The Inspection & Some Fun-Having

The past week and a half have been busy at the zoo. The AZA (American Zoos & Aquariums) Association came at the end of the week to do their inspection. Every four years or so, zoos across the country must be reaccredited in order to keep the standards of care for exotic animals in captivity the best they can possibly be. With that being said, it's kind of a big deal to be prepared! Needless to say, my week wasn't the most interesting or exciting, but I'm thankful I got to see all the hard work that goes into being inspected by the AZA. I got to watch the inspectors in action and met the zoo director, too.

After painting holding stalls to cover up chipping paint and rust in the serval, hyrax, and lion buildings, weed-eating, washing windows, straightening behavior enrichment shelves, and sweeping and hosing more areas than I could count, the team and I were finally able to have some fun. I got to meet the polar bear, Nikita. He's still not on exhibit to the public due to weather delays, but his exhibit is going to be amazing once it's opened (hopefully at the end of the month!). I also got to feed the black-throated monitors, which look sort of like kimono dragons, but aren't. They eat dead chicks. Yum. The team helped welcome a new baby kudu and yet another Oryx calf into the world. Only one more oryx to go! The herd is one of the biggest in captivity at over 25 currently. One of the other keepers took me to meet the three cheetah girls who call the zoo home and sit in on the chimp keeper chat. I'm definitely still learning a lot, as there are SO many species of animals at the zoo!

Since the inspectors came on Thursday, we've been doing lots of fun enrichment. I've been working with the rhinos. We've watched as they've painted pictures, bobbed for apples, destroyed watermelons, and searched for hidden fruit inside bags and boxes. The lions have been fun this week, too. They got bones instead of meatballs on Thursday. As I was watching them munch away, I was thinking about how the bones in between their paws could easily have been my arm. How wonderfully powerful! The diversity and beauty of the animal world never ceases to amaze me! Tomorrow marks the beginning of springbok examinations. We'll have 9 of them throughout the week. I'm looking forward to seeing the vet staff in action!

God Bless,

Liz

Zoo-rific Fact of the Day: Cheetahs use their tails as rudders--with a flick of their tail, they can switch directions, even while running up to 70 mph. They can also breathe easily through their nose while holding onto their prey with their mouth, making them great hunters. Pretty impressive for the animal kingdom!