Do you want to try the daily work associated with "cute animals"?
In Zhejiang Huzhou Longzhimeng Animal World, this is the daily routine of Shi Xiamin, the "post-95" animal keeper. These "cute animals" are mostly small beasts. She is responsible for taking care of the cubs of the beasts every day, so she is also called "wet nurse of the cute animals" by netizens.
Shi Xiamin has worked in this position for 4 years. Although she has no children, she has been the "wet nurse" of more than 200 cute animals, including more than 50 tigers alone. In the process of getting along with the animals, she was also cured by the animals.
Early in the morning, Shi Xiamin began her busy day by making a good handover with her night shift colleagues. Prepare the breakfast for the animals one hour in advance, start feeding the babies one by one at 8:00, and then start cleaning each room. After finishing these tasks, she will also take the baby animals to interact closely with tourists.
Shi Xiamin's Animal Conservatory is the department responsible for the nursery work of Longzhimeng Animal World. As a nurse, she not only takes care of the daily life of baby animals, but also protects them from harm.
Animal Keeper Shi Xiamin: We mainly feed those whose mothers don't take, those who are injured on the way, and some who are sick. They will be sent to us for treatment and care, and then sent back when they are well. Like this one, there would be no such cute bear without us.
Shi Xiamin has always loved animals since she was a child, and she is often "cute" by the cute appearance of animals. In 2019, she heard that a zoo in her hometown was recruiting. With her love for animals, she came to the Dragon's Dream Animal World.
Shi Xiamin: I just started to raise big animals, such as alpacas, cougars, leopards, leopards, monkeys, and so on, for more than a year. Just after the establishment of our nursery, I happened to visit the park and saw little lions and tigers. I felt really cute. How could there be such a small one? I had to take care of them. At that time, I found our dean and offered myself. Our dean was also polished by me, and later agreed to let me in.
Since then, Shi Xiamin has become a temporary mother of animal babies, opening her way to raising. Animal babies can't talk. In addition to taking care of their daily food and living, they also need to observe their health. Although she is skilled now, Shi Xiamin was in a hurry when she started this job.
Liu Dongmei, President of Longzhimeng Animal World Animal Conservancy: At the beginning, she may not be very skilled in animal feeding, because she did not feed. At the beginning, she may have choked milk, and she washed it herself. She solved the problem by her own way. She is very kind to animals, like taking care of her own children, Use your love to get along with these animals.
Tired and happy
Take care of the "Cute Beast" with patience and care
Four years ago, Shi Xiamin majored in preschool education. Instead of being a kindergarten teacher, she became the nurse of more than 200 beast children. Shi Xiamin has been working in this job for 4 years. Occasionally, when she was free, she would record the growth of animal babies with a camera and publish it to the social platform. In the comment area of Shi Xiamin's social account, the most popular word was "envy", and some people even applied online to take her on duty.
In fact, this job is not as easy as expected. In addition to testing physical strength, it also requires extreme patience and carefulness. "Cute animals" are sometimes "fierce animals". In addition to being cute, some are also aggressive. Sometimes, there are dangers.
There are four nurses in the Animal Conservancy. Because the Animal World is open to the outside world, it needs indoor and outdoor operations at the same time during the day, so there are two nurses working together on the day shift, and only one nurse is responsible for on duty care at night. Considering that the first seven days of an animal baby's birth is a dangerous period, the night shift is usually seven days. Small animals are fed three meals of milk every night at 8 p.m., 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. And every meal requires nurses to prepare half an hour in advance. No matter it's windy or rainy, when the alarm clock rings, they have to get up immediately, feed milk and then clean up. It took another 40 or 50 minutes to complete the process.
At 5 o'clock in the evening, Shi Xiamin came to the nursery and cleaned all the mats and toys that had been used all day. After cleaning inside and outside again, she began to browse the diary of each animal baby to learn about the daily meal, temperature, mental state and other conditions of each small animal. After checking, she was busy preparing for the night shift, which was the first meal of the animals at night.
Animal babies are of different ages and eat different foods. Some need to be mashed into meat, some need to be cut into pieces for feeding, and some need to be fed according to the doctor's advice. Shi Xiamin can only customize recipes for them one by one, and each small animal eats "small cooking spots".
Shi Xiamin: Like those new animals, they must use the smallest pacifier, which is suitable for them. You can't use a big one. For example, if it is too small, it will not drink because it can't breathe. Each small animal drinks milk in different bottles, quantities, types, formulas, and amounts.
Four little Xiongbao were born in different years. Now they are big in month. They not only have sharp claws, but also like to bite with their teeth. They often feed them at one meal, leaving several deep or shallow marks on Shi Xiamin's arms.
Shi Xiamin: It was bitten by a Siberian tiger. When it ate meat, I went to get a bowl. I clicked a mouthful, half a tooth went in, a hole went in, and finally there was a small scar, which could not be removed.
