Volunteer Keeper 9

JOURNAL:

Another amazing day. I just can't stop expressing how valuable this experience is turning out to be, and how much I am learning - it's so great. The red-ruffed lemurs were the best part of the day (as always), I had some new encounters with them today which were awesome. Slowly, I'm getting to know each one's distinctive personality which makes me adore them that much more. In the afternoon, one of the last stops of the day is a short boat ride back to lemur island. This is a nice stop because all the 'dirty work' has been done for the day, we take care of all that in the a.m. The second visit is when I have a chance to hand feed each lemur, and on occasion, bond with them :-) They will accept grapes, mangos, apple pieces and once in a great while leafeater biscuits, right from your hand. Well today, they did more than just accept my offering of afternoon snacks. Pia is the dominant female of the bunch (yes, in the world of lemurs, the girls are completely in charge). Well, I'm holding the tupperware container filled with fruits, handing it out piece by piece to each lemur (6 total). She's grabbing my hand with her little hand, pulling the container in her direction to try and hog all the food! It was so sweet because this is considered to be "aggressive" behavior for lemurs. I politely, yet sternly, instructed little miss thing to wait her turn to which she obliged. They are such wonderful creatures. When all the fruit was gone and I evenly distributed the boring vegetable portion of their diet to each night house stall, I figured I'd see if they'd accept some gatorade-soaked biscuits from me by hand. Sure enough, they came right up to me and took each one I offered. This time, Ankavia (second in ranking to Pia of the females) did the same hand-grabby thing! She just wouldn't let go - It was so amazing. Comet (a male) came up next so I had three of them with me on the ground, just hangin out and eating snacks. I decided to go ahead and attempt to pet Comet since they seemed so at ease with me and I'd heard he was cool with that sort of thing, so I reached out and he just sat there and let me! Oh man, it was an unforgettable experience! There seem to be many of those in this line of work :-)

Another notable event of the day is that I fed little mr. ringtail cat for the first time. I handed him a couple of grapes which he snatched very quickly. I guess we're just supposed to set them in his little house instead of let him take them directly from our hand - he's not quite as gentle as the lemurs and has a rather dagger-like set of canines. I presume I was lucky not to lose the tip of a finger.

PICTURES, FACTS & ANECDOTES:

RED RUFFED LEMUR (Varecia variegata rubra)

Blue ear tag, one of the boys. such a sweet face.

Red Ruffed Lemurs are herbivores, feeding primarily on fruits, leaves and seeds in their natrual home in Madagascar. At the Zoo, they are fed a similar diet which includes vegetables and "leafeater" biscuits as well. Though the teeth may look menacing in the picture above, they actually are not at all dangerous. Since they cannot manipulate their fingers well, their six bottom teeth form a "toothcomb" that they use for grooming themselves and other members of their group. Red Ruffed Lemurs have a specialized claw on the second toes of their hind feet which they also use to brush their coat.

There are two subspecies of ruffed lemur; the Red ruffed and the black & white ruffed. Red ruffed are bigger, weighing 7-10lbs. The life expectancy of the ruffed lemur in the wild is 15-20yrs and can be longer in zoos. Like all lemurs, the ruffed lemurs can only be found on the Island of Madagascar, off the south-east coast of Africa. They live in groups of 2-10 individuals, traveling and resting high up in the forest canopy. They are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and arboreal (tree dwelling).

It is quite an opportunity to get to work with these animals since Red ruffed lemurs are critically endangered in the wild due to deforestation, trapping and hunting. They are protected under Appendix 1 of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species). Estimates suggest there are perhaps as few as 1,000 Red ruffed lemurs left in the wild.

And yet more pics of the darlings from last sunday:

Beautiful Ankavia. She is the second most dominant female of the group, and seems to enjoy grabbing my arm when I feed her.


3 little lemurs, eating from the bin...so precious.


whatcha got there? mangos?


oooh, just grapes. I'll take one anyway.


ahem, do you mind?


aaah, a morning stroll.


who? where?

