My friday!

Today was another slow day at the zoo.  We began by taking 2 animals to night hunters including the blue-tongued skink and the ball python.  I randomly had a couple guys come up to look at the skink and then say this "My dad's friend who was just murdered had a house that seemed to have thousands of lizards outside.  Are lizards common to this area?"  Those are the exact words.....in my mind I was like did he just say murdered as a segue to if lizards are common to cincinnati?  I didnt know what to say other than yeah I see them all the time around here.


We then took a cockroach and an emperor scorpion to the reptile house...where I proceeded to call out randomly....we have bugs! come touch a cockroach!  well turns out mothers dont want to touch a cockroach...which happened to have hissed at me when taking it out of the enclosure.  After 30 minutes of people being highly grossed out by our bugs we took them back to their enclosures.


At that point we went to the giraffe feeding and helped out there.  Then we broke for lunch and again helped at the giraffe feeding after lunch.  I manned the microphone...but very few people showed up so I didnt have to talk much.


After giraffe feeding I went to the children's zoo and took Star out....most of the time I just sat on a bench  bonding with a ball python....we were chillin.


After that I went to the Lorikeet Landing for the last hour and listened to Popeye the 1 eyed Chattering Lorikeet screaming in my ear.....see?

Popeye

Me and Stripe

Me and Periwinkle

Just another day at the zoo

Today was the usual beautiful day at the zoo.  I took out 2 snakes and a tortoise.  I also helped out at 2 giraffe feedings.  The day ended with an hour and a half in the Lorikeet area.


Well its stroller season at the zoo and that means hundreds of children 3 years and under....and their stroller pushing mothers.  Every so often there is a dad toting around the kids...which makes me smile because he took the initiative to take the kids to the zoo...and have fun with them.  While I am never going to have kids I like the idea of having a stay at home dad....what?!?  Its 2011 and I think women should have careers...yes I know some women want to stay home and take care of the kids.....and thats perfectly fine.  But sometimes I feel the job is delegated to us.


Anyways....the park train was broken for most of the morning....and so were kids hearts...literally.  I was next to the train station watching kids throw fits because the train wasnt running.....who cares that I was holding a python they could touch....THE TRAIN WAS BROKEN!!!!!


Also please if you are given the opportunity to get close to a large animal....listen to the person that works there.  If we say you cant touch the giraffe....you cant touch the giraffe....thats it!  No trying to do it when we arent looking...because we are....all the time!


Oh I found a peacock feather today.....I know...I can buy one at the store...but this one is different.  Literally....SEE?

It would be perfect if I was doing another indian halloween outfit.....Its GIANT!!!!

goats......do they really have to poo every few minutes?

Today was another fun filled day at the zoo with animal encounters and my all-time favorite thing......goats.....just kidding.


There were only 2 of the interns today so we were together the whole day.  We did 3 animal encounters with 2 snakes and 1 skink.  


Touching moment of the day:  A little boy and his mom came to the zoo because he had just been released from the hospital for having brain surgery.  The hospital overlooks the zoo and they watched it everyday from the window with his mom promising that they would go to the zoo when he was well.  We met them today in Manatee Springs while we had Star our Ball Python out.  I was touched by the mom keeping her promise to her child and honestly I think I would have gone with them the whole day just to make their experience as amazing as possible.  I really hope their day was amazing!


It is weird to go from a busy weekend to seeing the monday crowd of mothers and strollers.  The crowds are definitely diminished and the day is much quieter for us.  Overall it was a calm day....and then the goat yard happened....


So goats.....they are barnyard animals and I really have never been interested in them....but these kids act like they are seeing a puppy for the first time and want to brush these creatures and hug them.  That usually is fine...but today I think the goats were on steroids or something.  They were crazy and running around jumping up on things.  They had their tongues sticking out which looked to me like they were doing the flehmen response...which usually is done when a female is in heat....but these goats are all.....for lack of a better word......fixed.  They also were in dominance fights and headbutting each other by rearing up on their back legs and pounding each other.  Well add 3 year olds and under into the mix.  Some kids were screaming....some were knocked over....parents were scared.


OVERALL being in the goat yard today was stressful and having to explain the behaviors to parents is interesting to do.....Also having to scoop poo every 3 to 5 minutes for 20 goats/sheep sucks.  Its like I die a little every time I have to scoop up goat poo.  Yes I have a college degree.....but I am scooping goat poo.

PEACOCK!!!!

No sir...you cant touch the snake on the head.

