Saying Goodbye to Bob

When I came into the zoo Sunday morning, I was informed right away that Greg, the keeper for Asia, had already called me to work with him that morning. I quickly learned that on Saturday, the day before, the zoo had hosted a going away party for Bob, the Sumatran orangutan who is leaving for the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday morning. As I mentioned in my last post, we had been working on creating a cardboard airplane for him to sit in/play with during the party, but I was shocked when I saw the exhibit in the morning and saw not only the (destroyed) airplane, but many painted cardboard boxes, dozens of rolls of streamers, and a huge blanket with a message painted for Bob on it. The keepers all chuckled at me and wished me "good luck" cleaning the exhibit up before the zoo officially opened in the morning. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad to get all the cleaning done! I ended up filling two huge trash-bags full of party materials, but it only took me over an hour to get the whole exhibit clean and ready for the orangutans for the day. And, I really didn't mind doing it, especially since I know that Bob enjoyed his party the day before. It was also a plus that I got to work in Asia, since I had the opportunity to say goodbye to Bob before he leaves on his plane Wednesday morning and meets his new girlfriend in Oregon. 

After finishing the tedious task of cleaning the orangutan exhibit, I helped out with cleaning their den, feeding the hornbills, and doing the dishes and laundry for the entire Asia area. After cleaning up after Bob's party, it was actually a pretty slow day. I carried a lot of timber and bamboo to the stock pile, helped out a little bit in the kitchen, and got to talk to a lot of the keepers and have some "down-time" during the afternoon. 

At the end of the day, I had the opportunity to speak to Keith, the General Curator of the Greenville Zoo about my future with the zoo and about my midterm evaluation. I had previously spoken to him about this, but I wanted to follow up with him, especially since next Sunday is the official last day of my "internship." However, I asked him if he and the zookeepers would allow me to stay on and continue volunteering at the zoo again in the spring semester, and he agreed enthusiastically! I was excited that he was so eager to have me back, because I consider that to be a compliment to my work ethic and ability to get along with the keepers. He also gave me my midterm evaluation, in which he had nothing but nice things to say! It was both a relief and reassurance to know that I am valued and appreciated at the zoo, and that they look forward to continuing to work with me in the future!

I wanted to take this time to comment on how much I am learning through this internship experience. Not only have I gained an understanding of the field of zookeeping, but I've learned a lot about specific species and their behaviors both in captivity and the wild, I've learned about conservation issues the zoo community is facing, and I've learned about the "politics" of zookeeping including working with the Association for Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to obtain certification (or recertification) and working with species breeding programs to trade animals with other zoos. Zookeeping is a lot more than just feeding and cleaning up after the animals, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to continue learning about this ever-changing and growing field!