Day Twenty-One

I wanted to post something brief about conservation and "charismatic animals."

When you think of a zoo (I'm lumping all non-zoo types of facilities in this as well. Think of any place that has a variety of animals), what animals do you think of?

Lions. Tigers. Giraffes. Zebras. Polar bears. Wolves.

Am I right?

When you bring a child to the zoo, the child will most often be thrilled to see these animals and little of anything else.

Rochester folks: Did you know that Seneca Park Zoo has Madagascar hissing cockroaches? How about the Lake Sturgeon?

North Carolina folks: Did you know that the North Carolina Zoo is home to several types of frogs, turtles and spiders?

California folks: Are you aware that the San Diego zoo is home to not only pandas but kingsnakes?

Philadelphia folks: Did you realize that your local zoo has Victoria crowned pigeons?

Should I continue?

In the conference room of the building at the Conservators' Center, there is a plaque thanking the donors who helped make the building happen. This particular plaque has a quote that says, "In the end we will conserve only what we love." It was written by Baba Dioum, an environmentalist.

This is the full quotation:

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”

This saddens me, but not because the plaque is in a place like the Conservators' Center. This is saddening because it is true.

The purpose of zoos today seems to aim to entertain. While living conditions for the animals have gotten vastly better (there is a picture floating around somewhere of a polar bear living in a very small enclosure at Seneca Park Zoo back in the 1960s), and there are educational signs in front of every exhibit, it seems to me that people still go to watch the animals and not really learn about them.

Let me illustrate.

During my internship at SPZ, I was hanging out on my break with an interpreter. We were sitting at a dining area near the wolves. My interpreter turns to me with wide eyes and says, "You see that woman?" There was a woman with two children looking at the wolves. Apparently, the interpreter overheard her telling her children, quite seriously, that the wolves were mean and she could hear their thoughts. They were supposedly devising of ways to break out of their exhibit and eating the children.

Oh my...

Another day, I was cleaning the reef tank. There is a gorgeous 560 gallon reef aquarium between the sea lions and the polar bears. Interns and keepers can typically stick their arms in the tank and use a paint scraping tool to scrape the algae off the glass. The fish really don't care because they know that soon after the arms are removed, food appears. This is a beautiful aquarium, and the reefs are more than alive. They look like they are moving, teeming with life.

Throughout this, not a single person came over to look at the fish. Not one. They entered, went to watch the sea lions frolicking, moved over to see the polar bears (if they were in the water/visible), then left. The tank was between the two doors via which they could enter and exit. When I asked the keeper, she said it was typical. The only times visitors showed interest in the fish was when they were being fed.

When you visit a zoo, there is always a gaggle of people surrounding the popular exhibits, but almost none in the nocturnal areas or lesser-known animals.

My fears. I have a fear that one day, these less-popular animals will die out in the wild and within the zoos and sanctuaries, and as a consequence the ecosystems will collapse, leading to a far more conspicuous mass extinction than the one going on right now.

My plea to you, dear reader, is to visit a zoo and learn about each animal there. Learn what they're like in the wild, and what they need to survive. All the resources are there in front of the exhibit. Please, just look.

I'll repeat it again. It's worth reading.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”

Day Twenty

A Typical Day

So this blog is titled "Days in the Life of an Intern." I decided I'd give you a peek in what my typical day is at the Conservators' Center. I included both the large and small compounds because I do alternate between the two.

3:34 AM: Wake up. Look at the clock. Groan.

3:47 AM: Look at the clock again. Sigh. Surf Facebook.

3:55 AM: Open up Netflix. Watch an episode of Family Guy.

4:16 AM: Feel sufficiently tired. Go back to sleep.

5:30 AM: Wake up again. I've only got half an hour. Go back to sleep.

6:00 AM: Alarm rings. I'm still awake. Turn it off.

6:01 AM: Surf Facebook.

6:05 AM: Check Twitter.

6:08 AM: Get up. Put on pants and a shirt.

6:20 AM: Come downstairs. Make lunch. Greet puppy.

Bonus puppy picture!

6:30 AM: Gather things. Ensure knife is in pocket, carabiner is attached to my pants, and I have socks.

6:32 AM: See my car. Decide I'm going to go through the carwash today.

6:33 AM: Pull out of the driveway, head on my way.

7:32 AM: Arrive at the Center. Realize I'm the only one here. Sit in my car and play Temple Run 2.

7:48 AM: Get out of the car, clock in, sign out a perimeter key. Put away my lunch and water.

7:57 AM: Head to the field kitchen with the other interns. Start food prep.

9:01 AM: Food prep over for larges. Head out.

9:23 AM: Food prep over for smalls. Head out.

11:24 AM: Larges/smalls rounds over. Cleanup and next-day food prep commences.

12:12 PM: Lunch!

1:02 PM: Afternoon activities commence.

4:03 PM: Janine realizes it's past 4pm and ushers the interns to the building. Cleaning commences.

4:27 PM: Cleaning over. We clock out and leave.

5:40 PM: Hit traffic. Finally home for dinner.

9:58 PM: Laying in bed. Suddenly remember I was supposed to wash my car. Decide to do it tomorrow.

Day Nineteen

If you've been reading this and going, "Oh my gosh. This is amazing! How do I get an internship like yours? Can it be at the Center?"

The answer is: Yes, it can!

Let me go in detail.

Last summer, I was laying on the floor of my apartment (it's been good, 601-5. It's been good) doing some genetics homework or something. You see, I was taking a genetics class because it was required to graduate. I had heard it was very difficult and wanted to take it during the summer, when I had no other classes to worry about.

Of course, I started procrastinating. I went on Facebook and scrolled through my timeline to read the posts I had made in the past. I saw a post about when I got the zoo internship, and started reading the comments (lots of "Lions, tigers, and bears oh my!" comments. These get old). My friend Liz, who was one of the first interns at the Center, congratulated me and told me to consider an internship at the Conservator's Center.

Naturally, because I was a sophomore (it literally means "wise fool"), I didn't think much of it, or I thought I had plenty of time to apply.

Then junior year started. Organic chemistry, physics, ecology, and my internship consumed my life.

At the end of my junior year, during my three weeks course in genetics, I came across my Facebook post. And I got excited.

And even though it was June and the summer internship had already started, I e-mailed Janine and asked if it was too early to apply for next summer (meaning: this summer). She responded almost immediately (read: the next business day. Still pretty good turnaround!) saying that, no, it wasn't too early. It would never be too early.

So I applied. Then forgot about it.

Heh, isn't that how it goes?

I got an e-mail from Janine in December inviting me to a work interview. They are typically done in February, but since I lived approximately 700 miles from North Carolina nine months out of the year, she asked me for my earliest available time. I made it just a couple days after the New Year, and off we went.

The work interview was basically a typical morning at the Center. I showed up, signed a waiver (this only happens once), and got to work checking chickens and learning how to sort through meat. I then got to go around with Carolyn, Thomas, and other volunteers in the large compound feeding and cleaning. At the end, I met with Janine for a brief casual interview before she sent me home.

If you apply and get called for an interview, trust me. Don't stress out too much. Do work, listen to the keepers, don't get out of sight and you'll be fine.

From my understanding, the internship gets more and more competitive each year, as it should. So how does someone make himself the best candidate for the internship?

I can't answer that 100%, but I can make some suggestions.

