Day One on the Savannah: A Success!

Hi friends!

I arrived in KC safely last night after a six-hour-long drive. My "host family" for the summer is very nice and my living arrangements are working out perfectly. They have a weimaraner named Ike who's a lot of fun and my room currently has a terrarium with tree frogs and a tank with two turtles, one of whom is named Sam. I like the rainforest feeling every time I walk into my room.

My first day at the zoo was everything I expected and more! I started off the day with the head keeper of the savannah, Tim Wild, giving me a tour of the meerkat, lion, and giraffe enclosures. I spent the majority of the day with one of the keepers, Kelly, working with the rhinos. The zoo has four (Luyisa, Rudy, Tucker, and Imara). Luyisa is pregnant with a calf that's due just after I leave. I helped clean cages, deliver hay and alfalfa meals, and yes, I might just be an expert at poop-scooping. =)

This afternoon, I got to meet the zoo vet, Kirk, who let me listen to the heartbeat of a black-footed cat he was immunizing. The two kittens in the litter were getting their first vaccinations and I had to wait for the little guy to stop growling before I could hear his heartbeat. Despite their small size, black-footed cats might just be the most aggressive cats on the planet! Kirk and the rest of the savannah team enjoyed freeze-pop popsicles from his cooler before we headed back to the rhinos. I got to feed all of the rhinos pears and apples this afternoon and watched as Lemon, a month and a half old kudu (which kind of looks like a small deer), was bottle-fed. She was adorable.

Another great discovery of my day was that one of the keepers and assistant supervisors on my team in the savannah is a Eureka alum! I'll work with him more tomorrow, which I'm excited about. Dr. S mentioned him to me when I was looking for housing, but I never contacted him because we weren't sure he worked at the zoo and I had been given living arrangements from the zoo. As it turns out, I got to meet him anyway! Funny how life works, isn't it?!

Exhaustion and fulfillment have both definitely set in and I'm looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

God Bless,

Liz

Zoo-rific Fact of the Day: Rhinos loved to be scratched on their inner thighs. Picture a dog wiggling it's leg really fast and leaning in for the optimal being-petted experience, except no leg movement--just a lean. They weigh over a ton, after all!