The mother of the lords of the forest
Early in the morning, when the fog was still hanging over Thu Le Lake, the pace of life in the Capital was still not ready, I followed Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc into the animal cage area. As an employee of the Animal Husbandry Team of Hanoi Zoo Co., Ltd., Ms. Ngoc appeared in a protective uniform with a petite, agile figure. Starting her shift, Ms. Ngoc went to check the situation of her "spiritual children".
Cham, love! Cham, where is the handsome guy?" - Ms. Ngoc's call was graceful, echoing through the corridors. Originally a powerful "king of the jungle", but as soon as she heard Ms. Ngoc's voice, the lion named Cham immediately jumped up, slowly approached. It whispered softly, pressed its fur close to the steel mesh, coquettishly like a small cat waiting to be scratched on the cheeks and head. Ms. Ngoc smiled and shared: "Lions also have a human nature, when happy they jump, when sad they lie down, their eyes sadly waiting to be comforted.
Her job is not just simply cleaning up or dividing portions. Every day, she also diligently works on "enriching herds" - a humane job to help the animals live closest to their wild instincts. From tracking which animals like to eat first, how the other likes to exercise, she meticulously sets up space to stimulate their exploration and maintain their biological habits. She takes care of the herd of animals with deep understanding, from the times they are bored and need encouragement to when they need to adjust the menu to ensure optimal health for each individual.
More than two decades of being a "mother" of beasts, Ms. Ngoc has tasted all levels of emotions. There is sadness that lingers when witnessing old and weak friends leaving, but there is also simple happiness when seeing them grow up day by day. Like Bi Bong - a tiger that she directly cared for from the day he weighed only 12.5kg. Now, even though he is a majestic "thirty-year-old man" weighing nearly 200kg, Bi Bong is still always a beloved child, always attached and gentle when seeing the appearance of a gentle "mother".
25 years of "diagnosing and prescribing" for wild animals
Leaving the lion cage area, I met Mr. Pham Duc Quang, the veterinarian of the zoo. If Ms. Ngoc is the mother who takes care of every meal and sleep, then Mr. Quang is the father who has guarded the health of the animals for the past 25 years. For him, it is a persistent journey of "diagnosing and prescribing" for patients who cannot speak. Mr. Quang confided: "Just a small change in the eyes or a strange roar, I must immediately recognize what problems they are having.
While leading me, he told me about the days of worrying by the cage when a "child" was sick. His worried eyes when looking at the animal skipping meals were like the mood of a father worried about his child when he had a fever. For him, the greatest reward is not anything noble, but when he hears the loud roar again or sees a delicious meal of his children after the illness.
At Hanoi Zoo, there are not only Ms. Ngoc or Mr. Quang, but also a collective of silent livestock workers. They are the ones who wake up earliest and return home latest to operate the "home" of hundreds of animals. "Saying not to be afraid is not right, because we are exposed to wild animals every day. But loving the profession does not mean risking our lives, but we must understand them to every detail to keep both people and animals safe," Ms. Ngoc confided.
For them, those fierce beasts have become a part of their flesh and blood. Happiness is sometimes very simple, it is a early morning seeing a flock of tigers still healthy, it is when a lion is willing to eat all the portions, or just a rare gentle look of a beast for the caregiver.