• Have some sort of experience with animals. It doesn't have to be with exotics - we had an intern this session who worked at a veterinary hospital. Volunteer at an animal shelter, work with your local vet.
• Be willing to try. Throughout my work interview, Thomas always told me I didn't have to do something if I didn't want to. If I didn't want to go in and pick up poop, I didn't have to. I didn't have to help prep chickens. However, I did. I think that was an attribute they were willing to consider. Yes, I'm grossed out by many things. But, I do try to get over it and do my best anyway. 
• Work well with others. 
• Ask questions. The keepers, volunteers, everyone at the Center loves it when people ask questions instead of making assumptions. During my interview, I was continuously asking Thomas the human, "How do I tell the difference between Thomas and Ra Lions? Why do they get skinned chicken? Why does Mufasa get a turkey and not a chicken? What is that serval doing?"
• Be honest. Seriously. Don't say you love to pick up lion poop when, truly, it makes you want to cry. If you don't want to prep chickens, speak up. Say, "I'm not comfortable doing that." Don't say you love working with computers when you actually hate it and are applying for an IT job.

The thing is: if you, at any time, tell someone at the facility that you do not want to pick up poop or touch a chicken, you will not be considered. Cleaning and preparing food is an integral part of this operation, and if you do not want to do either, you are missing out on a major part. This internship isn't all sunshine and butterflies and playing with tigers. As illustrated on this blog, there are some grisly aspects, and you have to do these to enjoy the animals.

Still interested? Hungry for more information? Here you go. Good luck!

Day Eighteen

Things to do in Mebane. 

Uh. I'll be honest. Mebane... there's not much to do. The people seem to be kind and there is a strong police presence.

Don't get me wrong. It seems like a great place to live.

However, for a 21 year old practically living alone? Not as much. Most of my friends are spread across the country (I've got a bunch in the Northeast, some in the Pacific Northwest, some in the midwest...one in Hong Kong - hi Michelle!) and I've only got a couple in North Carolina from high school. Out of these two friends, one is in Boone working at a camp, and the other has a full-time grownup job.

While I'm originally from Greensboro, during the first five weeks of my internship I'm in Chapel Hill with a coworker of my mom's.

This isn't the Chapel Hill you're probably thinking of. Carolina/Franklin Street/the big Duke rivalry is down thataway about ten miles. The area I'm staying in is the backwoods of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. It is very remote. So remote that the doors remain unlocked at night, and there aren't curtains on the windows. There is nobody around.

Typically on my days off I go to either Greensboro to see my family and pony, or I go to Cary to see my boyfriend.

However, the more I hang out in Mebane, the more I get to know it.

1) Froyo!!! If you haven't gotten into the craze, do yourself a favor. Stop reading this blog. Get in your car. Drive to the nearest froyo place and get yourself a delicious frozen yogurt.

Back? Enjoy it? See why I do! It helps me get a sugar fix and it's slightly healthier than, say, ice cream. I usually load mine with strawberries, blackberries, and some peanut butter.

In Mebane there is a place called Icy Sweets and it's surprisingly delicious. It's not New-Agey with strange flavors such as Mango Melon or Papaya With Sparkles. It has mostly normal flavors. I usually get vanilla and chocolate swirl.

Decadent.

2) Tanger Outlets. It is literally off exit 154 on I-40/85. If you aren't from the area and are curious, Tanger Outlets is basically... an outlet? It has all these fancy schmancy stores like Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue selling their products at a reduced price.

While I still think it's very expensive and have never bought anything from there, my older sister has bought a Ralph Lauren shirt for over $50 or $75 off.

3) La Fiesta!! I think this is my Spanish/Puerto Rican heritage talking. I absolutely LOVE ethnic food of all types. My last quarter of college, I took a class called "Foods of the World" where we basically ate all types of food from places such as Africa, Korea, Vietnam, and Mexico. I was thrilled every Wednesday. Hey, free food, right?

Anyway, if you live in North Carolina for any period of time there are three places that one has to go to. Cookout. Carter Brothers. And, of course, La Fiesta (which means party!). The food is delicious. I've had better, of course, but they have awesome deals where you can get margaritas for like four bucks and it can be any flavor you want. Mmm margarita. Mmm, delicious food!

4) Sheetz. I'm not kidding. It sounds bizarre. A gas station? Now just you wait. Sheetz is like the Wawa of the south. Or is Wawa the Sheetz of the north? Is FastTrac the Sheetz of Rochester?

I digress. Anyway. Sheetz. The employees are awesome and really nice, the food is delicious for being gas station food, and it's super clean! I stop by Sheetz every week to get gas and occasionally a snack if I'm driving a long distance.

Every place has its gems. You just have to look in the right places.

Day Seventeen

I've been wanting to write about this for a while.

The Conservators' Center is great for animal care, sure. But did you know it's good for people too?

I present to you: The Conservators' Center Diet Plan

Also known as: Good Old Hard Labor

Just kidding. Kinda.

So. Not gonna lie. I packed on the pounds in college. At one point, I was 22 pounds heavier than what I weighed in high school. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you think about the fact that I'm not even 5'0". I remember having nightmares about gaining more weight. When you're shorter, the more weight you gain/lose, the more obvious it is. There's less places to store the fat. ;)

Anyway. So I've been slowly working on losing the weight. I'm not there yet, but I'm already down a couple of sizes. Probably gonna stay that way since I do squats and they add, as they say,"junk to the trunk." Last summer put me on track for a healthy lifestyle. I went to the gym almost daily, and was up to doing ten miles a day on the elliptical (I know, I know... I didn't have much to do aside from work and my one class. Watching movies at the gym probably helped with the mileage). However, when school started, I dropped off the gym dramatically. I'd go every couple of days but I was unmotivated. I was stressed out. By mid-winter I was only going once in a while.

While I lived in an apartment with roommates, I was insanely busy my senior year (I had probably five different jobs, plus a sorority plus research plus... plus.. plus... the list goes on) so I pretty much ate on campus all the time. Surprisingly the weight stayed off!

At my graduation dinner with family, I ate. A lot. Not joking. I had steak and gnocchi and artichoke fritters and bruschetta (plus a margarita. I couldn't resist). I told my mom that it was my cheat day. I "started" my diet the next day. I ate right - lots of fruits.

Then the internship started.

And here we are.

Five full weeks of hard work, and while I don't look like a supermodel (I never will), I feel a lot more confident and feel better about myself. There is a huge full-length mirror in the bathroom at the Center. I used to hate looking at myself in it, but I caught a glimpse the other day and I actually looked... okay.

The keepers all look great. They're not rail-thin but they have definition and muscle tone. They look... healthy.

You know what it takes? Take one part working outdoors, one part scheduled activities, one part the heat (I hate eating in the summer. It's way too hot), one part water, and one part of squick.

Squick, you ask. Well, it's anything disgusting. For me it's a freshly dead goat that is still warm inside. Accidentally getting animal fat on my pants. Having to pull an egg out of a dead chicken.

Funny. Not too much phases me anymore. Even taking eggs out of chickens is fun now.

Anyway. While I don't have rock-hard abs (they're there. Just under a layer of fat for protection, ya know), I'm building definition especially in my upper arms and shoulders.

Mindy Stinner, one of the co-founders of the Conservators' Center, put it this way about Shannon, one of the keepers: "Look at Shannon. She's a model with real shoulders."

And it's true. Stay at the Center long enough, and you get in shape. You sweat off the weight or work it off somehow, and have fun doing it!

As Arielle (an intern) puts it: bear mode, everyone!

Day Sixteen

Respect.

One word. Seven letters. Two syllables.

Yet so many people do not have any, for themselves or others. I personally do not understand how that happens, but it does. If I have lost my respect for someone, I still treat that person with respect. Just, I'm more guarded. That person is now a "frenemy." But I won't go around slandering that person's name.

Animals.

It sounds silly, but one should always treat animals with respect. If I accidentally step on my dog's tail I always apologize and give him a hug, even though he doesn't understand my words or what a hug means. It helps me feel better. If I stepped on his tail and kept going, I'd feel guilty.