Today was an especially public filled day.  I had 4 random animal encounters and then a giraffe feeding to help with.  


We first took out Star the Ball Python and set up around the kids train area.  Let me just say this....if you are at a zoo...look at the hands of people before you walk by 3 people with a zoo polo on....we may be holding a snake.  I cant count how many people who asked me where something is and then say "oh my I didnt see the _______ you are holding".  Or they walk off afterwards and I am like I am also holding a turtle....no big deal I guess the bathroom is more important to find. 


Also hand sanitizer is like a drug for parents.....ok kids you touched whatever now clean your hands....we didnt have hand sanitizer when I was growing up or when they were growing up....and we survived.  I have heard it called magic soap...which I kind of like.  


Being around the zoo you see lots of families....you also hear lots of kids names....parents are really creative now a days.  My favorite today was probably sawyer....or kenyan.


I also like to tell weird facts to the parents and see how interested they become in the animal and you see them reaching out to touch the snake....who feels like a basketball....or football as I was told today by a little girl.


Also random venting.....If you are an adult and you try to hit the head of the animal I am holding....I may be forced to hit you in the head.  I had a guy come up and "pet" the back of the angolan python I was holding and then try to smack his head before I noticed....I yanked the snake away and he ran off laughing....can we say jerk???  If I get bit because of that I will go after you....you have been warned.


Anyways....I have learned that sometimes people need to control their children....but then you see how the adult behaves and you think....well of course the kid has no one to look up to for manners.


BUT then some kids surprise you and quote random facts about the animal you have and it makes the bad eggs much more bearable.

1st public encounter with a snake

Today started with another intern and me taking Stripe the Ball Python to the Reptile house for a random animal encounter.  During the course of an hour we saw over 400 people who wanted to touch the snake or we helped talk to them about the snake.  I really enjoyed the experience and seeing the looks on the faces of children and adults when they find out you are holding a snake.  After that hour we brought Stripe back to the education area and since we still had 30 minutes before lunch we took out the scorpion.  We stood in the children's zoo area and talked to people about the Emperor Scorpion and my fun fact of they glow under a blacklight and you can see it in the insect house at the zoo.  


We had lunch and then got our assignments for the afternoon which included me and another girl going to the Manatee Springs area with an animal.  Since we are still very limited in the options of animals we took Stripe again and talked to people there about him.  My favorite thing was to see 4 20 ish year old guys daring each other to touch a snake while 2 girls are holding it and a little 4 year old is petting the snake....yeah they are definitely grown men...lol.  Anyways after that I worked in the goat yard for an hour and wrangled goats trying to escape out of the entrance because the door was left open too long by people.  Also I helped hand out brushes and told visitors they could not bring food in with the goats because they will jump up on the children for food and its a safety issue.....say that like 100 times in an hour.  At 3 I went to help with the giraffe feeding and basically was the bouncer for the exit area of the feeding corral.  Its amazing when you stand next to a sign that says exit only how many people try to walk by into the corral....Anyways I got to feed the giraffes at the end of the feeding time and then the guys and I went to the ice cream place....we somehow also acquired free food...yet again.


Tomorrow is another fun filled day!!!

White-throated Monitor

The day began with learning to hold and show off a Eastern Box Turtle, then we moved onto the Plated Lizard and the Hedgehog.  After that we learned how to work with the Red-footed Tortoise, Star Tortoise, and Radiated Tortoise.  By the time we had all learned to handle the animals it was about time for lunch so we went to lunch for an hour.


By the time we finished lunch we still had 30 minutes left so we toured around the wings of the world area.  We also wandered by the Siamang Gibbons because they were howling.  Then we met our supervisor in a building for more training on interpretation.  She brought a special guest named Ollie the White-throated Monitor on a harness and leash.  We had our class and he walked around the room running into the walls and windows with his face...hes kind of adorable in a reptile like way.  After class we walked him back to his building about 40 yards away....it took 20 minutes.  Everyone was so excited to meet him that walked by us.  Then we toured an education area with several other animals used for random animal encounters and I even got to hold a baby hedgehog....which is much calmer and nicer to hold than the adult.


Around 2 our supervisor told us we were done for the day and we could do whatever so we went to the giftshop and then walked around looking at others doing random animal encounters.  We watched the elephants for a little while and then got icees.  We watched the bird show and then when walking to leave we got called over from one of the food places.....we got a free pizza because they made too many and were closing for the day....AWESOME!

