The zookeeper from Wild at Heart Zoo returns. This time he is going to help a down on his luck young man find a new life.

A request for of him into a red panda.

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Exchange Program: Lazy Days
By born2beagator
The man observed his newest lioness. Amber had taken quickly to Simba once assuming her leonine form. They were currently napping in the sun. She had no signs of human intelligence left, nor would she ever have any. It was as if she had been born a lion.

It had been a few days since his former employer had taken her temporary animals back to her zoo. But in his opinion, that wasn’t near as fun, or profitable as more permanent changes. His employer would have to give the kids back at the end of their time. But his zoo…it would keep growing. He was going to take it slow though, he enjoyed the show.

He waved happily to some of his patrons observing the lions. They had no clue about the secret of Wild at Heart Zoo. “Bring out the animal in you” wasn’t just a clever catch line. His zoo had a special magic to it. But only he chose when to activate it. He sat down on the bench and watched the people go by. His zoo was small, but it was put together very well. Very wild. The vegetation on either side was grown up to give the illusion of being in a jungle. The best part was his zoo had a thin covering over it that no one could see. Not only was the walkway decoration specific to each animal habitat, so was the climate. That way when he had a new animal in production, they’d feel at home before they ever got into their enclosure.

Suddenly a young man caught his eye. He was about 5’7, with curly hair, glasses, and fair skinned. He wore a black shirt, long blue jeans, and converse shoes. But aside from his appearance, what really drew his attention was how depressed he looked.

“Hmmm...my zoo isn’t evil. Maybe I can help someone today. This young man looks like he could use a new life.” The man said quietly.

“Young man? Are you okay?” He called.


“Oh...yes sir...I guess.”


“What is your name?”


“Raz…”


“That is an interesting name. Why do you look so depressed Raz?” The zookeeper asked.


“Honestly? I feel like no one cares about me. My family doesn’t like me, nothing I ever do seems good enough for them. My job is a dead end...sometimes I just wish I had a different life.”


“Hmmmm...I think I have just the thing for you. Follow me.” The zookeeper turned to leave. Raz stood there silently, staring after him.
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What was that zookeeper playing at? Sighing, Raz followed him. He found him standing in front of a large enclosure. “What’s in here?”


“Your new family Raz.” The zookeeper said.


“What? These are animals. Lazy animals.” Raz said, examining the small red lumps of fur and tail laying in the branches.


“Well of course they are. These are red pandas. They are nocturnal. They mostly sleep during the day and come out at night.”


Raz suddenly yawned. “Must be an easy life.”


“Definitely. They are very laid back animals. Just like you.”


Raz didn’t hear him, he was transfixed on the red panda that had just trotted up to the wall. “Who is that?” He asked.

“Oh, that is Sophie. She lost her mate a while back and her cubs are fatherless. Would you like to be their adopted father Raz?”


Raz felt a surge run through his body. Something pushed into his jeans. “But to be their father I’d have to be a red panda.”


“Aren’t you?” The zookeeper asked earnestly.


As Sophie continued to stare at him, Raz moaned. He felt like someone was pulling on his spine...and now he felt something fuzzy in his pant leg.


“I’m a...human.” Raz replied weakly, still fixated on Sophie.


“Oh? Then why do you have a tail. I can see it running down your pant leg.”


So that was what he felt against his leg. Maybe the zookeeper had a point. He looked back at Sophie. Her two cubs had joined her. They called to him in a twittering chirp. He felt his ears itch. Looking around, he began to wonder why he wasn’t in the enclosure. Suddenly he felt a hand on his ears.


“They want you to be with them Raz. Can’t you hear their voices calling to you in your fuzzy ears?”


The twittering came into focus. “Daddy!”
“They are calling me Daddy?” Raz asked as his nose blackened.


“Yes. Because they love you. They want you. Unlike your family, they will never not appreciate you.”


“C-c-an I go in there with them?” Raz asked hopefully.


The zookeeper smiled. “I don’t know why you weren’t in there with them already my fine Ailurus fulgens. You go meet your family. I’ll be here watching. But first...why are you wearing clothes? Aren’t they itchy against your fur?”


“Why am I wearing clothes?” Raz asked the zookeeper. He began to itch.


“Beats me. Animals don’t need them. They have fur for a reason you know.”


Raz looked down at his clothes and noticed how puffy they looked. He began itching madly. Then a thought entered his head. Just take them off! Raz looked around but didn’t see anyone but the zookeeper. You are an animal, you have your fur, you don’t need clothes. Raz nodded.

“Mr. do you mind if I take my clothes off? My fur itches.” He asked politely.


“Certainly, I don’t know why you were wearing them in the first place.”


But he encountered a problem. He had forgotten how to take them off. he looked at his clawed fingers. Maybe….He took his claws and began raking them through his clothes. Puffs of black fur began to stick out of his shirt. Finally it ripped enough to fall off, revealing the light red fur on his back. It was visibly traveling up his neck. Follicles slowly spit out small hairs that looked like peach fuzz, until they blossomed into a luxurious coat.


Whiskers twitching, he realized that he still had his jeans on. Deciding to try the same method to get them off, he began tearing at the back of his jeans with his claws. But this didn’t take as long because after a few swipes, his tail ripped free. Now he had a problem. His jeans were split at the top, but only to his crotch. His hind paws were still stuck in the jeans.


“Mr. can you help me?” Raz asked hopefully.


“Certainly, my dear red panda. Your tail looks lovely Nice and red...with those pretty white stripes. Wouldn’t you agree Sophie and kids?”


Raz smiled as he heard their twitters.


“Hold still.” The zookeeper gently took Raz’s furry upper body in his hands and lifted the shrinking panda. He shook him lightly and the jeans fell off, setting him down again, he laughed at the sight of the human face on an otherwise animal body. “Why are you on two paws Raz?”


Raz wondered that himself. Animals shouldn’t be on two legs. He fell forward gratefully. “Can...I...go...family?” He asked, struggling to speak. Words were so complicated for him.


“Certainly, they’ve been waiting for you!” The zookeeper picked up the three foot long, human faced red panda and set him gently into the enclosure.


The moment Raz’s paws touched the ground, he felt his mind rapidly becoming tranquil. Sophie ran up to him with her cubs and began to sniff him. Finally she started licking. For a moment, Raz pulled back. He was being licked by an animal inside a zoo enclosure. But then the licks began to fog his mind. Did it really matter? He felt like an animal, wild, carefree. He looked over his small, furry body and long tail. He even looked like an animal. Raz twittered. He was an animal.


Raz tried to tell the zookeeper how good it felt to be in the enclosure, but he was finding that he really didn’t care what the human thought. He leaned into Sophie’s licks. They focused on his black nose. With every lick, Raz felt his face pushing forward. His eyes squeezed shut….and when he opened them he found that he really wanted to sleep. A red panda such as him had no business being awake in the middle of the day. Twittering to his family, they climbed up the bamboo stalk nearby and settled together in the crook of its branches. The last thoughts Raz had before the furry warmth of his family lulled him to sleep was how happy he was and how lucky he had it compared to the strange, furless two leggers watching him.
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The zookeeper picked up the tattered clothes and threw them into the enclosure for the pandas to play with tonight. That one had been almost too easy. But it did leave him with a warm feeling. That young man had a tattered life when he came here. Now, he may have been an animal...but who cares? He was happy. His life was whole...and of course there was the fact that the zookeeper had a new animal to entertain his guests with.