Likewise, if I accidentally poked my horse's eye while putting on his bridle, I apologize and give him a kiss on his nose.

I don't tease animals. Getting bitten hurts, and could have consequences. If a dog bit a person, that dog could be euthanized even though he was provoked to bite.

Learn to read an animal's body language. Look at the ear set, the way the animal is stationed. I learned within a couple of days how to tell if a large cat was angry. It's obvious. The ears are flattened, the teeth are bared, the mouth is probably open. The eyes are narrowed.

That's why it bothers me so much when people attack animals, or say that the animal attacked the person unprovoked. That does not happen with a healthy animal.

I took a class last winter, and I have mentioned it in passing on this blog before. The class was called "Ecology of Hunting and Fishing" and it revolved around hunting and fishing (Oh really? I couldn't tell from the name) and its impact on the environment. I found the class to be pointless, actually, because we focused so much on the history of hunting and fishing and not the sport in modern times. It was interesting. Just, the description was misleading.

Anyway. So in this class, we discussed animal treatment and gun safety. We weren't allowed to practice shooting, but we talked about guns a lot and how they were used, and the different types. Birding, the dogs used, and so forth. One constant trend through all this was respect. The professor stressed that while it was okay to take a picture with your kill, the kill had to be cleaned up first. There shouldn't be blood visible and the picture had to be classy.

For example, say I shot a deer. I should wipe up the blood and make sure the tongue was inside the mouth. I then needed to kneel in front of the animal and hold it up using its antlers. I couldn't just take a picture of the deer lying on the ground all bloody. I couldn't pretend that I was riding it, or hook it up to a harness and "drive" it. If I shot a bird, I needed to go and retrieve it. It wasn't fair to the bird to leave it lying on the ground. What if it was still alive but severely injured?

That's why, here at the Center, I treat all the animals, dead or alive, with respect. I don't tease the tigers (that's an exceptionally dumb idea anyway) or pick up the singers and spin around with them. If an animal doesn't want to do something, I don't force it. For example, Foldo, one of the singing dogs, is very shy and keeps his distance from new people. I had to do enrichment with him one evening. I decided to put peanut butter in a paper tube. Samara loved her treat, but Foldo wouldn't come near me to pick it up. I didn't corner him and make him take it. Instead, I rolled it in his general direction and left. If I cornered Foldo, he might bite me. And it would be my fault.

When I prep chickens, I try to treat them with respect. I'm not a fan of chickens, but even the dead ones were once living. They ate, they searched for a mate, they slept, they lived. I do what I need with them - some cats don't like to eat the feathers so a few need to be skinned - and that's it. I don't hold them up and make them dance.

Likewise, rats. I hate rats. I can't stand how they smell, and their claws... euuugh! Still. They were alive. I don't throw the rats down on the table to prep. I put them down gently. I hate when I accidentally break their bones (sometimes I get frozen rats and I need to straighten them out. Rat prep involves cutting open the abdominal cavity to make sure everything is fresh). When I finish prepping a rat, I put it down in a bucket. I don't throw it, I don't drop it. I put it down.

I'm very fortunate that at the Center, the staff feels similar. While it's okay to take out the heart and examine it while cutting up large whole prey, the Center doesn't condone taking a picture with it or making a joke out of it. The heart, folks. It kept this animal alive.

Just. Treat each other with respect. Animals, humans, dead things. They all deserve your respect.

Day Fifteen

Enrichment
I want to take my readers on a journey. How is enrichment performed? What is the process? Can enrichment fail? What does it take for an enrichment activity to be successful?

First, I want to be clear that enrichment is fantastic and so much fun! When Janine introduced the staff on our first day, she actually introduced Carolyn as the Queen of Enrichment. And it's true. Carolyn dedicates so much time to creating activities for the animals, refining her techniques, and ensuring that the animals are stimulated in some way.

There are several ways that enrichment can stimulate an animal - mentally (say, puzzle feeders), physically (being touched), behaviorally (hunting "prey"), socially (an activity that encourages an animal and its companion(s) to do something with each other), and so forth. A successful enrichment can stimulate an animal and keep it occupied for a good amount of time.

Carolyn has showed us a video of an animal figuring out a puzzle feeder. The video was a good several minutes long, and it seems like it was edited to show the middle portion only. Not the beginning or the end, so this animal was occupied for longer than the few minutes that we saw.

I thought I would share with you my enrichment success and flop. I've already done several activities, and one was an outrageous success. The other... was not as successful.

The Flop
Let's save the best for last, eh?

This past Monday I had enrichment for seven lions - Hansen and his females plus Matthai and his females. I had actually gotten this idea from my zoo internship. I had watched a keeper wrap several pieces of meat in brown paper, then place the parcels in different cardboard boxes, which he hid in the tiger's exhibit. The tiger definitely enjoyed hunting for the boxes (which contained her meal), ripping them apart and enjoying the meat.

I decided I wanted to do that with the lions. I bought chicken breasts from a grocery store, brought them to the Center and wrapped them up. I didn't have enough boxes, but that was OK. Paper would suffice. I talked with Keela, the large compound keeper for the day, and agreed to do it during cleaning.

Problem. While Willow and Adeena willingly entered the shift, Hansen wouldn't move from under his hammock. Uh oh. Keela said, "We can go around and take care of the other animals, then you're coming with me on my pre-lunch rounds. Maybe we can shift him then."

Okay. Super! We tossed their meals over the fence and moved on.

Problem. The females - Daisy, Serabi, and Maggie - in Matthai's pride wouldn't shift. Great... Keela reassured me that she would get them to shift later on our rounds.

Around we went. Keela sent the other three interns to prep for the next day and clean up. We swung by Arthur and Kira's to encourage Kira to move out of the shift, then headed down to Hansen's. This time, Keela was successful in getting everyone to shift... except for Willow. Sigh. As a last resort in getting my enrichment done, Keela took three parcels and dropped them in the enclosure. When we reached Matthai's, we realized that the lions were in the same position. No luck in getting them to move. Keela did the same thing - dropped the parcels in the enclosure.

My goal was to have the animals actually hunt instead of walking up to the fence, going "Oh! There's something here!" and ripping apart the parcel. I wanted to hide the parcels in places where they'd have to climb to get to, such as the top of a hammock or a platform.

As a result (I checked later that day) only Willow enjoyed her treat. All the other lions ignored the parcels.

It was a bit disappointing because I had enjoyed watching Anastasia leap from log to log to the top of the very large tree stump (not kidding when I say it was about eight to ten feet tall) to find her treats. What happened here was: Willow just happened to be nearby and leaped on a parcel, ripping it apart.

When I wrote about it for Carolyn to sign off on (we are required to do an enrichment activity each week for an assigned group of animals), I wrote that:

1. It was hot. The lions probably didn't feel like getting up and moving. 
2. It was right after they had eaten their normal meals of chicken. They weren't hungry. 
3. Again, it was hot. We left the chicken in the enclosures, but if the lions were somewhat hungry for a snack later, they probably sensed that the chicken had gone bad (if it did). 
4. If I did this again, I would want the animals to be shifted properly. Perhaps if it was cooler - a different time of the year, or earlier/later in the day (it was around noon when I handed out enrichment). The animals would have to be hungry. 

The Non-Flop

I had a pretty successful enrichment a couple of weeks ago. My friend, Liz, had advised me to use whipped cream as enrichment for the big cats. I took her advice and ran with it. 

First, I bought this. I got some pretty strange looks when I was paying for it at Lowes, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

After giving Sam, one of the interns, an obligatory whipped cream squirt in the mouth (I don't see how people like this stuff. Yuck!), I headed out with Carolyn.

