I have a wildlife zoo

After hearing Fang Ye's explanation, netizens also expressed their understanding.

"Although this Pride Rock is a bit miniature, from the animation's perspective, considering the lions and the size ratio of Pride Rock, even this slanted stone in front is estimated to be about thirty to forty meters high, with a length of seventy to eighty meters, and the mountain peak behind must be at least two hundred meters tall.

To make such a mountain peak, it's not just a matter of insufficient space, it also feels like a waste of money! Can't imagine how much stone that would use up."

"Indeed, I think the scenery looks great just like this!"

"The original Pride Rock plus mountain peak, to fit in the park you'd need at least tens of thousands of square meters of space, I guess, to get the proportions to look harmonious, otherwise a single Pride Rock would fill up the exhibit area."

"On the contrary, you could say that Pride Rock is so big you could build a zoo on top of it."

"Speaking of which, how big is this miniature Pride Rock in the park? Is there any expert here to estimate its size?"

"Hmm…I reckon the top is about ten meters above the ground?"

Seeing the guesses of the netizens, Fang Ye laughed and said, "You guess pretty accurately. This Pride Rock is thirty meters long, seven meters wide, and the top is ten meters off the ground!"

Pride Rock is situated on a gently rising slope, with a solid large stone underneath the latter half, and behind it is a large area of bare rocks piled up to form a gentle slope, with some irregular rocks scattered haphazardly among them, and vigorous shrubs and weeds tenaciously growing out of the crevices in the rocks.

Pride Rock is the focal point of the lion exhibit, but it is not the only scenery.

The netizens had been distracted by Pride Rock before, but now, after taking it all in, they shifted their attention to other parts of the exhibit area.

The overall impression is one of openness! Explore stories at empire

Unlike the tiger exhibit, which has various trees, and where the forest area is an essential part.

The lion exhibit features expansive green savannas, pale yellow and light gray rocks, the exposed dry sandy soil surface, and rather sparse trees.

It creates an atmosphere reminiscent of the typically dry climate of the East African savannas!

The most prominent and eye-catching trees are only two kinds, the seven to eight meters high sweet acacia and the robust African baobab trees reaching a height of over ten meters. Apart from these, other plants in the exhibit include hackberry, honey locust, przewalski's krascheninnikovia, Russian olive, tumbling saltbush, Chinese silver grass, and so forth.

Chinese silver grass is a common weed in the tropics and is now planted as an ornamental plant. The garden's variety grows one to two meters tall, with a crown width of over one meter. When the plumes bloom, they're pale red, turning to silvery white when dry, with a blooming period from August to October, resembling reed grass grown on the ground.

Since the trees are too sparse to provide cover, this dense kind of weed is an alternative, where lions can lurk and observe their environment.

As the breeze blows, swathes of silver grass ripple rhythmically like waves from a distance, with the white plumes swaying in the Sunshine, appearing exceptionally beautiful.

Of course, such silver grass is only planted in certain areas, elsewhere, ordinary grass is grown. Otherwise, if the entire savanna was tall and dense silver grass, you would only see the grass move but not the lions sneaking through."

Netizens, admiring the environment, couldn't help exclaiming, "Wow, what a beautiful savanna!"

"Eh, Head Zookeeper, I recognize the African baobab tree, just saw it over on ring-tailed lemur island; what's that tree that looks like an umbrella called?"

"Same question! I've been really struck by that tree ever since watching 'The Lion King,' but I never knew what it was called."

"The canopy is so wide! Looks like it's about ten meters in diameter when spread out?"

"I've seen them in documentaries about Africa. It feels like whenever you think of the African savannah, aside from lions and elephants, this tree springs to mind."

Fang Ye didn't even need to look at the exhibit area to know what the netizens were talking about and laughed, saying, "This type of tree is called the sweet acacia, and the kind we have planted in our exhibit is the umbrella thorn acacia!

Just by the name you can tell, it looks like an umbrella with sharp thorns growing on top, and it can be said to be the tree with the highest aesthetics in Africa.

It is also one of the favorite foods of African herbivores, and it has a love-hate relationship with giraffes. When we introduce giraffes later, I can tell you their story."

"Director, why is the grass in the exhibit area not yellow?"

"Yeah, in documentaries I see, the grass on the African savannah is all yellow, why don't we plant some of that grass in the exhibit area?"

Fang Ye gave a wry smile and said, "The grass on the African savannah is not always yellow. It is green during the rainy season, and turns yellow during the dry season when the climate is arid, the same as the grass here turning yellow when it dries up."

After a moment he added, "The reason you might have the impression of yellow grass could be because documentaries are filmed during the dry season.

The ground is too muddy during the rainy season; dry roads become muddy pits, and tires get stuck and can't move. Moreover, the plains are so overgrown during the rainy season that the animals hide in the grass and are hard to film.

Here in Linhai, the climate is moist, and the temperature even in winter stays above ten degrees Celsius, so properly maintained lawns won't turn yellow. Of course, in our African-themed exhibit areas, not watering in the autumn and winter should also be able to create a period of yellowing."

"So that's how it is!"

Continuing forward, they walked along a slightly curved path and came to another viewing spot with a moat as a barrier, where they could appreciate the scenery of the grasslands from another angle as Pride Rock pointed towards them.

Here they could also see a pond about three hundred square meters in size, surrounded by shallow grasslands. Not far off were dense patches of Chinese silver grass, and there stood a lush umbrella thorn acacia tree.

From the previous viewing point, the pond was hidden from view by Pride Rock and the Chinese silver grass.

Pride Rock was not only an attractive spot in the exhibit area but also naturally served as a visual barrier!

During hot weather, lions could come to the water's edge to drink and rest, enjoying the shade provided by the sweet acacia's canopy and the water carrying away the heat. Resting nearby would be quite comfortable.

This spot was at the back end of the lion exhibit. From this viewing point, if time was limited or visitors had already seen enough, they could follow the tour path back to the main thoroughfare.

If they wanted to continue watching, they could turn the corner and keep walking.

Above the pond was a Sky Bridge, four meters high and three meters wide!

Between the railings was a metal mesh with no gaps.

From the Sky Bridge, visitors could look down on the majestic savannah of the lion exhibit. Perhaps the lions would be drinking at the pond or resting in the shade of trees by the water, lazily under the spectators' gaze.

If they didn't want to be seen, they could change their position or dive into the Chinese silver grass to hide.

The reason the Sky Bridge was placed over the pond was also because there was no grass underneath, keeping a distance from the area where lions roamed, which could help deter some visitors' desire to feed them.

Moreover, with a certain angle, it also facilitated a better appreciation of the lions without the need to lean over the railings and look down.

Fang Ye stepped onto the Sky Bridge, gestured for Lan Li to capture the expansive view of the savannah bathed in Sunshine and the swaying silver grass, and laughed, "How about it, isn't it beautiful?"

He pointed over the bridge and added, "Past the Sky Bridge is the indoor exhibit!"