With the unveiling of the Blood Orchid, Xihong Zoo's popularity surged once more.
The most immediate benefit for Yang Lin was the long-awaited allocation of funds from the city.
Although earmarked for the nature reserve's construction, to Yang Lin, it made no difference.
As soon as the funds arrived, he immediately invested them in the reserve's infrastructure.
In less than a week, basic facilities like walls were completed.
On the very day the Xihong Nature Reserve was officially inaugurated, large trucks from Yunnan arrived and parked outside its grounds.
"Director Yang, Director Song asked us to escort the first batch of 500 animals here. Please check and receive them."
Outside the new entrance of Xihong Zoo, a representative from Yunnan Zoo, handing over a manifest, breathed a long sigh of relief.
This was his first time being responsible for an inter-provincial animal transfer, and he had been worried about any mishaps along the way. Now that they had finally arrived at Xihong Zoo, he was finally at ease.
"Thank you for your hard work. If the quantity is correct, please escort them in."
Yang Lin glanced at the manifest and smiled indifferently.
"Alright, but there are quite a lot of animals this time. Should your zoo arrange for more people to assist with the reception?"
Noticing that only Yang Lin was present, the representative from Yunnan Zoo asked with some uncertainty.
"No need. You just need to deliver them. I'll handle the rest."
Seeing Yang Lin's firm stance, the representative had no choice but to instruct the drivers to drive the trucks, laden with various wild animals, into Xihong Zoo.
As soon as they entered the park, a vast open area came into view.
The old buildings and walls had been completely demolished, leaving only a visitor center and some viewing areas.
In the adjacent green spaces, various birds and small wild animals could be seen everywhere, clearly forming a free-roaming area and a recreational forest zone.
Further in was the original location of Xihong Zoo.
As the trucks carrying the wild animals drove into this area, they immediately drew the attention of the visitors within the park.
"So many animals! Where did Director Yang go to get more stock this time?"
"Why are there two giraffes sticking their necks out from the top of the truck? Aren't they afraid of hitting the signs?"
"And a whole truckload of peacocks. Did they raid a peacock farm?"
"Ostriches! There are several ostriches too."
"Whoa, kangaroos! Now Gangzi will have company."
"Looking at the license plates, they're from Yunnan. Could it be that Yunnan Zoo sent them to Director Yang?"
Before anyone could guess the answer, the trucks carrying the animals opened their doors.
They had expected these animals to be taken into the formal enclosures, but they soon realized they were mistaken.
In the next second, to the astonishment of the onlookers, the animals descended from the trucks in an orderly fashion.
Giraffes, Asian elephants, zebras, bisons, and other large herbivores led the way.
Peacocks, ostriches, emus, raccoons, tapirs, and other relatively smaller animals followed.
Once all the animals were out, a massive procession formed on the main road.
It was like a migration on the African savanna.
Seemingly unfazed by their new environment or the crowds, they appeared perfectly normal, not at all agitated.
The situation surprised not only the present visitors but also the staff from Yunnan Zoo who had accompanied the animals.
Had it not been for Yang Lin's insistence, they would never have allowed these animals to be exposed to the public in such an environment.
Generally, animals, even those raised in zoos since birth, tend to exhibit some level of discomfort when faced with unfamiliar surroundings and crowds.
This discomfort often manifests in various ways, with sudden stampedes being the most common.
"What's going on? Why are they so cooperative today?"
"I don't know. What happened to the expected acclimatization issues?"
"They look so happy, don't they?"
"You don't think they know Xihong Zoo is better than our zoo, do you?"
Under the watchful eyes of the Yunnan Zoo staff, the animals, who had traveled hundreds of kilometers, behaved as if they were returning home. Under Yang Lin's guidance, they began to move towards their new living areas.
Apart from a few animals with weaker survival capabilities, most were released into the newly renovated forest areas and wetlands.
With the addition of these new arrivals, the previously somewhat sparse reserve was suddenly infused with a sense of vitality.
As all this unfolded before the eyes of the visitors, they began to sense something.
"Have you noticed? It seems Director Yang isn't planning to put any of this batch of animals in cages."
"Yeah, they're all in the free-roaming areas."
"So, is the future direction of Xihong Zoo to keep all the animals outdoors?"
"That might not be the case. It's understandable for herbivores, but what about carnivores?"
"Why not? I heard the new areas Xihong Zoo is building won't have any enclosed spaces; they'll all be open-concept."
"I remember Director Yang saying a long time ago that Xihong Zoo's iron cages aren't to protect humans, but to protect the animals."
"If everyone respected animals, these cages truly wouldn't be necessary."
"I just saw a video of a brat climbing over a wall into the peacock enclosure and assaulting a peacock, almost killing it."
"If I saw such a brat at Xihong Zoo, I'd encourage him to try the same thing in the tiger enclosure on the spot."
"I hope we don't encounter such people. Otherwise, my temper might lead me to encourage my son to beat him up. My son is just under 12 but already 1.8 meters tall."
"Your son is growing well then."
In fact, it was as the visitors surmised. Yang Lin was gradually acclimating the animals to transition from semi-open to fully open environments.
Based on the current construction progress, the two adjacent zones would be completed in the latter half of the year, marking the end of the iron cage era for Xihong Zoo.
This was why he hadn't sent the newly arrived animals into cages.
Simultaneously, as the first batch of animals from Yunnan Zoo arrived, the little white tiger, on its journey home, finally entered the Qinghai-Tibet region.
ps: I've created a novel map generation software and am in the process of figuring out how to draw. I'll have the zoo map ready in a couple of days.