The animals were put in the shifts. My goal was for all five animals (three lions and two tigers - I had the Mixed Pride) to be in a shift together, but Freya Tiger slinked out before Carolyn got the door shut. Carolyn ended up putting her in the shift at the bottom of the enclosure by herself.

I don't have a picture of this, but Carolyn and I set out five cardboard boxes and filled them with whipped cream. Once everything was done, it began to rain... We hurried out and Carolyn set the "beasts" free to destroy the whipped cream. Enjoy the photo set!

This is probably my favorite picture in the set.
If you look closely at Calvin's mane, you can see whipped cream in it.

This one was overall a success, and my favorite activity so far. I think I'm now known as the "Whipped Cream Lady" to these cats! My only criticism was that Freya should have been in the shift with the other cats, because she was let out last and had to "mooch" off the others. 

I have a really neat idea for enrichment this week involving the servals. It needs to be approved, but if I go through with it, expect a post with pictures!

Day Fourteen

Expectations vs Reality
Have you ever seen a cool product on TV or at Brookstone? You wanted it for months. Maybe you saved money until you had enough to buy it, or someone got it for you as a gift. However, once you got it and the novelty faded, you wondered why you got it. Why you wanted it so much. Why it wasn't as perfect as you expected.

Or, you went to a highly acclaimed (whatever you like) show. The news anchors were raving about it, there were color full-page ads splashed across the newspapers and magazines, and the TV ran two-minute commercials about the show. You went. It was great, but some elements were missing, or it wasn't quite up to your expectations.

Everything has some great things and some things that aren't as great. I've been talking about how great my internship is, and how much I love everything, even the gross aspects. However, I thought it might be useful to present some not-so-great things. Some, should I say, disappointments. I hope with this post, the Center will gain insight and adjust its internship program for future interns, or adjust the description of the program.

I think one of my biggest disappointments is with the wolves. It sounds so strange, but it's true. At the zoo, interns weren't allowed to interact with the wolves. The wolves were under the administration of a division of the US government and interactions had to be very limited. The wolves couldn't get used to humans because they could be released into the wild any time. The most I did was prep their diets. I couldn't go see the wolves be fed, or clean their exhibits. The closest I was allowed to the wolves behind the exhibit was the hyenas' enclosure, which was next to the wolves but separated by a line of trees. While the wolves were being fed, I had to stay at the hyenas' toy closet, which was out of sight of the wolves. That was a little disappointing.

I was excited when I found out that the Center had wolves. While I didn't imagine that I'd be running with the wolves, stalking and taking down prey with the wolves, or cuddling with them, I thought I'd be doing more than waiting for them to be shifted, walking in, cleaning up, and changing their food bowls and water (if needed). I'm thrilled with what I have because it's definitely more than I did at the zoo, but I would have liked to work closer with them. I barely know anything about the wolves. I know their backstories. I know where they came from. I know the story of Amadeus and Hopa. I know how to care for them. That is pretty much it. So much of the focus is on the large cats and smaller cats, such as the servals, that the wolves are barely a passing mention. However, I have learned in recent days that there are some members at the Center who are "wolf professionals." They have spent thousands of hours with the wolves, training them to show their bellies and to allow people to touch their bodies for any bumps or anything out of place. However, these individuals typically come to the Center on Saturdays, one of the days I have off.

Relating to that, I wish we were able to do more with the binturongs. Some of the animals, I understand why we cannot work with them (such as the foxes and lemurs or the nocturnal ones), but the binturongs are darlings. They seem a little shy, but I can see them warming up to us if we were allowed to interact with them beyond making their diets and watching them do their binturong thing.

If the keepers or someone working at the Center said, "You can't do much with the wolves because they don't like people and aren't target trained" or "The binturongs are not easy to work with. We don't want you in with them because they could bite" then I would understand.

Another thing I would have liked to experience were seminars on how the Center is run. Not animal care, but the administrative side of it. I can only speculate at how much work it takes to run an operation like this. We had a chat with Julia, our senior director of administration, but I'm still curious. While I understand that many things are private, if we had a day where we worked on mock-ups of actual documents, I feel that it would give us a better appreciation of the people who work here. I feel this could potentially be important. The interns are here to learn about animal care, and many will hopefully continue on to become caretakers themselves. However, some may end up working in administration for a nonprofit. Case in point: Julia. She used to work with the animals, but found that her skills were better primed for administrative work. While interns may end up not working for the Conservators' Center, they could be staffed by another nonprofit organization, where the administrative knowledge gleaned from the Center may come in useful.

These are just two of my very few unmet expectations here. As we are now halfway through this internship experience, it is possible that we will get to experience either of these, but I don't know how likely it will be. Again, the Center has been a very positive experience and I'm so glad I decided to take the leap and apply. A place like this is priceless.

After speaking with Mandy, I have learned that my blog is already having some positive impact! The Center is evaluating its internship program partially based on my feedback on this blog. Because I'm so honest, they consider it a valuable resource for identifying what is going well and what may need to change. 

Day Thirteen

Regarding the zoo
While I haven't gotten any comments about it, I feel like in my comparing the Conservators' Center and Seneca Park Zoo, I shine a negative light on the zoo.

I do not want that to happen.

I was an intern during the fall quarter in 2011 at the zoo. I was assigned to Unit 8, which is now some other name (the zoo changed the names shortly after my internship ended. I think Unit 8 and one other unit are now together to become "North"). This unit was home to two Amur tigers (Anastasia and Katya), two hyenas (one has since passed away from old age), four sea lions (two of the four has passed away, but one of the females just gave birth a few days ago), two polar bears (Aurora and Zero), three Mexican Gray wolves (Chico, Diego, and Durango), three sandhill cranes, one mountain lion (Anna, who passed away from old age last year) and approximately thirty African Black-footed penguins.

As you can see, there is quite a variety of animals that I worked with. The zoo has changed quite a bit since my internship ended - they recently acquired a few lions (and one of the lionesses gave birth to two cubs, Simba and Nala, about a month ago) and have a new exhibit called "Step Into Africa" which was under construction when I interned.

I think the major difference between both my internships is that when I interned at the zoo, I was doing it for a grade. I wanted to do the best I could, not just for the animals' welfare but for my GPA too. Sad to say, that is a selfish reason. I got overall very positive reviews from the keepers, and I received an A for the course. At the Center, on the other hand, if we were not careful, consequences could be costly.

Students were expected to spend eight hours a week at the zoo. We were assigned days. If a student interned during the school week (Mondays through Fridays. I guess in the grown-up world it's the work week), he or she would be scheduled for two days, four hours in the morning one day and four hours in the afternoon for another.

I was fortunate enough to receive a Saturday assignment (I guess taking 21 credit hours and having my schedule full of classes and labs helped). Students and zoo staff had to show up about an hour before the zoo opened to clean, prep diets, and feed the animals. I had overall a very positive experience. Like the Center, we worked in all types of weather. I was very lucky that it only rained a little during my internship (which is incredible considering Rochester tops the list of cities with the most rainy days in the US). I heard stories from people who interned the year before me that it went from sunny, to raining, to snowing in less than an hour while they scrubbed penguin kennels.

Mornings at the zoo were ridiculously busy. We were constantly on the go - washing the windows at the polar bears and sea lions' exhibits, preparing diets for the carnivores, feeding the animals, cleaning up after them, and doing enrichment. Most of this had to be done before visitors arrived. Enrichment could be done anytime as it usually entertained the visitors.

It was fascinating to see the differences in the diets. The zoo, naturally, has a large budget compared to the Center, since it is supported by Monroe County. The Center relies on private donations and money made from tours and events, so the budget is tighter. As a result, the zoo was able to afford commercially made food. This food, especially the meat, already had the necessary vitamins the carnivores would need mixed in. The zoo was also able to purchase meat from grocery stores as treats.

