Memorial Day Weekend

Zoo attendance was higher than last year at this time because of this nice cool weather we've been having for the last couple of days. It really was a beautiful day to be outside.

This morning started out on the Baboon string with Debbie - otters all came in and shifted really well, Spock was actually in a good mood (he didn't display any threatening behavior) and the lemurs were awesome. Comet still needs to gain a couple of pounds so we really tried to get him to eat all of his buiscuits (understandably, they prefer bananas and other fruit to these "grainy" biscuits which are very high in nutrients and calories). This means feeding them by hand out on the island which is a lot of fun - I could hear the people across the lake at the picnic tables "ooooh"ing and "aw"ing and going, "look honey, she's feeding them!" It's actually quite funny. The girl lemurs were being especially obnoxious for some reason today, making it really difficult to hand feed the boys. They would chase them off and then look at me like, well, aren't you going to give me any? Brats. Even still, I just enjoy the hell out of these little animals so much - they are so amazing. I figure I've got enough pics of them on here though, so I didn't bring my camera along today. I did learn each Lemur's aquisition number however, which is good information to have (if you're into that sort of thing...).

Red Ruffed Lemur Info:

10566: Comet (red) father
10567: Moswalla (green)
10568: Mantabi (blue)
10569: Ankavia (yellow)
10570: Pia (pink) mother
10571: Catta (no tag)


When we got back from lunch, I ended up helping Amy on the Uco string, which now includes the two Fennec Foxes, Kotto and Mpoko - two girls that just recently came to the Phoenix Zoo. I actually discovered a tunnel that they made by stepping in it to mine and Amy's amusement as I was cleaning the windows of the exhibit. The public got a kick out of it too - they were at eye level with my feet. I had a shoe full of dirt and we found out that those Fennec Foxes are crafty little girls, trying to dig their way out of the exhibit. They are really adorable too:

Red Ruffed Lemurs of the Phoenix Zoo

The temperature reached 100 today and most animals at the zoo were seeking shade wherever possible. We fixed the mister system on lemur island so they had some relief from the heat. A favorite spot for them to cool off is under their nighthouse...



aw...Catta is loving the shade

Weekend of May 10th, 2008

Last weekend was an interesting one...for many reasons. I ended up re-aquainting with an old friend/boss that I haven't seen in about 7 years on Saturday, strangely enough, this (in my mind major event) fell on the birthday of an ex of mine who refuses to stay in touch with me anymore because he got married. Just to add to the weirdness, this friend/boss from 7 years ago married a lady named Tracey, (divorced now and apparently dating strippers...but hey, I guess that's another story altogether) and the afore-mentioned ex did the same exact thing, only like, a few years later. Minus the dating strippers part. Yep, Tracy. Of course, the spelling is different but...geez. It seems like the universe enjoys playing crazy coincidence games with me sometimes. Of course I always get caught up in it and think it means something at the time but in reality, I always find that it doesn't. But really, what are the odds. I guess if I ever have a daughter, the name Tracy is out. I really don't like that name.

AAAnyway, Friday night I ended up taking care of Sassy, my brother's wife's dad's dog. I tend to be her caretaker whenever Dan needs to go out of town for businesss. Sassy decided to take a swim when we got back from our walk, so of course I encouranged her, grabbed a beer and took some photos.

Andean Bears

Will and Rio are Andean Bears, the only species of bear found in South America. At the Phoenix Zoo, they reside in the "Forest of Uco" along the Tropics Trail. These two are mighty cute and they love peanut butter. We filled pinatas with it today for their BE, in honor of Dia Del Nino (Spanish holiday for kids apparently). Zoo attendance was around 10,000 for the event - it was crazy.

Vashti and Misto - the Saki Monkeys - are now sharing their exhibit with a large rodent called an Agouti who we officially named Frankie today. I like it. He looks like a Frankie.

Lemurs and Orangutans

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"...

Baboons and Mandrills

First part of the day was spent cleaning up the baboon/mandril night houses and exibits. I learned some valuable tidbits about the hamadryas baboons from Debbie that I actually remembered. I learned how to positively tell the girls apart. I will note it here so that I can always use it as a reference:

Gertie - stalkiest of the three females
Grady - really red face, especially around her eyes
Sky - long, slender face/nose

It's harder to tell them apart on exhibit, the keepers even admit they still have a little trouble with this. But now at least when they are stationed in their night houses I can tell them apart.

I did get to visit lemur island which was great as always. I did something a little different with the food this time though, the three males are a little underweight so they're biscuits are carefully measured out and need to be hand fed to make sure each animal gets his alotted diet. It was quite the task to get each one isolated enough from the dominant females in order to get them their portions. It took a bit of clever maneuvering but I think Comet, Mantabi and Maswalla all got enough biscuits! They are such sweethearts.

Back at the Zoo!

I got to work on the Uco string again, this time with Lelanie. It's so good to be back, I really missed everyone -- maybe next weekend I'll get to hang out with my Lemurs again :-) Last weekend was great though, Will and Rio (Spectacled Bears) were cute as ever, Rio graciously accepted carrots from me before she was let out on exhibit. Vashti and Misto were really comfortable with us, I met the new Agouti and took care of the Coyotes and Coatis. It was a beautiful day. :-)

Volunteer Keeper Week 25

Today I worked with Amy on the Uco String. The Spectacled Bears (Will and Rio) are getting more fruit in their diet now, and they loved their oranges today. They won't eat lettuce or celery at all but for some reason, comessary still includes it in their diets. In the morning I mixed Will's glucosamine tablets with some grape jelly and let him lick the spoon -- he seemed to especially enjoy this. Rio wouldn't go out on exhibit, instead she insisted on making a nest for herself using palm tree frawns and burlap -- quite an interesting behavior to witness. We thought that she may be going into estrus, explaining her sudden, intense nesting behavior. I also learned today that the male bear is only "effective" certain times of the year, this being one of them.

The new baby otter - Mckenna - swam in little circles around her tub chasing her toy -- the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me.