Being a Dad in the Animal World
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Fish Brother probably never dreamed that his existence would be reduced to a plaything for a certain dolphin.
He might have preferred to become food in the dolphin's stomach rather than endure such humiliation.
In those brief few seconds, he would need seven seconds to recover.
But whether a fish's memory really lasts only seven seconds, no one knows.
If it is seven seconds, then that's fine.
After seven seconds, Fish Brother might just forget about the whole incident.
In the world of dolphins, it seems only humpback dolphins practice monogamy.
Other species are more like the "Teddy bears" of the sea, they don't have fixed partners and are mostly bisexual.
Dolphins are known for their wild, unrestrained pursuit of pleasure.
Besides targeting their own kind, they also don't hesitate to interact with other species.
Take, for example, this Fish Brother on the seabed, who doesn't know whether he's better off dead or alive.
Their flat, toothless mouths become a source of joy for the dolphin.
Although the dolphin's fun lasts only a few dozen seconds, for Fish Brother, the damage might be minimal, but the humiliation is extreme.
Bai Yi initially thought that the big guy would let Fish Brother go after having his fun just once.
But to his surprise, after lingering around Fish Brother for a while, the big guy actually signaled Bai Yi to give it a try.
Bai Yi definitely wasn’t going to try. He decided to take his little dolphin and leave.
However, not long after he left, he heard the big dolphin making those joyful sounds again.
The ultrasonic waves echoed one after another. When he turned around, he saw the big guy repeating what he had done earlier.
From Bai Yi’s perspective, the big guy’s long, pointed snout looked like a wide smile.
Bai Yi: "..." As long as you’re happy, I’m out of here.
Fish: "..." Never have I been so speechless in my life.
Male dolphins not only exhibit this behavior toward certain fish but also toward other species, including penguins and even humans.
However, in the marine world, the ones who suffer the most after encountering dolphins aren’t the common fish but the pufferfish.
Pufferfish live in freshwater or the intersection of freshwater and seawater when they’re young. As adults, they venture into the ocean.
Despite their name, most pufferfish live in the sea. They aren’t unique to freshwater rivers.
As is well known, pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, which can be lethal to humans even in small amounts.
When they sense danger, they inflate into spiky, round balls, puffing up as if suddenly filled with air, making it impossible for predators to bite them.
Pufferfish are toxic all over, including the fluids inside their bodies. Tetrodotoxin is a neurotoxin that directly affects the nervous system.
Pufferfish might be even more baffled than Fish Brother. One day, their defense mechanism became the key to unlocking a new world for dolphins.
Since their toxin isn’t strong enough to fatally harm dolphins, it instead induces hallucinations in dolphins.
These hallucinations might allow them to experience a different kind of euphoria, much like human drug addicts.
They become immersed in this pleasure, leading their fellow dolphins to join in and harass the pufferfish.
The tiny pufferfish became the source of their group indulgence.
Pufferfish probably never dreamed that their toxin, meant to relieve stress, would become a source of joy for dolphins.
Pufferfish: "Thanks, I feel so offended."
Bai Yi was relieved that pufferfish typically live in warmer waters, and the African region is unlikely to have such creatures.
However, there’s always the possibility of species invasion. The Mediterranean Sea, for example, didn’t have pufferfish before because the water temperature was too low for them to survive.
But as global temperatures continue to rise, seawater temperatures are also changing, leading to the invasion of pufferfish in the Mediterranean.
Still, that’s the Mediterranean, and it doesn’t have much to do with Bai Yi’s current location.
The only thing he’s worried about is the behavior of his "good big son."
After more than a month of living together, Bai Yi was well aware of his little Jason's ability to learn and imitate. What worried him the most was that, if he wasn’t careful, little Jason might pick up the big guy thuggish behavior, which would be extremely troubling for him.
No matter what his little dolphin might grow up to be like in the future, at the very least, he couldn’t let him learn such behavior at such a young age.
He had to prevent this kind of behavior.
So Bai Yi tried his best to guide the child onto the right path. But animals aren’t like humans, they truly don’t distinguish between good and bad.