For the fish eaters - the penguins, polar bears, and sea lions - they were kept in or around freshwater. These animals are adapted for salt water. Without going into too much scientific detail, if these animals did not receive salt in their diets to make up for the deficit of salt in the water, they could become seriously sick or die. Because of this, the fish eaters usually received salt tabs with their fish. They also received vitamins (all the animals did).

The Center, to cover any nutritional deficiencies in our animals' diet, will add vitamins to the food. Since all of our animals are terrestrial, we didn't have to worry about salt tabs!

One thing I found very fascinating was the fact that if you worked at a zoo (not specifically Seneca Park Zoo - pick your favorite zoo), you could move up in the ranks only so far. At some point you wouldn't be able to work with the animals and have to focus on administrative duties. We had one woman at the zoo who was the director of animal care - same as the Conservators' Center's Janine - yet she occasionally worked with the animals. Janine is out there almost daily, rain or shine, feeding and visiting with the animals. The woman, on the other hand, focused mainly on the polar bears and sea lions because they were in the same building as her office was. At the Center, however, you can work with animals for the most part. There are some people in the administrative department who cannot because they have so many duties, but some staff members work in both areas.

Seneca Park Zoo is AZA accredited, while the Center is not (but it is certified by numerous organizations and strives for ZAA accreditation). Many of the animals are involved in either breeding programs, or are under the administration of the United States government. For example, the Mexican gray wolves could, at any time, be returned to the wild per the government. This is in an effort to increase population in the wild.

The Center, however, does not sell its animals. They may be permanently loaned but the Center has the right to request to take the animal back for whatever reason. The animals at the Center are never returned to the wild, or released. Once at the Center, always at the Center.

With the differences between the zoo and the Conservators' Center, do I have a preference for one or the other? No. I truly enjoyed working with the penguins, the hyenas, and the cougar (and I miss it), but I also love working with the exotic animals here at the Center. There are aspects of both internships that I don't like - how we were not allowed to intimately interact with the animals at the zoo, or how we are expected to help prep large whole animals to be eaten at the Center - but could I say I wanted to work exclusively at zoos, or exclusively at places like the Center? Not at all.

Both internships are (and were) rich experiences that have helped shape what I want for my future, and I have learned so much at both. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Day Twelve

As some days can sound kind of monotonous on paper - get up, arrive, pre-rounds prep, feeding, food prep, lunch, afternoon activities, rinse and repeat - I've decided that it would be a neat idea to focus on some unique topics for the next few days.

Today: What does Gina think about? And other adventures.

Thoughts
First, I love daydreaming and having conversations with myself. (Everybody does it, right?) I'll talk to myself if I'm not too sure about something, and people have seen me arguing with myself.

For the sake of entertainment, here are some of my thoughts.

While prepping food for the fruit-eaters: Hmm, Harvey Dent would be an awesome name for a binturong. 

While feeding the singers: I wonder how my dog would react if he met them. Or Spaulding.

When cleaning up after the lemurs: Why, when they poop, do they specifically aim for the hole in the stump? (for those not in the know, the lemurs' enclosure has an indoor den. There is a hollow stump that is quite heavy to move. The lemurs, for whatever reason, seem to enjoy pooping down the hole of the stump)

Other Adventures

Kira isn't in the mood.
While Kira Lion and Arthur Tiger get along famously, they have occasional disagreements. Since Arthur is rather young, he loves to play. As illustrated in Kira's story, she has a defect in her hip and poor vision. Sometimes she just doesn't want to play and prefers to lay on top of her den, surveying the world. Arthur, on the other hand, is constantly either eating or playing. While carrying a chicken for Tonka Tiger through the narrow walkway, Arthur has bounded next to me begging for the chicken.

On several occasions, when it was a hot morning and Kira clearly didn't feel like doing anything, she and Arthur were moved to their shift space together so that their main enclosure could be cleaned. After their meals had been placed and the habitat deemed safe for the felines to be released, the shift door to the enclosure was opened. Kira, who was laying in front of the door, refused to move. Arthur paced one end of the shift and every few seconds would attempt to approach the door. Every time he did so, Kira would flatten her ears to her head and bare her teeth. Any urging from the keepers to get her to move were in vain - she was going to stay right where she was.

(In fact, the other day I got Kira to get up and move by enticing her with a chicken. It's not very often that this happens though)

Jeremiah is a dude.
The Center is home to two ridiculously adorable lemurs, Jeremiah and Cookie. I always enjoy watching them, even though lemurs wouldn't be on my Top Ten list of favorite animals. Whenever I'm in the small compound and have finished everything, or am waiting on a keeper, I usually watch the lemurs. They would either be climbing the walls of their enclosure or sitting in their indoor den and eating. With a little research, I've learned that lemurs are incredibly intelligent.

But intelligent or not, Jeremiah is such a dude. I was with a couple of interns, waiting for a keeper. Shannon and Keela had left us by the lemurs, and we were waiting for them to get back to receive further instruction. I saw that the lemurs were inside, and walked up to get a closer look. Cookie was chilling on a branch, and Jeremiah was sitting on the windowsill. When he saw us approach, he immediately turned around, got into a handstand, and firmly pressed his rear end against the window. We were in stitches as his rear end slowly slid down the window. I have no idea what that was supposed to imply - whether he was being territorial or wanted to show us his male tonsils - but whatever it was, it didn't have the intended effect.

Good character building.
On the same day that Jeremiah decided to grace us with a lovely view of his manhood, we were responsible for cleaning Abigail and Aleco Kinkajou's indoor den. On a typical day we would enter, clean up, take out the old food, check the water (and change if necessary), and make sure the animals were okay. However, occasionally keepers or interns are expected to deep clean the habitat.

For the kinkajous, the keepers moved them outside (they were, in a word, disgruntled). We had to enter, sweep up all the shavings, and then spend hours scrubbing the poop off the walls. It wasn't like the poop was caked on, but in some areas it was pretty bad - the hammock straps had to be replaced, and one intern spent a good hour or so cleaning the shelves/stairs leading to the kinkajous' sleeping area. I have no idea what the kinkajous were doing at night - probably throwing a wild party and inviting the binturongs from next door - but there was poop on the ceiling!

However, it was messy and rewarding. It was great seeing the white walls and gleaming tile floors. It was nice knowing that today, the kinkajous would sleep comfortably.

Day Eleven

Wednesday. Again. Wednesdays mark the beginnings of the new weeks at the Center. I look forward to Wednesdays because I am forever a scholar.

I have been in school for as long as I remember, and this is the first time ever that I do not have some form of education occurring either in the summer or starting in the fall. I decided to take a gap year to take a break from school (I was getting seriously burned out spring quarter, and only barely completed everything on time. It was a tough quarter mentally, because it was my last), go to work and save up some money. I also wanted to retake the GRE and see if I could improve my essay and math scores. I also want to get in a good graduate school, because I feel that with my hearing loss, the higher the degree I receive, the likelier it is that I will get a good job.

This is the reason why I ran myself ragged during my undergrad, and why I am probably going to run myself ragged in graduate school. I needed a break somewhere in between to kind of "detox."

However, I love learning. I love being tested, and receiving confirmation that I did/am doing well. That is why Wednesdays are my favorite days at the Center. We have a class and the keepers usually give a presentation or talk about something relating to the Center, animal care, or the animals themselves.

During the presentation, we learned about chemical immobilization. It is nothing new to me, having watched multiple horses being gelded. However, it was definitely new to learn about the different stages of anesthesia. There are four main stages, the first stage being physically unable to move but still able to feel and know what is going on, and the fourth stage being cardiac and respiratory arrest.