MY NOTES:

Ear Tags:

Red - Comet (m)
Green - (m)
Blue - (m)
Pink - Pia (f) (Ranking = 1)
Yellow - Ankavia (f) (Ranking = 2)
No Tag - (f) (Ranking = 3)

Volunteer Keeper Week 8

a little baby hedgehog (hedgie) at ACC (animal care center). they are usually not white but we're not sure if this one is actually albino...eyes are not red.

Biko...our big otter boy. Spotted Necked River Otter that is. I know it looks kind of sad seeing him through the bars like that, but this is actually just his nighthouse, to which he and the others always have the option to enter or leave. The exhibit and pond are just out that little door on the right.


Kima eating some fishy fish.

Aaaw, hi little man.

Volunteer Keeper Week 7

Next week I am definitely bringing a camera (or using Mike's) to help document the day. There were so many amazing photo ops today - I was totally bummed I didn't have a camera!

One little creature that I haven't mentioned in here yet (most people don't even know we have him at the zoo) is our little ringtail cat who lives in the Hamadryas nighthouse. He is a cute little thing that pokes his head out of his box every now and then when we're cleaning. Being a nocturnal animal, we don't see him much. I have been including somewhat generic pics in here, which I will do for the ringtail also, until I take some of my own next weekend.

Above: Ringtail Cat (Bassariscus astutus)

The Ringtail is a mammal belonging to the racoon family and is native to North America. They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as civet cats, which in fact, is a totally different species. Ringtail Cats are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, berries, insects, lizards, small rodents, and some bird species. In the wild, the Ringtail Cat must watch out for owls, coyotes, racoons and bobcats, who all have a taste for the little guys. Luckily, our little boy is safe in his zoo home. These animals live largely solitary lives in the wild, so he is perfectly content by himself. He is also very timid, and shy - natural traits of Ringtail Cats.

Also, just a note that I will be elaborating on in MUCH greater detail to come...WYLAND IS COMING TO THE ZOO ON OCTOBER 22!! Of course I, (along with Mike) will be part of the event. He is going to have painting workshops for the kids and if all goes according to plan, I'll be working with Wyland on that. We are trying to time it so the stingrays and sharks (Living Exhibits) will be there early for Wyland's appearance. Anyway so, what exciting news for the Zoo!!!

NOTES:

Identifying the Red Ruffed Lemurs:
3 boys: ear tag colors: Red, Green Blue
3 girls: ear tag colors: Pink, Yellow and no tag

Otters:

they prefer capelin to the generic bass type fish that commissary usually provides them with. Hasani ate every peice of fish that I offered him! :-)

Keeper Assistant: Week 6

I so love being at the Zoo on Sundays...its the only part of the week that I actually look forward to. When I come home on Sunday nights, even though I am physically exhausted, I just can't seem to leave it behind. Thinking about Kima and Hasani (my favorite otters), the lovely lemurs, and even those icky baboons and mandrills - just keeps life interesting and exciting. Sort of makes me think that I should be leaning towards a possible career shift soon. Or at least incorporate the zoo into my current career somehow. I'm definitely moving in that direction, which was in fact the plan all along. I guess time has just gone by so fast...its hard to believe I've already been volunteering there for almost 8 months! LIfe changes fast and with what I'm trying to accomplish, I need to be sure to keep evolving with the changes.

As for the work day, it was another one on the baboon string with Lelanie (I think she has adopted me for Sundays...which I am totally okay with).

For starters, Saturday had been "winter in July" for the Phx Zoo. This is the annual event that brings actual snow (mainly in the form of behavioral enrichment for the animals) to the zoo. They haul huge ice chunks in trucks and in the wee hours of the moring, put them in some sort of chipper thing which then blows snow out for the animals! By the time I arrived at the Baboon exhibit on Sunday morning, there were still patches of snow on the ground! A very odd sight in the middle of summer in Phoenix - but awesome nonetheless.