Although the little dolphin didn’t understand what the big guy was doing, he always wanted to give it a try.
One day, Bai Yi took him out to hunt fish, and they encountered a group of croakers.
Croakers are larger in size compared to other small fish, and they usually travel in schools.
Since they were in the ocean, their size was even more noticeable.
Croakers are highly nutritious and a favorite food among dolphins.
However, because of their larger size, they aren’t easy to catch. Hunting these fish usually requires a group of dolphins to work together.
Bai Yi wanted to give his little dolphin something good to eat, so he decided to catch a croaker for the child.
Dolphins can use their sonar echolocation system to detect smaller targets within a school of fish, which increases their chances of a successful hunt.
Although Bai Yi hadn’t been a dolphin for very long, he knew how to use his sonar system to locate targets. He quickly locked onto a smaller croaker.
He swam toward the target and chased it for a while before finally catching it.
He swam back to little Jason, planning to tear the fish apart on the seabed and feed it to the child piece by piece.
But when he placed the barely alive croaker on the seabed and prepared to tear it apart, his "good big son" actually came over and circled the fish for a while.
He even made anxious sounds from time to time. Bai Yi was confused and didn’t understand what he meant.
Thinking that the little one wanted to eat the fish whole, Bai Yi moved aside to let him have it.
To his surprise, the little guy puffed out his white belly and imitated the big guy’s movements, his small body wriggling back and forth.
Bai Yi: "..." He seemed to realize what his little dolphin was doing.
He instinctively glanced at the little one’s abdomen but didn’t see anything there.
Bottlenose dolphins have two slits on their abdomen—one for defecation and one for urination.
Of course, the one for urination has other uses as well.
Clearly, his little dolphin didn’t have those yet, his slits were still closed.
He was simply mimicking the dolphin's actions. His curiosity drove him to be interested in everything, even rubbing his belly on the fish's mouth.
Bai Yi was speechless. He no longer knew how to educate the child.
Silently, he went over and nudged the little one away with his snout. Then he tore the croaker into pieces, picking out the parts with fewer bones to feed to the little dolphin.
One croaker was enough to fill the little dolphin’s stomach, and it was highly nutritious.
As for Bai Yi, he didn’t mind. He had never eaten his fill anyway. After all, a dolphin of his size needed about 15 kilograms of food per meal to feel full, and there simply weren’t that many fish available for him to eat.
He usually only ate until he was about 30-40% full, just enough to sustain his daily activities.
To eat his fill, he would have to join a dolphin pod for hunting, but he refused to associate with those shameless creatures.
However, even if he didn’t seek out the big guy, the big guy would come looking for him.
He always managed to accurately locate Bai Yi, which left Bai Yi feeling somewhat helpless.
No matter where Bai Yi hid, the big guy would find him. One day, he would bring seaweed; the next day, sargassum; and the day after that, seashells.
Who knew what gift he would bring next?
Both Bai Yi and his little dolphin had seashell necklaces. Then one day, the big guy made one for himself too, flaunting it in front of Bai Yi and trying to exchange gifts with him.
It had to be said, this big guy was really persistent. Bai Yi had never seen a dolphin more determined than him.
The big guy never gave up on Bai Yi, always wanting to do this and that to him, but Bai Yi always refused.
If it were any other dolphin, they might have been swayed by the big guy’s relentless advances.
Except for humpback dolphins, most dolphins don’t have a fixed, exclusive partner. This is common knowledge.
But the audience, seeing this gray dolphin relentlessly pursuing Bai Yi, started to sense a sweet undertone in their interactions.
"This dolphin seems to really like Xiao Fen. He keeps bringing gifts every day."
"Isn’t his name Wang Erdan? Why are you calling him Xiao Fen?"
"Wang Erdan sounds too crude. It doesn’t match Xiao Fen’s cute and beautiful appearance, so Xiao Fen sounds better."
"I think Xiao Fen sounds nice too."
"I hope this little gray one is sincere toward Xiao Fen. If he is, I hope they can become partners."