The ideal stages for an animal (and human) to be in when they are put under is stages two or three. This is when the organism is unconscious and there is enough pain relief so that it does not feel pain, but at the same time the organism is not so deeply unconscious that it has difficulties breathing.

We also discussed the methods of immobilizing - either by giving the animal a shot via needle, a blow gun, or a carbon dioxide (CO2) powered bolt action rifle. The third is only used with large animals because if one decided to use this to shoot a smaller cat, the impact of the dart would be enough to break a bone in these animals.

Next, we took the time to go outside and observe the different tools. One was a standard syringe and needle, then there was a "gun" - the CO2 rifle - and a metal tube. The tube was the blow gun.

The keepers had set up a bale of hay against a picnic table, then placed a cardboard poster on the table. On the poster was a drawing of a tiger with three "targets" on it. These targets are where it is the safest to shoot on an animal. Anywhere else and the animal could be seriously hurt or killed. These safe spots are on the neck, the shoulder, and the rump.

The interns were allowed to shoot with the blow gun, and it became sort of a game. Some of us were crack shots, and others were not so good. Regardless, we are now prepared with the knowledge in case of an emergency.

Note Carolyn's amazing drawing.
Photo courtesy of Haley Heniff

Day Ten

Today was a different day, slightly. I was with the small compound again (oh boy, do I love these precious animals!). I was the only intern working with the small compound lead, Thomas. He was actually an intern in the fall last year, then continued as a volunteer. Now he is very experienced with the smaller animals and volunteers as a small compound lead.

On the day of my work interview, I was assigned to Carolyn, but worked was with Thomas for the majority that day. He is a really nice person and knows how to interact with me and the animals. We were in the area with the binturongs, genets, kinkajous, and lemurs (among others) and I enjoyed the level of trust that he had in me. He would unlock the enclosures of the animals I was allowed to be in with (the genets and kinkajous) then go off to clean his own enclosures. When I finished I would head back to where we left the food cart, and Tom would meet me there to unlock something else or shift the animals so I could enter.

I was just thinking about the fact that not many visitors get to see the genets and kinkajous, since they are both nocturnal species. Let me begin by stating how ridiculously adorable they are.

Genets, while considered feliforms (related to cats), are closely related to the mongoose. The majority of genets have spotted bodies, long banded tails, and small heads with large ears. Similar to cats, if they can fit their head through an opening, their body will fit as well. They are very agile creatures and great climbers. They are the only viverrids (their "family" - it is a taxonomic rank to determine how species are related) to be able to stand on two legs. When I researched the viverrid family, I discovered that they are also related to the binturong (of which we have several).

At the Center, we have three genets: Frick, Frack, and Little Guy. When we enter their enclosures to clean, we are also expected to check on the genets to make sure that they are okay. We have to be able to see their bodies to see if there are any wounds, bumps, or bites. This is probably my favorite part of cleaning both the genets' and kinkajous' habitats, seeing their bleary tired little eyes gazing back at me with contempt.

Frack Genet
Photo courtesy of Jesse Anderson

Frack Genet
Photo courtesy of Jesse Anderson

Kinkajous are native to the rainforest and are closely related to the raccoon, ringtail cat, and coatis. They have large eyes and small ears. Their legs feature five-toed paws with claws. Their coat is woolly with a undercoat.

We have three kinkajous at the Center: Abigail, Aleco, and Raul. All three are nocturnal and are rarely seen during the day. Similar to the genets, we are required to check on the kinkajous. They like to burrow in their blankets, so we need to encourage them to get up so we can move the blankets and inspect their bodies. I always got the impression that the kinkajous were secretly plotting their revenge every time I urged one to move.

Aleco Kinkajou
Photo courtesy of Abbie Cooke

Both genets and kinkajous are carnivores, which means that they eat meat. However, our critters also enjoy fruits and vegetables. Their bowls usually look like fancy little salads (give me a minute as I add "sous chef for genets, binturongs, kinkajous and lemurs" to my resume). When I prep their diets in the morning, I usually add more fruits and vegetables but I still add a couple slices of chicken to the bowls.

If you're curious and want to see them out and about, please consider signing up for a Twilight Tour! Children need to be twelve and up, but many of our animals are more active in the evenings and nights, especially in the summers when it is exponentially cooler at twilight.

Day Nine

Some of you might know, some of you might not. I have profound hearing loss and communicate primarily using sign language. The keepers have been great about learning basic sign language to communicate with me.

One of my most ardent students is a keeper called Megan. I only see her on Mondays, and I really enjoy working with her. While all the keepers are great about picking up sign and using that as a method to ask me to do tasks, Megan actually tries to communicate. At one point, Megan suddenly turns to me and asks (in sign) whether I had heard about a news story involving a little boy named Hunter whose name sign looked like a gun. It was really nice getting to sign with someone at the facility about a topic other than the animals.

I have to give massive props to each keeper and intern. They have worked so hard to make sure that I understand what is going on, and pick up some sign in the meantime.

Sign language is cool, right?

I am so impressed by the keepers, who make sure that they look at me directly so I can read their lips and don't try to get my attention while my back is turned (as far as I know). Some keepers have taken sign language classes in the past and get by on what they can remember. Others are potentially looking up signs as we go. Yet others will come up, say "What?" and make a gesture, then tell me the word. In other words - they're asking me what the sign is for a particular word. One day, while in with the genets and teaching the interns the sign for "poop," I looked up to see Carolyn making a sign for a vulgar word meaning bovine manure. While hilariously inappropriate, I greatly enjoyed the fact that she was making an effort with what she knew.

I like to think I'm infinitely patient (hahaha yeah right...) and I really enjoy teaching the keepers and interns new signs.

A couple of the interns already had prior knowledge - one has a deaf sister in Costa Rica, another knew fingerspelling and some basic signs, and a third had a mother who is an ASL teacher. The intern house apparently has a book with illustrations of signs, and according to one intern, everyone pores over the book nightly.

That makes me happy. I think that was what I was most nervous about before starting this internship. I was worried I would be lumped with a group of interns who were going to leave me out of everything and basically ignore me except when necessary.

This group of interns... do they do that? Not even close. The only time I have a hard time keeping up with conversation is at lunch but I'm such a slow eater anyway that it doesn't really matter.

With each day that passes, I feel like I'm getting to know the interns better, and I really enjoy interacting with them. When this internship ends next month I think I'm going to have a really hard time saying goodbye.

Day Eight

Coming off a few days off, it was difficult getting back in the swing of things. Add in the fact that I had a horrible evening the day before and had lost my keys in my car in the morning, I had my fingers crossed that I was scheduled for the smalls.

I got assigned to the large compound.

You see, the night before I was leaving to come back to my temporary house in Chapel Hill. The saying "Bad things come in threes and sevens" was true for me that night. Some features: I got lost, hit a kitten, realized how badly my car needed new coolant, and my side mirror fell off (it is currently taped on).

The side mirror. My poor car.

I was worried that, with my run of bad luck, I would get eaten or clawed in the large compound. However, it went as well as it could have! I made sure I stood farther from the fence than I normally would, and gave the cats a wide berth. I still have all my limbs, so I think it worked out.

Afternoon activities are usually varied, as I have shown in this blog. We do construction, gardening, cleaning - whatever is needed. Since the Center does not have a full-time construction crew or gardener, the keepers assign us tasks that help get these jobs done. As we are interns - basically "keepers in training" - we are expected to help out any way we can.

This was very different for me, since at the zoo my afternoons were spent first cleaning items (usually toys taken from the animals' habitats), then preparing diets for the evening meals. I felt like the afternoons was a lot of downtime for me at the zoo.

Here, not as much. By the time we clock out, my feet are usually aching and I can't wait to get out of my boots and back in my flip flops. When I sit down in my car, all I can think about is dinner and the chance to lay down on my stomach in bed. I think all this time on my feet is time well spent.

