My
first day at the Center, the Large Compound interns were with a
keeper called Carolyn. I had shadowed her for my work interview, but
she was a little distant when I was there (understandable,
considering that one of her beloved lions, Sadie, was very sick and
wasn't interested in her food or her surroundings, which I was told
was very unlike her). Carolyn seemed a little sad during my
interview, and I didn't see much of her. She was "on"Wednesday,
though, and it was a very rich experience.
Day Two? We were with the Director of Animal Care, Janine. It was very interesting to see how different both Carolyn and Janine were. While both clearly loved the animals deeply, they cared for the animals differently.
Janine showed us the feeding chart the keepers created, and how to decipher the written codes. On the back side of the chart was the enclosures and what had been done that day. It was very comprehensive and easy to understand once it had been explained. We could refer to the chart and decide whether Jacob Tiger's pool needed to be cleaned that day, or whether it was okay to just refill it (depending on whether he has pooped in it), or whether Mufasa's Pride's water buckets needed to be scrubbed. A lot of this depended on visuals as well. If the water looked murky, it was a better idea to bail it out and give the bucket a good scrubbing.
While I love working with both Carolyn and Janine, I appreciate the different styles of animal care and education that they both provide. They are both brilliant caretakers and I am very fortunate for this opportunity to work with them, and other keepers. I also like this style of working - we typically stayed with the keeper for the full day. During my internship at the zoo, I would often be shuffled between five keepers in one day, so it was difficult getting to observe the keepers and their interactions with the animals. At the zoo, I sometimes missed so much that I didn't know how the polar bears were fed until my last day at the internship, because I was always somewhere else (and the zone I was in at the zoo was smaller than the Center).
While pulling out the hose for some interns to water Tonka Tiger's pool and buckets, I made a new friend. There is a narrow walkway between Kira Lioness/Arthur Tiger's enclosure and Bella/Spike/Shelby Tigers' enclosures. People have to walk single file and keep an eye out for the cats. As I pulled the hose along this walkway, I noticed something sandy-colored bouncing along next to me. Oh no. Head full of warnings from the zoo, of stories of large cats' paws fitting easily through chain-link fences, of zookeepers' cut and scarred legs, I kept my eyes on the ground and edged just a little bit closer to Bella's side of the walkway. I met with the interns, dropped off the hose, and turned around. I made split-second eye contact with this sandy-colored thing. Kira the lioness. She had herself pressed against the fence and was pawing at the air.
Could it be? Turns out this lioness, which I had decided the day prior to be shy and not very friendly toward people, had taken a liking to me. I'm still not sure whether she was just hungry and I smelled delicious, or I somehow became her buddy. Walking back through the walkway, the lioness was still bounding next to me. I met Janine, who had spotted Kira and her antics, at the head of the walkway. She grinned and pointed out what I had deducted - Kira liked me.
Now, honestly. I have a soft spot for tigers. I fell in love with Seneca Park Zoo's two tigers, Anastasia and Katya, who had the sweetest personalities. They both loved Chanel No. 5 perfume and often would go straight for their toys instead of the dinners. The zoo was in the process of getting lions when my internship ended (no, I don't think California sea lions count as actual lions) so my first brush with the king of the savannah was during my work interview. My first impression, dropping a chicken through the feed hole, was of a very large, very angry, very hungry animal roaring at me and pawing at the ground. That is an image I have held in my head in the four months since my interview.
Kira? Was she very large? Well... yeah. Was she very angry? She only seemed angry when Arthur the tiger leaped up and swiped at her leg while she ate, and she reprimanded him like a proper lady (roaring, of course). Was she very hungry? I'm not sure about that. Arthur honestly seems more hungry than her even after eating his meal and plenty of treats.
After lunch, the interns helped the keepers with building a hanging platform and a hammock for Oliver Binturong. This was the first time that I had been near his enclosure. While a binturong's appearance is quite unusual, they become endearing quite quickly. While I was checking out Oliver and examining his appearance, I was greeted with a surprise. The cutest black cat with the brightest green eyes! Apparently Oliver likes cats and two or three cats live in his enclosure with him, quite peacefully. While helping with construction, I observed Oliver sleeping in his hammock with "his" cats comfortably cuddled up against him.