So, in the nighthouse when we first arrived, we gave Wucaria (our "older lady" female Mandrill), Spock and Pearl some morning treats of banannas and leafeater biscuits. Spock got very angry when I offered him a biscuit instead of a bananna. When he gets angry he hits the metal door very hard with his hand which makes a startlingly loud crash. Enough to wake me up, that's for sure. I ended up feeding Wucaria while Lelanie distracted Spock at the other end of the enclosure so that he wouldn't get mad when the girls got banannas and try to violoently take them away - it can be a tricky business.

Around 7:30am - after cleaning exhibits and preparing food:

NOTES:

Baboon/Mandrill Meds:
Old age/stiff joints > Ibuprofen
Toxoplasmosis > Fluconazole, Sulfadiazine
Valley Fever >

Above: Two of the Hamadryas girls: Gertie & Grady.

We also went out to Spider Monkey island with the 200lb scale (the thing is just really freakin heavy) to try and get weights on Debbie and Kelly. Only Debbie cooperated and got on the scale with a little coaxing. The keepers are in the process of station training but we didn't use a bridge (whistle or clicker) at all, just food and praise (the praise they couldn't really care less about).

Volunteer Keeper Week 5

Above: Red Ruffed Lemur (Varencia variegata rubra)

Today was my first time on the island and I absolutely fell in love with the Red Ruffed Lemurs :-)

There are six Red Ruffed Lemurs in our living collection; 3 females and 3 males. The only names that I can recall at the moment are Oncavia (a female) and Comet (male). I never realized how insanely cute these animals were until I saw them up-close and personal! They would take small pieces of fruit from my hand as gently as a kitten...and then they'd close their eyes with what seemed like incredible contentment as they chewed. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I definitely made an inter-species connection with those little guys - they are my new favorites (when the stingrays are gone for the summer of course...). I've been reading up on the Lemurs also, and will include some very interesting facts in here shortly.

Above: Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) "Kenny"
Born: 1983 (captive born)
(photo credit:flickr.com - guppiecat)

Above: Mandrill Baboon (Papio sphynx) "Spock"
Born: 1993 at PhxZoo
(photo credit: :flickr.com - guppiecat)

The two (un-becoming in my opinion) primates pictured above are Kenny, our dominant male Hamadryas Baboon, and Spock - the dominant male of the Mandrills. There are 5 Hamadryas total; 4 females (Gladys, Grady, Gertrie and Sky) and our beloved Kenny. On this particular Sunday, Kenny was having a bit of stomach trouble. Apparently vomiting in the cheek pouches and then eating it back up is a normal occurance for these creatures. Kenny's projectile variety vomit that Lelani and I were subjected to at close range however - not so common. We probably shouldn't have fed them marshmallows for morning goodies - oh well, live and learn. Even though I have never taken a particular liking to these animals, its amazing how close one can feel to any animal after being such a contributing part of his life. Seeing such a big, often ferocious animal such as Kenny barf right there while we're trying to medicate him, and seeing that sad look on his face as he looked to us to "do something" really affected me for some reason. Working at the zoo is a very eye-opening experience in so many ways - every Sunday its something new.

Another interesting (and completely un-related) incident that happened in the Baboon kitchen - we found a medium sized scorpion in the restroom/storage area behind the toilet. Denise (who trains and cares for the Orangutans...) is deathly affraid of creepy crawlies so Lelani decided to make the most of this situation. She proceeded to grab the scorpion across the middle with a pair of scissors, clenching them just enough as not to slice the thing completely in half. Mischeviously she decided to torment Denise who was outside on the cart, which I thought was hillarious. Watching the little monster squirm as its guts started to fall out seemed like a lot of fun for Lelani. Girlie screeches, eeeews and intermittent laughter could be heard as Lelani continued to mutilate the scorpion via scissor-stabbing in a puddle of its own guts out on the scorching pavement, I swear I could hear it sizzling. I guess an important lesson I'm learning here is that there is no place for squeamishness in the world of a zookeeper.