Just after feeding here, the cubs over there started a series of excretion contests, often just after cleaning up here, the cubs over there started again. Faced with such a situation, it often requires staff to have enough patience to deal with it.
That night, a little brown bear named Lumpy started to give up the milk at 8 o'clock, and gradually developed the ability to eat independently to adapt to the future "graduation life". Because of the weaning, Benben has been crying all the time, which has made the other three bears a little anxious, so the cleaning took a lot of time.
Most of the time, Shi Xiamin took care of 38 cubs at the same time. When on night shift, I have to feed three nights' milk, and I can hardly sleep for long at night.
If a small animal gets sick, she has to get up from time to time to observe the situation, so that she can't sleep all night. Although very tired, Shi Xiamin can still get some simple happiness from the night shift.
Shi Xiamin: The night shift is like putting a bear here. When you sleep here, you can hear them playing. Their feet are thick and hairless. When they run on the ground, they make the sound of "snapping". Sometimes they play ball for them, and they will pick up the ball. Every day you hear the sound. You can laugh when you listen here. It's fun.
The "cured" beast cub is cured
From the beginning, attracted by the cute appearance of the animals, to the present day and night, Shi Minxia and her colleagues have taken care of more than 200 animals and successfully "graduated" over the past four years. Small animals are taken care of and recovered here, and they can enter the next stage of life until their physical indicators are normal.
For conservationists, animals are often happy and worried when they graduate. Not long ago, a "doctor monkey" named Dasheng graduated and was just sent back to the exhibition area. Shi Xiamin, who has stayed up all night and worked night shift, is still worried, and plans to go to see it again before returning home to make up for sleep.
Shi Xiamin was relieved when she saw that the Great Sage was not afraid and was very lively in the independent cage. Shi Xiamin said that the Great Sage was already on the verge of death when he arrived. The nurses are worried that they will not be able to carry the fever for several days. At the same time of professional treatment and nursing, the nurses will cheer for the Great Sage in their spare time.
Shi Xiamin: Feed a milk, stick your face to it, kiss it, and say to encourage it. If you want to live, you are too small. Come on. Because it is too small to be over treated, you can only encourage it. You say go on, and the nannies are here. Don't be afraid. I often talk to him because we always think he can understand, but he can't speak.
As the small animals grow up day by day, the nurses are being cured by the animals while curing them.
Shi Xiamin: One night on the fifth night shift, I couldn't bear it. I had no strength, so I cut a bowl of fruit and took it. I put dates and oranges on the top. When it saw me go, it jumped and saw me go, and first picked up one to eat. Because it was the injured hand, it picked up one to eat with the other hand, and then looked at me. When it was wrong, it took another one, Come to me, hold my hand, put it in my hand, and then rub my hand with its face. At that moment, I will be in good spirits. At that moment, I may not be able to describe it, so I think it is easy to understand. I am glad that I have done this job. Through our care, it can survive and save a life.
In the Dragon Dream Animal World, animal keepers are the hardest jobs. Before Shi Xiamin, many nurses left.
There is not much time for a month's rest in rotation. Shi Xiamin often goes to the exhibition area to visit the raised animals when she occasionally takes a rest.
At the end of the busy shift, Shi Xiamin's first thing to go home is to take a bath and change into household clothes, and use the time before bed to release the cute daily life of the baby animals. At first, Shi Xiamin just wanted to "bask in baby". Later, she became a growth journal of animals.
Shi Xiamin.
Through the network platform, the concept and knowledge of popular science animal protection are broadcast live. Now Shi Xiamin's social account has attracted nearly one million fans, and the love and protection concept of animals have also been transferred from the zoo to further places. Some also changed their views on animals because of the videos she shared.
Shi Xiamin: Some people may not like animals in general, but because of my sharing, they will take the initiative to feed stray cats when they see my live broadcast. Maybe through my video, I can let you see the world in my eyes as much as possible. You can not only see that animals are cute, but also see the spiritual side of small animals, so you can start from around. If you don't like them, don't hurt them.
All "healing" in the world is the magic of love
In the eyes of netizens, Shi Xiamin has a "fairy job", "either walking a tiger or playing with a bear". In fact, when Shi Xiamin was interviewed, she didn't stay at all. She was either doing this or taking care of herself. She was busy with her hands and spoke quickly with her mouth. It is said that the "paid tiger killing" in China and the United States is actually a "full-time nurse" who turns around all day long.
Some people think that these "Maohaizi" in the animal care center are "cute animals", which make people feel cute; Some people think it's a beast and dare not approach it. Shi Xiamin and his colleagues think that they are just a group of children who can't speak. Whether animals are human or people understand animals, we can see all the cute faces of the cubs from the camera, which are all due to the caretakers' meticulous care and unreserved love. I hope this story of "Mammy of the Cute Beast" can make more people love animals, and also love work and life, because all the "cures" in the world are the magic of love. (Head Office reporter Gao Yin, He Lili, Shen Siwei, Liu Lang, Sun Xiaolu)