White-throated Monitor

Siamang Gibbons

Skinks.....of the blue-tongued persuasion

Today was another day of training with the education animals.  I am fully trained on the Ball Python, Angolan Python, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach and the Emperor Scorpion.  We also began and finished training for the Blue-tongued skink....which is kind of adorable.  


I also worked in the goat yard at the childrens zoo....and man are children odd.  They were allowed to have brushes to brush the goats and sheep....so they decided to brush in the wrong direction....or try out every brush we had or my favorite is the little girl who started brushing her own hair...lol.  Then later we watched this one 4 year old pull the goats ears then hug it around the neck....cute...sorta.  Then he began to pick the goats nose with his finger and then try to put his finger in the goats mouth.....SERIOUSLY.


After that fun experience we saw a wallaby being walked around on a harness from the nursery area and proceeded to go to the Lorikeet Landing.  The other education worker told us basically to watch the birds and make sure people arent being bit....so we sat there and i had a lorikeet eating my hair and my lanyard.  Then he began trying to eat my ear so i shooed him away.


Pictures of animals i work with:

Ball Python

Angolan Python

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Emperor Scorpion

Blue-Tongued Skink

SNAKES!!!!!

I came to cincinnati being pretty scared of snakes....but now I have decided I am only scared of ones in the grass.  


I held a ball python and an angolan python today and I even surprised myself with how comfortable I was with it all.  I learned the proper way of holding them for the public and how to crate the snakes to move around the zoo.  I also held a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach and learned the proper way of presenting it to the public.  Then we worked on how to move an Emperor Scorpion from his enclosure to a carrier for the public presentations.


After lunch we went to help with the Giraffe Feeding Encounter and then got to feed them ourselves....I kinda love working at a zoo!!!!!!


I then shadowed another girl who does random encounters and she took a milk snake to show people.  It was nice to just talk with her about everything and see what all is involved in the random animal encounters.  We set up in the main gift shop where people would ask us basic questions about the shop and then would freak out at the last minute when they finally saw the snake.....priceless.


I also walked around the zoo after work ended at 315 and talked to a trainer for the cougar cubs.  Then I toured Jungle Trails.  Working at a zoo is great because at the end you can just walk around and look at the animals....AWESOME.


Anyways got to study random facts about the animals I will be working with and look at the new ones for tomorrow

1st day at Cincy Zoo

1st of all we started at 10am......which is almost sinful on how late that is...lol.  Then we had several meetings with random people who spoke about basics such as public relations, HR, safety, what to get out of the internship.....more stuff including meet the keepers here because everyone knows everyone in the zoo industry.


Met my other interns really nice so far.  I am of course the out of stater but whatever i like it.  We got stood up by one of the people to talk to us so we sat there for an hour before going to get our security badges.  I also bought a lanyard at the zoo gift shop to put my badge on.  I then walked around on my own after being let out for the day at 230.  I saw so many cats and even talked to little kids about them.  Then I was doing this little postcard thing online to email myself and had a 3-4 year old ask me what I was doing and when I would be leaving.  I kinda laughed and told him I would be done in a minute I promise...lol.


Anyways animal handling training tomorrow morning starting at 930 am.


Picture time:

sign i love

fennec fox

sandcat

binturong----or bearcat

White lionesses from Siegfried and Roy

Africa Penguins

I agree

there are 7 to 8 peacocks roaming around the zoo

African Crane

giraffe

giraffe eating stick

ROADTRIP!!!!!

Yesterday was the big roadtrip from Minnesota to Ohio.  We drove through Minn, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and finally Ohio.


Saw lots of fun things and had a great time hanging out with my brother driving forever.  


Drove through Chicago and ate at Giordanos pizza in downtown Chicago...I am now a converted deep dish pizza lover.  I also got a small tour of Chicago from my brother and saw the outside of the Shedd Aquarium....must go to it looks amazing!!!!
I also really want to go back and see more of Chicago later and spend a little more time there.


We also saw the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile and a trolley in Chicago traffic of people who were just married.  


Anyways after finally making it to Columbus at 230 am I passed out and woke up around 10am.  Then we had Krispy Kreme and went to an Eddie Bauer Warehouse Store where I bought 2 pairs of pants and a heavy winter coat for.......wait for it.......32 dollars.  yep 


Now its time for me to drive into Cincinnati and move in to my new place.

Reflection on these past few months

I worked my butt off......well its still there but I worked harder these past 3 months than in my entire life.


