Catta - in my opinion, the prettiest lemur on the island.
Below: Julie, one of the five female Ringtail Lemurs. In the wild, (Madagascar) Ringtail Lemurs and Red Ruffed Lemurs generally would not interact, so they are kept separate at the Zoo. The two species have very different personalities and temperamnets. However, in all lemur societies, the females are always dominant. I have noticed that the Ringtail Lemurs are much more "high strung" and don't seem to be quite as sweet as the Red Ruffs. They are a bit more entertaining though, and unlike the Red Ruffs, the social stucture among the five of them seems to be ever-changing. They are all females though, so the role of dominance shifts every so often, which is not the case with the Red Ruffs as they are an established family group of males and females. There is a show on Animal Planet called Lemur Kingdom - they follow family groups of Ringtail Lemurs and it really gives you an insight into their social behavior. If you ever have the chance, you should definitely check it out - it's fascinating stuff (if you're in to that type of thing!) ;-)
The Orangutans use tools (palm tree stems) to get to their carrot puree - this is a special treat for them! Baby Kasih uses her hands since they are still small enough to fit through the gate.
Today I helped Debbie in the morning with Baboon/Mandrill. She needed to leave by 11:00 a.m. to get to Tucson so we hustled all morning with otters, baboons and lemurs. Spock (male mandrill) was in quite the pissy mood - kinda freaked me out a little. Biko (spotted necked river otter) is doing really well adjusting to Kima and the new baby MaKenna. I'm really glad that he seems to be getting better since Hasani's passing :-( R.I.P. little guy.
When Debbie left Denise needed my help at orang so that's where I spent the rest of the afternoon. I really love talking to Denise about her days at Sea World -- she is close friends with Jeff Andrews and she used to work as a narrator at the old dolphin petting pool! It is really amazing to hear the kind of inside knowledge and experience she has. It also reminds me how valuable this experience at the phoenix zoo really is in regards to eventually working with dolphins. I feel very lucky to be part of all of it, and it truly is the most rewarding thing in my life. I may not be able to go to Moorpark and get a degree in exotic animal training and managemnt but, I feel I am doing the best I can with what I've got.
Who knows, in a few years, maybe I'll end up somewhere I never expected like Seattle or British Columbia :-) It is, after all, the "Killer Whale Capitol of the World"...
