The young rhino rolls and plays in the mud pit, actually using it to drive away insects from its skin.
Having played for almost an hour, the young rhino starts to feel tired and wants to sleep.
Bringing it to the shaded grassland, Chen Ying lets it sleep comfortably there and then changes clothes and shoes to visit the rhino mother.
The surgery on the mother rhino was relatively successful.
The use of the word "relatively" is due to some post-surgery infection.
Fortunately, with the expert group’s efforts, it was quickly controlled.
It can’t be helped; the mother rhino’s body was too weak, severe malnutrition left it almost defenseless, coupled with the tumor effects, mild infections were acceptable.
When Chen Ying arrived, the anti-infection treatment was already on its last day, and the blood test results were good. Apart from necessary post-tumor treatment, other medications could be paused.
Chen Ying brought quite a few medicine pills back with him.
He did not use them openly in front of the expert group, but the domestic experts were aware he had other medications at hand, and their effects were good. Unfortunately, the medicine could only be tailored for individual cases.
This is indeed a characteristic of Chinese medicine, one ailment one prescription.
No two illnesses are completely identical, and thus there shouldn’t be completely identical treatments.
Nowadays, few in Chinese medicine can achieve this.
After the treatment cycle, the mother rhino could barely move, but running or walking was difficult.
The center arranged two care teams in shifts, daily taking the mother rhino for proper activity, and providing massages to alleviate discomfort caused by medication.
The mother rhino is a timid but intelligent big mama.
Initially, only Chen Ying and two female nurses could approach it. Gradually, other doctors could touch it without anesthesia, and even the male veterinarian who drew its blood dared to approach with needles.
After eighteen days in the intensive care area, the mother rhino finally moved to live next door to her son.
Its enclosure lacked a mud pit since the wounds hadn’t completely healed, preventing it from covering itself in mud. Even drinking water was restricted to a food bowl.
Nevertheless, it could wander a few steps on the grass and graze on some tender leaves and grass.
The young rhino was overjoyed to see its mother, its small hooves bouncing continuously, eager to rush over to her.
But the iron bars and the concrete barriers below hindered its movement.
The little one escalated, daring to directly charge the bars, and the keeper couldn’t stop it, but ultimately the mother rhino halted its stubbornness.
Chen Ying was originally video conferencing with the treatment team and the foreign expert to plan the mother rhino’s next treatment plan.
They hardly began when an urgent notice from the park called for immediate calming of the young rhino.
Holding the video phone, Chen Ying hurried to the park, wanting the expert to see if this rescued juvenile rhino needed extra care.
Upon reaching the park, he could hear the young rhino’s cries from afar, the sound of "Mom" broke Chen Ying’s heart.
Without bothering to change clothes, he rushed in wearing a clean work suit, hugging the young rhino’s head to comfort it.
"Behave, baby. You see, mom’s health is still not great, rushing over could hurt her. If you want to be close to mom, I can accompany you, but you can’t stay with her all the time, you have to return after playing a bit. If you listen, I’ll take you there."
The young rhino made squeaking sounds and stomped its feet expressing its feelings.
Chen Ying lovingly hugged it, fed it two pieces of fruit, then guided it through the safety door to its mother’s side.
The expert said the mother rhino’s wound was healing well, and Chen Ying, being in this line of work himself, knew at this stage, the chance of infection from contact was low. Thus, he dared to bring the young rhino for some interaction with the mother rhino.
Animals’ psychological needs also require care. The mother rhino’s surgery was significant, almost separating her from her child permanently. After twenty days without seeing each other, she couldn’t help but miss her child.
Close contact actually strengthens the mother rhino’s conviction to fight against illness.
The young rhino trotted over, still with a branch full of tiny fruits in its mouth.
The mother rhino fondly and closely bonded with the child, her eyes full of love.
Rhinos usually communicate through roaring sounds, while juveniles make squeaking sounds in response.
Beside the enclosure, several keepers and staff with video phones stood behind the fence, and one young girl couldn’t help but shed tears.
The poor mother finally defeated the illness, but had Chen Ying discovered it a little later, they might never have known of the young one-horned rhino’s existence here.
"Hey, do you think the male rhino can be found?"
With the birth of a young rhino, there certainly must be parents.
They took the mother rhino and the juvenile, but until today, there’s no word of a male rhino being discovered.
"No way, must Dr. Chen personally find it?"
Another young keeper was impressed, muttering softly, "There are meteorite hunters, treasure hunters, our Dr. Chen might just be an extinct beast hunter!"
"Absolutely not an extinct beast hunter, at least call him a rare beast hunter." The female keeper retorted, but soon started to dream, "Do you think Dr. Chen might one day discover an already extinct small one-horned animal, possibly uncovering a saber-toothed tiger or mammoth?"
The leader Old Yuan helplessly glanced at them, "Alright, less talk, more work. Quickly clean the young rhino’s enclosure and bring more of the fruits it likes. Today Dr. Chen brought a fruit I noticed it was very fond of, it didn’t even eat it itself, bringing it eagerly to its mom."
This little cutie is truly adorable.
After letting the young rhino play with its mother for about half an hour, the mother rhino’s energy noticeably waned.
Chen Ying forcefully took the young rhino away and wandered around the park with it.
The rescue station housed many animals, including numerous young ones like little tigers, monkeys, wolves, dogs, and cats, but it was the first time seeing a young rhino.
Other park staff knew their center rescued a small one-horned rhino declared regionally extinct, but due to rules, they couldn’t visit the rhino mother and child.
As Chen Ying chatted with the foreign professor about rhino diagnosis and care, while touring the park with the young rhino, indirectly fulfilling others’ wish to see the rhino.
The little one was at first very scared, sticking close to Chen Ying.
Later, realizing no one harmed it on the way and there were delicious sprouts by the roadside, the little one’s courage instantly grew, walking and eating along the way, stripping a long stretch of roadside shrubs bare.
The park’s landscaping staff not only didn’t get angry, but followed behind with notebooks and cameras.
The park had two to three dozen shrub varieties, and meticulously recorded which leaves the young rhino preferred and which it sniffed before fleeing.
Chen Ying had just finished a video meeting with the professor researching rhinos when he got a call from the Golden Cat project partner, wanting to discuss borrowing the obsessed Golden Cat to a zoo abroad.
Chen Ying frowned, sensing some problem with this person.
The obsessed Golden Cat is a purely wild animal, national laws clearly prohibit unauthorized capture of wild animals. How could doing something knowingly illegal?
The person quickly explained, saying they didn’t intend to forcibly capture wild Golden Cat for their zoo, but hoped to introduce this Golden Cat to improve their Golden Cat genetics.
Since the foreign zoo’s Golden Cat was also a Sichuan-Tibet subspecies, they hoped for Chen Ying’s cooperation.
"Tell them, impossible. Either they send their zoo’s Golden Cat here for matchmaking, or forget about inviting our wild Golden Cat over."
Though the zoo’s explanation seemed an unavoidable inquiry for help, Chen Ying felt this person’s motives were not quite right.
After decisively refusing, Chen Ying called Yin Li, explained the situation, and heard Yin Li snort, explaining why the person would try probing despite knowing it wasn’t possible.