It dropped the corn, stood up, and let out an inscrutable grunt.
Its eyes grew fervent.
The two bears stared at each other.
It was as if invisible sparks were flying through the air.
The she-bear let out a low growl and strode toward the male.
Her gait was no longer lazy or aggressive as it usually was. Instead, it was filled with a clear, purposeful urgency.
The male bear didn’t shy away.
In fact, he took the initiative and went to meet her.
The two bears were soon nuzzling together.
Their noses touched as they sniffed each other, letting out rapid, affectionate grunts.
The she-bear extended her tongue and licked the male’s cheek.
The male responded in kind, rubbing his head against the she-bear’s neck.
The previous distance, fear, and aggression vanished in an instant.
In its place was a natural, fervent intimacy.
Then, as Yang Qi watched, trying to stifle a laugh, the two bears began to tumble together passionately.
They began to... procreate.
Their movements were fluid and perfectly synchronized, as if rehearsed countless times.
Yang Qi looked away and turned to leave.
Faint sounds of their activity followed him.
...
Brother Lin soon discovered the black bears’ passionate procreation.
Yang Qi had just finished breakfast in the employee cafeteria. He was slowly sipping a bowl of complimentary seaweed and egg drop soup when his phone vibrated.
He took it out. It was Brother Lin.
He answered.
"Brother Qi, it worked!" Brother Lin’s voice was full of excitement.
Yang Qi set his soup bowl down. "Brother Lin, slow down. What worked?"
"The black bears! The pair on Bear Mountain!" Brother Lin said in a rush. "I went over to do my routine check-in, and I found the two of them being so affectionate! It’s a complete turnaround from before, when she was always chasing and attacking him."
He gasped for breath, his voice practically overflowing with joy. "I knew it! I knew you’d have a solution, Brother Qi. It’s only been a few days and they’ve already reconciled! Thank you so much!"
Listening to the joy on the other end of the line, the corners of Yang Qi’s mouth crept upward, but he kept his tone calm.
"Don’t celebrate too early, Brother Lin. For now, they’ve just patched things up and are interacting normally again. We’ll have to wait and see if she actually gets pregnant."
"But it’s still a great start!"
Brother Lin was grinning from ear to ear. "As long as they stop fighting and the male starts eating properly and regains his strength, it’s progress. As for cubs, we’ll leave that up to fate!"
He rambled on with a few more words of thanks before hanging up.
Yang Qi put his phone away, finished the last of his soup, and returned his tray.
The morning light was perfect as he walked out of the cafeteria.
He could just imagine Brother Lin, rushing excitedly to the Animal Management Department to report the news.
Sure enough, around ten o’clock that morning, Yang Qi was changing the drinking water in the Gray Wolf enclosure when Jiang Kai came to find him in person.
"Xiao Yang!"
Jiang Kai stood outside the enclosure, smiling through the bars. "The keeper told me things have improved over at Bear Mountain?"
Yang Qi turned off the water valve and straightened up. "Yes, Director. I saw their relationship had improved quite a bit during the morning feeding."
"Good, that’s great."
Jiang Kai nodded repeatedly. "The keeper was overjoyed. He said the male is eating with a good appetite now, the female has stopped attacking him, and the two of them... ahem, are getting along very well."
He paused, looked at Yang Qi, and remarked, "Xiao Yang, your ability to communicate with animals is truly remarkable. You can even mediate a domestic dispute between a pair of black bears."
Yang Qi just smiled, not taking the bait. Instead, he asked, "Director, what about the black bears’ feeding from now on...?"
"Oh, the keeper said that since their relationship has improved, he’ll take back the feeding duties," Jiang Kai said. "We can’t keep troubling you. You’ve worked hard these past few days."
"It was no trouble. I was just doing my job," Yang Qi said.
Jiang Kai offered a few more words of encouragement before leaving with his hands clasped behind his back, his steps light.
...
The news quickly spread through the relevant circles within the zoo.
The technicians in the Animal Management Department, the janitors responsible for the Bear Mountain area, and even the security guards who regularly patrolled nearby all heard about it.
When they talked about it amongst themselves, their tones were filled with delight.
After all, seeing the animals healthy and living in harmony is the most fundamental wish of everyone who works there.
However, this delight didn’t last long before it turned into concern.
Because this black bear couple was, frankly, a bit too "enthusiastic."
Their enthusiasm was over the top.
According to the observation logs kept by Brother Lin and a few technicians:
Duration of a single mating session: Over an hour and a half on average. The longest session started at 9:03 AM and lasted until 10:47 AM.
Daily frequency: At least ten times. From dawn until dusk, apart from eating, drinking, and taking short breaks, they spent nearly all their time "communicating their feelings."
Brother Lin held the logbook, his hands trembling slightly as he looked at the densely packed timestamps.
In all his years of raising bears, he had never seen anything like it.
When he talked with colleagues from other zoos, none of them had ever heard of black bears with such a "track record" either.
"This... can their bodies handle this?"
Brother Lin wrung his hands anxiously, pacing back and forth in the observation room outside Bear Mountain. "The male was still so thin! He’s only just started to put on a little weight!"
The technician, Xiaozhao, pushed up his glasses and stared at the monitor, his face also etched with worry. "The she-bear, too. Even though she’s sturdily built, this level of high-intensity activity is too draining. Look, she devoured her food this morning twice as fast as usual, and she was still staring at the trough after she finished. She was clearly not full."
The zoo quickly adjusted their diet.
The two bears’ food portions were increased by a third, the ratio of meat and protein was raised, and they were given additional nutritional paste and vitamin supplements.
The logistics department even gave special approval for a batch of fresh salmon scraps and premium nuts to be added to their meals.