I now have arm muscles and ladies and gentlemen if you want them dont go to the gym.......shovel things.  It works...shovel rocks, dirt, ash.  Also walk around with buckets of water or pound poles into the ground.  If that doesnt work...cut cattle paneling with bolt cutters that stick.


Now for the legs.....mow your yard....and maybe 5 of your neighbors yards....walk about 6 miles a day hauling buckets or a cart of some kind over rocks and dirt and grass.  move heavy things into place by pushing against it with your legs and the all encompassing squat and lift logs and boulders.


If you need a break from the workout maybe cut some chicken or beef....or better yet weedeat your yard and your neighbors' yards.  Also go on an easter egg hunt for poo in your backyard......or like 20 backyards to be in comparison to what I do here.


Now to improve hand strength....use tongs to feed about 120 animals  varying in diets of 1 chicken thigh to 10 chicken or beef pieces.....yep you can also hog ring any and everything you can find or wire tie everything in sight with pliers.


And to educate yourself on powertools: Learn how to use a electric drill, electric and gas weedeater, 3 types of mowers, hand saws, electric saws to cut metal or wood, a chop saw to cut metal poles, a hand-held rotating saw, and many other types of things i cant remember that I used.....


To keep your mind active memorize 120+ cats names, diets, medications, normal behaviors, health conditions, species, identifying marks, and some stories to tell others why the cats came to the sanctuary......or know enough to piece together an answer......


Also learn to drive a 15 passenger van and drive it to pick up meat in another state.....twice...which is 8 hours each time....and then again in a parade.


Learn to ignore people asking questions that are completely odd...or calling a tiger a lion....or a jaguar.....or whatever else they say.


Yep that was my summer summed up into my little work out session.....Now just do that 6 days a week 10+ hours a day and you can eat whatever you want and only gain muscle...not fat


Hope this helps :)


Pictures of my new muscles...before this my arms were flat on top....so this is a big difference for me

last few days at the sanctuary

On tuesday the staff took all the interns to lunch to thank us for our hard work.  


They gave us each a certificate of completion, a thank you card, a painted paw print from one of the cougars, and we each got to pick out a hoodie from their retail selection.  


We also had the cats paint for each of us over the weekend.  My cat was Shazam the black leopard.  I also took a paw casting they had and put his paw print on the painting.  

shazam not moving so fast

Then we were able to go around and take pictures of the cats....while working of course...and then we played around and climbed the cougar tower....here is a picture of all the interns (girls) and the seasonal keeper (guy)

After playing around we found some really good paw prints in one of the tigers' enclosures and and put casting material inside the paw print and made us each a paw print to take with us.

Today is my day off and I went to an outlet mall to buy new pants and shoes for my next internship.  Shopping trip successful and much cheaper than going to a mall.

Minnesota Zoo

On my day off last week me and another intern went to the minnesota zoo in minneapolis.


I loved the zoo....lots of indoor areas...which makes sense since sometimes its below 0 degrees here without windchill.  The animals also had very large enclosures with lots of vegetation.


I also really liked that for the carnivores they had a metal carcass of a hoofstock animal.  Then for feeding they put meat inside the carcass to show the public that this is what they eat in real life.


PICTURE TIME!!!!!

gangsta penguin

colobus monkey- you want a good pose?  Is this good?

just chillin

tightrope walking monkey

thats right

leopard shark

this zoo had suessian characters all over the place--cat in the hat, the lorax, the grinch and max, green eggs and ham....

pretty cool water park thing with metal structures

hey you.....

amur leopard with deer metal carcass in the back

ay boo boo you lookin at me?

monday and tuesday of this week

we had our second vet day for little cats...it went well.  Several cats received physicals.


On a sad note we had to help the 2 husky girls pass over "the rainbow bridge" as they like to call it.  Their health had become increasingly worse over the weeks and one acquired a slip disk in the vertebrae, while the other had intense arthritis and severe anxiety about people.


We also had a little bengal start having coughing attacks and wheezing.  Yesterday morning she had another attack and actually had blood coming out of her mouth and nose and shortly thereafter passed on.


It was a hard 2 days for the keepers and director.  I like to believe that Sophie, Sierra, and Zena are all in a better place now.....i always believed animals go to heaven...and so they are no longer in pain.

CINCINNATI!!!!!!

thats right!  Ill be there soon!!!!!  can you tell im excited?!?


I will be doing a fall internship there and cant wait!  civilization here i come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


list of things to do in ohio:


King's Island
See a concert------possibly
see my bro
go to museums
venture into kentucky just across the river




excitement has ensued!!!!!!!!