"I think it’s great too, but I’m worried Xiao Fen might be influenced by little gray. He seems to want to teach all his bad habits to Xiao Fen. Since I started watching this livestream, I haven’t seen Xiao Fen display any bad habits. He even seems quite innocent."
"But they’re just animals. They live in ways that feel comfortable to them. I don’t think it’s a big deal."
"Exactly, they’re not humans. Even humans can’t always control themselves, let alone dolphins."
"This is a national treasure of Zhonghua. I heard their intelligence is comparable to humans. In Europe and Africa, they’re also protected animals, and we love them too, but the level of protection isn’t as strong as in Zhonghua."
"Zhonghua takes great care of its national treasures. You have to admit, being a national treasure in Zhonghua is really fortunate."
"Dolphins living in other regions are doing okay too, just don’t go to a certain island nation. They eat dolphins, and it’s even caused genetic mutations."
"I know about that. I’ve seen a documentary exposing it. They’re so cruel. How can they harm such adorable creatures? And it’s on such a large scale."
"That island nation has no heart."
The audience was relatively rational about this behavior, but fans tended to be more emotional and less rational.
Some even harbored malice toward an animal, especially the die-hard fans.
It’s understandable to say that the child is still young and shouldn’t be subjected to any harassment, but what about those who start spewing hate without knowing the full story?
What exactly is Xiao Hui [little gray] trying to do? What has he done to Wang Erdan? Isn’t this just an animal’s nature?
Although dolphins are intelligent, they’re not intelligent enough to independently discern right from wrong.
Unsurprisingly, after the livestream showed Xiao Hui [little gray] teaching the national treasure, the fans exploded.
Some of the cute images they had of dolphins in their minds were completely shattered.
Xiao Hui [Little gray, unknowingly, experienced the first cyberbullying of his dolphin life.
"What is this? Can you stay away from our Erdan? It’s so disgusting! You’re not satisfied with being gross yourself, so you have to corrupt our Erdan too!"
"This has really shattered my perception. Dolphins are no longer a pure species in my mind. Now I can’t even look at our Erdan the same way."
"What has Erdan done wrong? Even if he has these bad habits, it doesn’t take away from his kindness. Are you trying to control every aspect of his life, even his private matters?"
"We’re not blaming Erdan. We’re condemning this gray dolphin. Can someone intervene and get rid of this disgusting creature?"
Wang Erya had been doing her best to edit the footage. She knew Erdan’s influence, and overly inappropriate content could lead to the broadcast being terminated. But she never expected things to escalate like this.
Little gray was actually quite innocent. Bottlenose dolphins are just like this—they’ve always lived this way. He never imagined that one day he would be criticized for it.
Moreover, most of those cyberbullying little gray lacked basic knowledge. They didn’t even bother to understand the facts or the truth before hurling insults.
Anyone who took the time to learn about dolphins wouldn’t resort to such harsh words against an animal in this situation.
This is the reality for many netizens who follow the crowd without thinking.
They never seek to understand the truth or expand their knowledge. As long as someone leads the charge in arguing, they’ll jump in to help escalate the drama.
It’s simple—even the most basic facts can become a point of contention for them.
For example, little gray’s "bad habits" were blown out of proportion here, turning him into a villain in the eyes of many. This narrative was then amplified, making little gray seem like a terrible creature to casual viewers.
On the other hand, rational and knowledgeable individuals would research before commenting, afraid of jumping on the wrong bandwagon or wrongly accusing someone, which would leave them feeling guilty.
But those without knowledge or common sense, who think they know everything despite not even finishing elementary school, confidently start criticizing. They see themselves as the embodiment of justice, the rulers of all, believing others need them to lead the way.
They think they’re the ones making waves in every field, not realizing they’re just clowns making fools of themselves.
Soon enough, a rational fan and scholar stepped forward to explain. They provided various research papers and studies, telling the chaotic, drama-stirring "clowns" in the livestream:
"Bottlenose dolphins are just one species of dolphin. Their behavior and habits aren’t drastically different from other dolphins. It’s not just this one dolphin that acts this way—most dolphins in the wild have these so-called 'bad habits.'"
