It was a rainy, cold, dreary day at the Greenville Zoo, but that didn't stop the keepers and I from having some fun with the animals! The morning started out like any other; I went to Asia with Greg to start cleaning exhibits and feeding animals. I worked in the hornbills exhibit, cleaned the orangutan den, and learned how to do laundry for the animals. I definitely am not as comfortable is Asia as I am in other parts of the zoo, so it was nice to get some more experience working there this morning. I cleaned the orangutan den while they were still inside (in a separate area, of course), which was a difficult task, because orangutans are so curious that I had to be extra careful during the cleaning process. I left the trash bag I was using too close to their side and the next thing I knew they were sticking their hands through the fence and trying to grab the bag! Luckily, I grabbed it away in time, but it definitely made me very aware of how close I was to them and how careful I had to be while cleaning in such close proximity to animals.
After the morning cleaning was done (and I was thoroughly soaked from the rain), the afternoon got interesting. Afternoons at the zoo are usually reserved for special projects, training, etc., but when it's raining, the animals and the keepers both don't want to be outside, so we have to occupy ourselves with inside projects. Luckily for me, I got to help with some extra fun projects today. Bob, the youngest orangutan in the family, is leaving the zoo in the next few weeks to go to Portland, Oregon. He's going to be part of a breeding pair there, which is great news for him and for the species, but obviously sad for the Greenville Zoo family to have to say goodbye. To help say goodbye to Bob, the keepers are working on making him an airplane out of cardboard for him to play with (it's good enrichment!) in his final days in Greenville. I got to help paint the plane today and work on the tail of it, which was really fun, and different from anything else I had done at the zoo previously. After working on the plane, a few keepers and myself went down to the orangutan den. Since it was too cold for them to go outside today, we wanted to make extra sure that they got some good enrichment so they didn't get too bored in their den, so we brought canvases down with us and did some painting with the orangutans! Basically, there's a special brush the zoo has that the orangs can grab a hold of through the fence and we put paint on the end of the brush, and then they move the brush around and make brush strokes on a blank canvas to create some cool art! It was a lot of fun for me and the other keepers and the orangutans, particularly Chelsea, loved painting! I really appreciate how the zoo staff goes above and beyond at all times with their animal care, and even manage to make things fun for themselves in the process!
The zoo closed a little bit early today since attendance was so low due to the weather, so I finished the day by helping close Africa. I raked the giraffe stalls, helped prepare their evening diets, and then helped bring the lions in to their dens. Because today was such a strange, slow day, I got to bond with a lot of the keepers, which was something I really enjoyed. Every week I feel more and more comfortable at the zoo and with the people there, and I am glad that the feelings are being reciprocated!
Stay tuned for more tails from my zoo internship, but until next time, have a wild day!
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