Day Two? We were with the Director of Animal Care, Janine. It was very interesting to see how different both Carolyn and Janine were. While both clearly loved the animals deeply, they cared for the animals differently.
Janine showed us the feeding chart the keepers created, and how to decipher the written codes. On the back side of the chart was the enclosures and what had been done that day. It was very comprehensive and easy to understand once it had been explained. We could refer to the chart and decide whether Jacob Tiger's pool needed to be cleaned that day, or whether it was okay to just refill it (depending on whether he has pooped in it), or whether Mufasa's Pride's water buckets needed to be scrubbed. A lot of this depended on visuals as well. If the water looked murky, it was a better idea to bail it out and give the bucket a good scrubbing.
While I love working with both Carolyn and Janine, I appreciate the different styles of animal care and education that they both provide. They are both brilliant caretakers and I am very fortunate for this opportunity to work with them, and other keepers. I also like this style of working - we typically stayed with the keeper for the full day. During my internship at the zoo, I would often be shuffled between five keepers in one day, so it was difficult getting to observe the keepers and their interactions with the animals. At the zoo, I sometimes missed so much that I didn't know how the polar bears were fed until my last day at the internship, because I was always somewhere else (and the zone I was in at the zoo was smaller than the Center).
While pulling out the hose for some interns to water Tonka Tiger's pool and buckets, I made a new friend. There is a narrow walkway between Kira Lioness/Arthur Tiger's enclosure and Bella/Spike/Shelby Tigers' enclosures. People have to walk single file and keep an eye out for the cats. As I pulled the hose along this walkway, I noticed something sandy-colored bouncing along next to me. Oh no. Head full of warnings from the zoo, of stories of large cats' paws fitting easily through chain-link fences, of zookeepers' cut and scarred legs, I kept my eyes on the ground and edged just a little bit closer to Bella's side of the walkway. I met with the interns, dropped off the hose, and turned around. I made split-second eye contact with this sandy-colored thing. Kira the lioness. She had herself pressed against the fence and was pawing at the air.
Could it be? Turns out this lioness, which I had decided the day prior to be shy and not very friendly toward people, had taken a liking to me. I'm still not sure whether she was just hungry and I smelled delicious, or I somehow became her buddy. Walking back through the walkway, the lioness was still bounding next to me. I met Janine, who had spotted Kira and her antics, at the head of the walkway. She grinned and pointed out what I had deducted - Kira liked me.
Now, honestly. I have a soft spot for tigers. I fell in love with Seneca Park Zoo's two tigers, Anastasia and Katya, who had the sweetest personalities. They both loved Chanel No. 5 perfume and often would go straight for their toys instead of the dinners. The zoo was in the process of getting lions when my internship ended (no, I don't think California sea lions count as actual lions) so my first brush with the king of the savannah was during my work interview. My first impression, dropping a chicken through the feed hole, was of a very large, very angry, very hungry animal roaring at me and pawing at the ground. That is an image I have held in my head in the four months since my interview.
Kira? Was she very large? Well... yeah. Was she very angry? She only seemed angry when Arthur the tiger leaped up and swiped at her leg while she ate, and she reprimanded him like a proper lady (roaring, of course). Was she very hungry? I'm not sure about that. Arthur honestly seems more hungry than her even after eating his meal and plenty of treats.
After lunch, the interns helped the keepers with building a hanging platform and a hammock for Oliver Binturong. This was the first time that I had been near his enclosure. While a binturong's appearance is quite unusual, they become endearing quite quickly. While I was checking out Oliver and examining his appearance, I was greeted with a surprise. The cutest black cat with the brightest green eyes! Apparently Oliver likes cats and two or three cats live in his enclosure with him, quite peacefully. While helping with construction, I observed Oliver sleeping in his hammock with "his" cats comfortably cuddled up against him.
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| Oliver and one of his kittens! Photo courtesy of Sam Trull |
Note: If you are interested in more of Sam's work, her website is http://primatography.photoshelter.com.She is a photographer whose work focuses on primates and sloths. She is currently in Costa Rica, and many of the photos used in this blog were taken by her. Her pictures are amazing - go check them out!
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