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.