The name card of the wild boar "Mingtian." Photo: web

If you see a wild boar in Bear Mountain at the popular Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, don't be scared. It's not a food reserve for brown bears or a mistake. It is a working pig named "Mingtian."

As is known to all, it takes the cooperation of many organisms to achieve healthy, loose, and breathable soil with good humus development. Many large animals like to dig in the soil for food, which makes the soil healthier. And wild boars are great at digging. Therefore, the zoo has "hired" a few wild boars as "staff members" to do the digging work on their behalf. Netizens were amused by videos posted online of the pigs working hard.

As the first zoo in the country to abolish animal performances, the Hongshan Forest Zoo seems to always be doing something unique. In the view of industry insiders, the zoo is always striving to create a near-wild environment for captive animals, allowing them to exhibit more natural behaviors. The director, Shen Zhijun, also expressed that the zoo hopes to let visitors feel the original living environment of the species during their visit, which will lead them to consider how to protect animals and their habitats through practical actions.