Day Seven

And that brings us to today. I've found that my days in the small compound tend to be uneventful.

Today is my last day before the weekend. We have an event on Saturday but I cannot make it, so maybe I'll ask one of the interns who will be there to guest write a post!

Since I declared my intern project yesterday, Thursday afternoons are basically my afternoons off. I get to sit in the air-conditioned building and write. Kind of a nice way to end my week!

Interns are expected to do a project during their six weeks here. Some may choose to do training and will work with one animal to train it to do a certain behavior, such as lifting a paw so the vet can take blood, things like that. Carolyn will work closely with these interns to ensure that training goes safely. Others will do things such as food surveys or gardening, or renovations.

My project is communications. I am working closely with Mandy, our director of communications, to make this happen. This blog is my project. The reason that posts are taking so long to be posted is due to the fact that they are being filtered and need to be approved. However, since Mandy has been very involved in communications projects related to a big fundraising event, she has not been able to work with me on this project until recently.

As I am learning how to post appropriately (I was a biology major and know nothing about public relations!), I hope that Mandy will be able to keep up with my posts easier. She has to ensure that what I tell people is correct.

Before taking on this project, I didn't realize how much one had to think and weigh their words in public relations. Since I believe that this blog will eventually be shared by the Center, either through their website or their Facebook page, I have to be careful that what I write is consistent with their policies on posting information about the animals and people.

Of course, I'm allowed to complain about how hot and buggy it gets in the afternoon, how by 9:30 in the morning my shirt and pants are covered in blood and meat juice, and how I keep cutting myself with my knife. These are the realities of the job. It is not a pretty job, and you won't go home smelling like roses.

However, should I say that one particular keeper is a nasty person (none of them are!)? Am I allowed to announce news about animals before the Conservators' Center does?

No. And that is what Mandy does. She tells me things like, "I don't think the word you used explaisn what you're trying to say about this person. Please fix that." "You can't discuss an animal's health issue before the people close to the animal have been notified. We have to be the ones to announce news about illnesses, births, and deaths. Imagine first learning on Facebook that the animal you adopt is sick?" Then I go through my post and fix these.

The Center is great. Don't get me wrong. However, I have zero modicum when it comes to stating things in an appropriate manner (for example, I accidentally cursed out my professor twice in one class. We were discussing a sensitive topic and I got upset. I don't think he saw though), and will often put down what I think without considering how it might sound. For example, I might get upset with a particular person and, while writing about the incident, make her sound like a witch when in fact we have a great relationship.

Another thing that I have to consider, and Mandy looks for, is the fact that English is my second language. While I'm very proud of my skills, I do have difficulty sometimes with compound sentences and tenses. Sometimes my wording is "off" and makes my whole point not what I intended. It all seems right in my head but when I put it down, sentences can sound stilted or may make no sense. I have been working on my English since I was seven years old, and it still gets difficult sometimes.

Have a good weekend, everyone! I'll be back on Sunday.

Day Six

I like Wednesdays. We work all morning, then after lunch we can relax a little while we have our class.

For the first time for this internship, my mornings were exactly the same two days in a row. Fairly uneventful.

We had lunch, then we had class. Carolyn gave a presentation on enrichment.

For those of you who are unaware, enrichment is when you offer an animal some stimulus that helps, so to speak, "enrich" their day.

If that still doesn't make sense, think of it this way. Imagine. You are a captive animal (be whatever you want, I personally like to imagine I'm a sea lion). You live in a habitat where dozens people ogle at you daily. You wake up, get your food, do your animal's animal-y thing, get a snack, maybe a dinner if you're fed twice a day, then you go to sleep.

Sounds exciting, right?

No. It can be a boring life.

So enrichment helps with that. It can be anything - training, socialization, changes in the habitat, sensory stimulation, and so forth.

So back to the "imagine you're an animal" example. I'm a sea lion. I'm swimming in the water with my sea lion friends. I'm jumping out of the water and delighting the people watching me. Later, I lay down on a rock and doze. And sleep. And sleep.

Why?

I have no stimulus. I'm sleeping with my sea lion friends because I'm tired of the toys in the water with me. I'm tired of people watching me. I'm bored. I'm a bored sea lion.

Oh, hey look. Amy the keeper (not a real person. A figment of my imagination - Gina) is coming. Hmm, what does she have with her? Hey! It's a bucket of fish with my name on it! And what else? Hey, a pumpkin! What is she doing?

Cool. A sea lion show. I jump out of the water, land at her feet. I follow her commands and get my treats. The crowd is happy, they're enjoying the show.

Aw. The fish is gone. What's up with that pumpkin anyway?

.... she threw it in the water. I must investigate!

And so my sea lion buddies and I dive back in the water, lift the pumpkin out of the water, and throw it to the other side of the pool. The water becomes a frenzy.

This pumpkin occupies our attentions for the rest of the afternoon.

And, that, my readers, is enrichment. And it happened. At my zoo internship, we gave pumpkins to the sea lions as enrichment. They loved it. Other examples of enrichment we did was giving the tigers a toy with Chanel #5 perfume, Anna the cougar got a frozen cantaloupe, the polar bears got live fish to hunt, and the hyenas once got some dried pepper flakes with some other herbs.

During class, Carolyn showed several video examples of our animals at the Center in enrichment activities. Even with my experience at the zoo, I did not realize how many different enrichment activities were possible.

After discussing enrichment, she then discussed training. She demonstrated with Sammy Serval how it was possible. The keepers carried in Sammy, who was shut in a kennel, and let him out. He was wearing a harness with a leash, just in case. Carolyn showed how he was trained to touch a "target" (a big ball on a stick). Once he touched the target he would be rewarded verbally and with a treat. While he was curiously exploring the table (yes, he was on the table!), Carolyn started talking about servals and what they are like. They are so endearing up close, with their satellite-like ears and almost perfectly round spots.

Carolyn working on target training with Sammy Serval.
Photo courtesy of Sam Trull

Afterwards, we got to try target training with the big cats! Some people worked with Ramsey Leopard, while others got to try their hand with the lions and some tigers. Ramsey was great, Willow Lion was grouchy and half-grudgingly did some target training before plopping back down and growling every time someone tried to get her to target. Hannah Lion was great with me - she was spot on and didn't give any resistance. Enoch Lion was pretty good too. Spike, Shelby, and Bella (all tigers) did some before plopping back down.

And Arthur the tiger stole the show. He constantly wanted to do more despite the heat. I can see why he is one of the most popular tigers at the Center!

Working on target training with Hannah Lion under supervision.
Photo credit goes to Haley Heniff

Day Five

My fifth day of my internship also marked the end of my first week of this internship. The days have gone by so quickly and it feels like I've been here forever. Countless chicken butts checked, poop picked up, and I have tripped and either landed on my face or "gracefully" stumbled in front of everyone exactly one infinity times.

Today was also a first. Because the internship is six weeks long and we don't have just lions, tigers and leopards, we got our new assignments. For the next few days I'm assigned to the small compound. It's a nice break. :)

Don't get me wrong. I love working with the big critters. I really do. But the part that stinks is that we don't get to interact directly with the large cats (for obvious safety reasons). We aren't allowed to enter their habitat with them still in there, we aren't allowed to touch them, and we aren't allowed to get too close to the fences. When you are around the big cats your guard has to be up. The smaller animals can be dangerous, yes, but you're more in danger of getting bitten or scratched than eaten.

Let me tell you. It is so cool! The servals and jungle cats know when it's feeding time and are crowded up against the fence. To feed them you basically take grill tongs, hold a rat with it, and offer it to a serval or jungle cat, then they'll take it and pull it through the fence. The wolves have to be moved into another area by the keeper, but once that has been done we're free to enter and clean up.