"To cyberbully a dolphin with such malice through a screen, I can reasonably suspect that you don’t truly love animals. You only like Wang Erdan because you’ve heard about his actions and followed the crowd. You’re not suited for this kind of livestream."
"So please leave and let the livestream return to peace. If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself. Otherwise, you’ll just end up angry, which isn’t worth it."
"I support the comment above. We like Erdan, and we like other dolphins too. Just because you haven’t seen dolphins’ bad habits doesn’t mean they don’t exist."
"Erdan hasn’t shown any bad habits yet, but that doesn’t guarantee he won’t in the future. The fact that you harbor such malice toward animals says a lot about what you’re like in real life."
"Next time you comment in the livestream, please bring your brain with you. Don’t leave it at home. Remember, this livestream is full of animal researchers. Don’t make your lack of intelligence so obvious."
After being called out like this, those who had been hurling insults at little gray fell silent. They left the livestream and even reported it on their way out.
Little gray could never have dreamed that, in his lifetime, he would experience cyberbullying because of his "dream dolphin."
If he knew about this, he would probably advise those who enjoy cyberbullying: "Bro, I’m just an animal. There’s no need to get so worked up. This is just how I am. If you want to trace it back, my entire family of tens of thousands of dolphins would become your targets. I’m afraid you wouldn’t have enough energy to insult all of us."
Little gray was truly captivated by the pink dolphin. He even stopped hanging out with his brothers and spent every day following the pink dolphin around. He even started catching fish for Bai Yi.
Not only that, but when they encountered a school of fish, he began calling for his companions. A group of dolphins swam over and started corralling the large school of fish, tightening the circle until the density of the fish increased. Then he called for Bai Yi.
Bai Yi was stunned. For the first time, thanks to the big guy, he had a full meal.
They swam into the school of fish, and with just one bite, they could catch plenty of small fish. The delightful buffet began with having a big brother around.
Bai Yi was so full that he started hiccuping. In the end, he even chewed up some fish to feed to the little dolphin.
The friendship between Bai Yi and the big gray dolphin grew stronger, though the big guy always had some unspeakable intentions toward Bai Yi, who remained on guard.
Aside from the big guy’s constant admiration for Bai Yi’s "beauty," having such a companion actually made life more interesting.
However, the little dolphin seemed uneasy. Every time the big gray dolphin showed any intention of getting close to Bai Yi, the little dolphin would attack him.
This was quite rare, and everyone found the little dolphin’s actions both heartwarming and adorable.
He already knew how to protect Bai Yi at such a young age, which was touching and cute.
The little dolphin’s ability to learn so quickly worried Bai Yi, as well as the audience and fans.
They were afraid the little dolphin might go down a wrong path, especially since he was still so young.
Bai Yi realized he couldn’t shake off the big gray dolphin, and over time, he began to feel it wasn’t such a big deal.
One day, the big gray dolphin suddenly left, and no one knew where he went. He didn’t return for a long time.
Bai Yi secretly wondered, had the big guy finally given up on him? Had he finally accepted that Bai Yi was an unattainable "white moonlight" dolphin?
To celebrate the big guy’s departure, Bai Yi played with the little dolphin on the water’s surface, enjoying a long session of parent-child games.
The little dolphin was overjoyed, swimming in circles around Bai Yi’s tail.
It was clear that the little dolphin also thought Bai Yi was beautiful. He loved swimming around Bai Yi, as if showing off or feeling proud.
Bai Yi felt proud too. Nothing was more important than having his own child adore him.
However, as the two of them were playing, the big gray dolphin suddenly sent out sonar waves from a distance, calling out to Bai Yi.
Bai Yi’s smile froze on his face—if he had one.
He turned around and saw the big guy swimming toward him, something held in his mouth.
Bai Yi thought it might be a gift, but as the big guy got closer, he realized what it was.
A round, puffed-up "balloon" that looked like it might burst at any moment in the big guy’s mouth.
It was clear that if the big guy didn’t let go soon, it would explode.
A pufferfish!
Bai Yi: "..."
Big guy, I really don’t do drugs.
Say no to drugs, starting with me.
o0o
White moonlight" (白月光, bái yuèguāng) : unforgettable love