CCTV News:During the "May Day" holiday, the news channel reported that four male peacocks were plucked by tourists and went on a hunger strike because of depression. So, a few days later, did the depressed peacocks get better?
Recently, the peacocks in Zhuyuwan Scenic Spot Zoo in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province were somewhat worried. According to the keeper, four of the male peacocks suffered from "depression".
It is not difficult to see that these "depressed" male peacocks have similar symptoms on their bodies. The long tail feathers that should have been gone, and this one is even bald. Is their "depression" related to these strange conditions?
Beautiful tail feathers are an important magic weapon for the success of male peacocks’ courtship, because this season is a season for peacocks to courtship. Peacock courtship wins the hearts of female peacocks by showing its most beautiful side, which means that it has no tail feathers this season, and it may lose its mating rights this year and this season, and it will not be able to reproduce its next generation.
The person in charge of the zoo said that in order to allow tourists to watch the peacocks more closely, they specially built this peacock garden during the National Day last year, and the peacocks in the park met the tourists in the form of free-range. After the Qingming Festival in April this year, more and more tourists came to visit, and the staff found that some people began to make uncivilized moves towards peacocks.
Peacock whose tail feathers have been plucked will not only bleed, but also cause infection, leading to the decline of physical function. The breeder can only isolate them temporarily, and help them recover slowly by applying anti-inflammatory drugs and feeding vitamin C. However, even if the wounds of the body can heal, their mental trauma will not be calmed for a long time.
Wen Liang, the person in charge of Yangzhou Wildlife Rescue Center, said that the symptoms of depression in animals are similar to those in humans. Humans have psychological experts to treat them with drugs and so on, but animals don’t, because animals can’t communicate directly with people. Therefore, prevention in this area depends on this breeder to take care of them carefully, give them a quiet environment and slowly relieve stress.
At present, four plucked male peacocks are still in a "depressed" state, and the breeder said that if they can grow new tail feathers in winter, they may fully recover. These peacocks are not the only animals that have been hurt in the zoo. There have been fawns who died of stomach tumors because of eating plastic bags thrown by tourists by mistake, and kangaroos who were chased by tourists were scared and ran, hitting the wall and knocking off their front teeth. "Close contact between tourists and animals" is becoming a new attempt of more zoos. While enjoying the interesting communication with animals, people should not forget the "shape". And the relevant departments jointly establish an efficient and powerful supervision system, which may allow such "close contact" to continue.