trench would make it impossible for tigers to harm humans, it can’t prevent people from actively trying to jump in…

After all, even without this design, there are news stories in China about tourists jumping into panda enclosures and being surrounded by pandas, or jumping off sightseeing vehicles and being surrounded by tigers.

This type of barrier is unlikely to stop some people determined to harm themselves, and it would still require stationing one or even several security guards to watch over it constantly during the zoo’s opening hours. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, it’s actually best to design the tiger enclosure in a standard, straightforward manner.

Kong Bi is rather idealistic. While ensuring the tigers’ comfort, she doesn’t see any problem with enhancing the visitors’ viewing experience. If the cost isn’t too high and conditions allow, Kong Bi even hopes the designer can incorporate a path running across the middle of the tiger enclosure. Similar to how larger predator viewing areas like tiger valleys require the use of tour vehicles, this would allow visitors to enter the tigers’ world while staying in a safe place.

However, although Peacock Mountain Zoo has a large area, it’s not extravagant enough to give the tigers a territory so vast that it requires a tour vehicle to explore. Therefore, a compromise must be made: creating a ‘tunnel’.

The second structure Kong Bi wants to implement is the ‘tiger den’. There’s a saying ‘dragon’s pool, tiger’s den’ which refers to the place where tigers live. In reality, tigers usually occupy the dens of other animals as their dwellings and, like rabbits, will have multiple dens. She wants the tigers’ indoor enclosure to closely resemble their natural environment, so she wants to design the indoor area to look like a natural tiger den.

Firstly, the entrance must be narrow, allowing only tigers to pass through. They will have to go through a narrow opening to reach the inside. Then, a certain area within will be partitioned to create inner and outer layers. The outer layer will be the tigers’ usual living space, mimicking their natural wild environment. The inner layer will be a temporary holding area for the tigers when staff need to clean. After all, no matter how natural the tiger enclosure is designed, it’s not the wild, and there are no scavenging animals to clean up the tigers’ feces and food scraps, that task falls to the zookeepers.

Because she doesn’t know enough about tigers, Kong Bi has only given the designer these requirements that she can think of. When playing games, most of the animals raised in her zoo are birds and some herbivorous animals, so naturally she didn’t deliberately check the information of wild animals. She didn’t know much, so she couldn’t give too many opinions when designing the tiger house. To be honest, Kong Bi didn’t expect that a tiger would run over.

After all, birds have a somewhat negative view of the mean cats, so naturally these two types of monsters can’t get along, and the chance of fighting is small – if there is a conflict, many bird monsters and herbivorous monsters are there to deliver food to carnivorous beast monsters.

This is a problem that the monster zoo has to consider. After all, the monster king must pay attention to the welfare of monsters, otherwise they are likely to lose happiness due to fear, dissatisfaction, and then choose to run away from home.

However, in the game, Kong Bi hadn’t joined the camp of any Su Shuang Great Saint. Although she was indeed of the Lawful alignment, she was just an ordinary demon king – in game terms, the difference between pulling a rare card and a common card.

In short, although Kong Bi achieved a perfect clear in the game, she followed a specialized path. Almost all the monsters in her zoo were birds and terrestrial or aquatic creatures that weren’t part of each other’s diets. As a result, everyone lived harmoniously as good neighbors and wouldn’t consider their neighbor a tasty little snack.

However, in reality, there’s no picking and choosing monsters, hence the presence of Wang Tianba and Big Cat.

And both Wang Tianba and Big Cat actually have pheasant-like creatures on their menus.

It’s just that, perhaps because they joined the Su Shuang Great Saint’s faction, Kong Bi has never received any in-game warnings. This proves that peaceful coexistence is possible. However, this is also normal. When food is abundant, interspecies conflicts aren’t as intense as in the wild because they don’t need to compete for survival resources. Many zoos in China also exhibit this phenomenon, such as predators raised by dogs who, even as adults, won’t actively attack them.

And monsters no longer rely on instincts, and have wisdom to communicate, so it is more likely to coexist peacefully. At most, there will be more friction in daily life.

For example, Wang Tianba and Huajiao seem to be getting along quite well. They had a fight just yesterday, but today they can sit quietly together watching the new companion, showing no signs of resentment.

Of course, it’s also possible they’re just simple-minded…

Regardless, getting the initial preparations done is the right way forward. Whether it succeeds or not can be considered later. That’s what Kong Bi is currently thinking and doing.

After discussing with the designer, who was both pained and happy about the project, Kong Bi quickly left to check on the construction site and then immediately went to receive guests.

The social status of the South China tiger is much higher than that of Wang Tianba and the green peafowl. Both the green peafowl and the South China tiger are umbrella species with high status, but just like how, among all Class I national protected animals, none can compare to the giant panda’s status, the level of attention they naturally attract is also different.

At least, because of the South China tiger’s arrival, the higher authorities have already decided to specially set up a police service outpost. If it’s confirmed that the South China tiger will settle here, it wouldn’t be surprising if a police station were built for it. After all, even ancient military tallies were called ‘tiger tallies’, showing that their status in the hearts of ancient people was no lower than that of today’s giant pandas.

Once Kong Bi had finished all these tasks and secured the funding, she went to the tiger enclosure to see Big Cat. This creature was quite irritable, when facing anyone other than Kong Bi, and wouldn’t eat the meat and water thrown in by others. Only after people were chased away would it return to the den Kong Bi had prepared to rest. Therefore, the job of feeding had to be done by Kong Bi herself.