By the scattering of the poop, I have to wonder if the wolves poop while running. They're far more scattered than my old dog's (who did the squat-walk poop).

But one of my absolute favorites (and all of the animals are my favorite) are the New Guinea Singing Dogs (colloquially called "singers"). You can actually enter their habitats with them.

I have to back up a little here and explain. When I first found the Conservators' Center website, I read about every single animal on there, and looked at their pictures. The singers seemed to be regular dog-sized (which by my definition is about 40-60 pounds or larger. I like big dogs). Imagine my surprise when they're actually the size of miniature schnauzers or beagles. They are ridiculously cute and very affectionate. They are each paired male-female because males do not get along with males, and neither do females with females.

If one so desired, they could pet one of these dogs. With what I hope is common dog etiquette among everyone, you should approach a dog at its level with your hand out so that the dog can smell your palm. Instead of on the top of its head, one should pet a singer under the chin. Also, do not try to go after a dog to pet it. You cannot make the dog do what you want, and that includes having him let you pet him.

Other than the servals, wolves, and singers, the interns were allowed to enter the kinkajou and genets' enclosures. They are both nocturnal species, and we had to check their dens anyway to ensure that they looked healthy. An intern and I also went in the lemurs' habitat. We basically had to clean up after them, change their water and place new bowls, plus hide treats for them.

After lunch, we continued work on Oliver's habitat while he and his kittens looked on.

The result from being outside so much? Carolyn shoved sunblock in my face and made me put it on. I still burned.

Day Four

My fourth day of the internship was.... different to say in the least.

I have to back up a little here. We get very regular deliveries of chickens from local farmers. Occasionally people will bring "goodies." These goodies can consist of anything from deer to goats. We are strict on the policy that we do not accept full-sized cows due to Mad Cow Disease (but calves are a-OK) or horses (it is difficult to know all the drugs that horses have been dosed with. There are some types of drugs that horses have been dosed with that they are fine with, but could potentially sicken our animals), but we will accept almost anything else. 

Monday, a truck arrived carrying two freshly dead goats. The goats had outgrown their use to the farmer and had been humanely killed that morning. We were responsible for harvesting the meat while they were still fresh, and ensuring that it was done correctly. The goats were so fresh that they were still warm - eughhh! The keeper, Megan, showed us how to cut off each leg without having to saw through bone (surprisingly easy), then we removed the organs of the goats and saved the ribcages. The process was long and disgusting (I gagged a couple of times), but it was worth it to see the carnivores enjoying the ribcage and legs. 

One lion in particular, Matthai, got the special treat of having the ribcage of the larger goat all to himself. I was sent to place the ribcage in the habitat, then the keeper let him out. It was great watching him walk up to it, pick it up, and then roll over, rub his face in the meat, then start chewing on it. You could practically tell that he was saying, "Ah! This is the life!" 

Unfortunately, because it took so long to cut up the goats, we finally got to sit down for lunch at almost 2:30! To say that we were starving is an understatement. I think I could have eaten an entire goat, I was so hungry. 

Goats ahoy!

Day Three

I had Friday and Saturday off, so getting back in the swing on Sunday was a little difficult. It's a little like the "Monday blahs" when you have the normal Monday-Friday work schedule, or are in school.

It was a pretty regular day by any means. Since I'm now writing this three days after the fact, I can't remember much of what we did (whoops). However, I was with the large animals, it was pretty fun.

I have short term memory loss. I seriously cannot remember what we did.

I'm sorry.

In exchange, I thought it would be a good idea to make suggestions for what a summer intern could wear and carry to make their days easier.

First of all, pants. It is necessary to protect you against bug bites, poison ivy, or animal scratches. While you can wear jeans, it is honestly much more comfortable wearing lightweight pants.

These are the pants that I got. They're basically frumpy old-lady pants in real life (nothing looks as nice in real life as they do in ads) but they do the job. I'm a little bit vain so I bought a size up since in my size, I had a slight muffin top. Yes, I know. Nobody cares about muffin tops. The sucky part is that I keep forgetting a belt and my pants are always falling down.

As for shirts, I usually check the forecast before I leave the house. If the day is going to be ridiculously sunny and hot, I will wear a tank top or a racerback. They are usually light colored like bright blue or yellow or red (but mostly blue and red) although I have a black one in my car ready to be changed into. If the day is not going to be ridiculously hot (which never happens in NC), I will wear a short sleeved shirt. The neck style of the shirt honestly doesn't matter. I have worn both crew-necked and v-necked shirts with no problems.

There was one morning where it was cool enough I considered wearing a jacket, but then I realized I only had my really nice sorority lettered jacket in my car, and didn't want it to be stained, so I went without. It wasn't that bad anyway.

As for shoes, it is entirely up to you. Many interns wear sneakers and others wear hiking boots. If you wear sneakers, be prepared to get your feet wet. Hiking boots, in my opinion, are better. I have a bum ankle and I haven't felt a twinge while in my boots. The pair that I got is waterproof with a steel toe. I've got my feet stepped on and run over (oops), then walked through puddles or got my entire lower half soaking wet, and my feet have been dry (aside from sweat). They rock! It hurts to break in but only takes a couple of days of walking. I suggest you buy your boots well ahead of time to break them in. I initially bought these boots for my class trip to Pt. Pelee in Ontario. We walked something like twenty miles (maybe that's an exaggeration? maybe not) in two days, and by the end my boot were perfectly broken in. The best part? I got them from Walmart at a ridiculously low price (yay Walmart and yay being a broke college student/graduate!).

What about miscellaneous items? The staff at the Center advise you to get cloth gloves to wear. I didn't get a pair, and I sort of wish I did. It would make handling chickens much better, and I'd be able to wear gloves in the compound when I do heavy lifting (splinters suck). However, I do well enough with latex gloves while doing chicken prep. They get super sweaty in the summers, and I absolutely hate getting latex gloves wet (the texture... ucccch) so if I have to wash buckets or something and I'm wearing latex gloves, I have to take them off, go to the field kitchen, throw them away, and come back. Not a big deal, but it can be a pain if you're in a time crunch.

What I do strongly advise getting is a good knife. While the Center has their own knives in the field kitchen, it's pretty nice having a pocket knife to carry in your pocket if you have to do emergency gutting in the compound. They also come in useful for cutting chickens open to put vitamins in, which we do right before giving it to the animal (so that the right vitamins are given to the right animals), and if we have to do some emergency cutting (which hasn't happened yet, and I don't know what we would cut anyway) for whatever reason. I would suggest getting a knife of good quality. The one I have has a cheap plastic handle and the blade used to go dull quickly (before I went insane with the sharpener. I already sliced open my finger. Do not do) which makes sense since it was a freebie... (for anyone curious, I took Ecology of Hunting and Fishing winter quarter, and we had to make our own fire kits for whatever reason. My professor didn't spend much time on the ecology portion. Anyway. He gave each of us a knife so that we could whittle our sticks for the fire kit. That's how I got my knife)

I wear a baseball cap, since my eyes are pretty sensitive to the sun. In the four years that I've lived in western New York, I developed an allergy to NC. I will start randomly sneezing and stop only after five, six, or seven sneezes. And they hurt. Combine that with my photic sneeze reflex, and I'm done for. A hat helps counter the photic reflex, and I can just focus on my allergic-to-NC sneezes, which I have realized only happens when I'm at the Center in the compound... uh oh. A cap also protects your face from sunburn (mostly).

I also very strongly advise sunblock. Like, seriously. The keepers will yell at you if you get sunburned and shove a tube of sunblock at you.

A photo is coming. Stay tuned!

Ta!