I will get to Spock and the other Mandrills later.

The otters were cute today, as always. I love working with these guys because they are one of the few aquatic, fish eating species we have at the PhxZoo - in fact Biko and Kima came to us from the San Diego Zoo! It just makes me feel that much closer the reality of working with dolphins ;-)

So for otter feeding time, we separate each one out into a separate stall so that Biko doesn't steal everyone's food, and to make sure everyone gets their alotted diets. In the a.m. this diet includes about 2 medium sized whole dead fish, and a good size ball of raw ground meat. We also float a bowl of kibble and carrots in the main stall that they have access to while they're on exhibit (floating the food in two bowls is just so that the ants can't get to it). The otters will usually take the meat easier than the fish but with a little coaxing, everyone eventually finished it all. We also made them "otter pops" which are just fish that have been frozen in water. As you can see from the photo below, they absolutely love them.


Above: Kima enjoying her otter pop! (photo credit: flickr.com - guppiecat)

Above: Black Handed Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) "Debbie"
Born: 1979 at PhxZoo
(photo credit:flickr.com - guppiecat)

This was also my first time at Spider Monkey island to visit Kelly and Debbie. Spider Monkeys are New World monkeys who (somewhat misleadingly) are actually more primitive than Old World monkeys. The New World monkeys consist of four families of primates which inhabit Central and South America.

Volunteer Keeper Week 4

As of yesterday I've officially reached the one month mark of volunteering as a keeper assistant at the Phoenix Zoo. Yesterday I worked with Denise at Orangutan again which means I have worked all carnivore/primate strings; Orang with Denise, Carnivore with Amy, Uco with Lelanie & primates with Amber. I have been having such an awesome time, it is definitely very hard work though - it's not for the weak-willed and not for people who don't truly have a passion for animals. In order to maintain a good attitude, you absolutely have to love them and know that you are doing it for a reason.

Siamangs are one of two species of lesser apes or Gibbons. We have a male and a female on Siamang island - Cindy and Boyd.

Yesterday, Denise and I paddled out acroos the algae-laiden muck...I mean the lake, to Siamang Island. The relentless sunshine made for temperatures in excess of 114 degrees all day. Our little boat was made out of metal - not pleasant. Anyway, we had prepared some bags of popcorn for treats and BE, along with a cup full of grapes and banannas which the apes also love. Cindy and Boyd had already been fed their morning diet of corn on the cob and some monkey biscuits so this was it for the day. When we arrived I patrolled the small island for poo and said hi to Cindy when she came up to investigate what I might be doing with that big rake and bucket. After a quick once over, I was deemed acceptable and she went on to join Boyd and Denise with the popcorn.

SHAMU BUG!!

Today as I was leaving for work, I pulled out of my apartment complex to go north on Kyrene Road when right in front of me, traveling south on the same road, the Shamu Cruiser passed by!! Now that's something you don't see every day in Phoenix. Sea World must be doing some sort of an outreach or tour program again. Although I was very temped to follow it, I decided against it because I was already running late for work. Plus I may have ended up in San Diego. Oh well, it was still awesome.

Here is the Shamu Cruiser and the story behind it..

Shamu Cruisers were created by St. Louis-based Craftsman Industries. Designed from the 2001 VW Beetle, there is a pod of six that travel around the country as part of Sea World's outreach and promotional tours.

Fiberglass molders, machine and body shop experts, painters, airbrush artists, graphic artists, decal applicators and mechanics all work together to make each Shamu Cruiser. Each fiberglass fluke weighs 45 pounds and the dorsal fin weighs 9 pounds. Solid aluminum rods connect them to the body of the car and the hatchback and doors remain fully functional. Despite the added weight, the shape of the tail fluke makes for minimal drag with no noticable effect on vehicle performance, so the Shamu Cruiser gets a respectable 25 MPG.