teeeeeeeeeeest

turtles

Goodbye St. Louis

Today is my last day as a research intern with the St. Louis Zoo. It's been amazing, and now it's time to head on to new things. I can't believe nearly a year has passed already!

I'll miss the Zebras and the Asses of course. As an intern, I became very attached to them and also their conservation message. The fox videos, I may not miss quite as much. All of the people I've worked with, who have been absolutely amazing, and the building where something always seemed to happen. I'll miss the lounge with the magical table that everyone puts communal food on. My favorite days where when I'd walk into the lounge to find donuts. I'll miss intern bowling.

The stingrays, also my babies. When I first came to the zoo, I never thought I'd get quite so attached to equids and fish. I'll miss the people I got to know in the Education department as well.

Goodbye, churro-and-fried-ice-cream stand. Goodbye, ugly kid sign. Goodbye, giant hill that I trekked up and down to get to and from the intern home base.

Speaking of giant hill, I'll actually miss my walk to the zoo. I'll miss Forest Park in general, really. It's pretty much the most amazing thing in St. Louis.

Goodbye fun zoo events, like Jammin' and Zooquest. Goodbye crazy dancing butterfly lady. I'll miss Sofiya, the amur leopard, and that crazy ostrich in the giraffe yard. Goodbye protesters, nobody took your pamphlets anyway.

I'll miss Dewey's pizza, and the Loop, and Central West End. I'll miss the crepes that one could purchase in Central West End. Goodbye Wash U, I never found the pool that you supposedly have.

I'll miss driving from Illinois at night, over the bridge, greeted by the lit up Arch and the lights of downtown. It's an amazing sight, and I'm glad I got to see it one last time last night.

Goodbye St. Louis...I never really knew how amazing you were until I lived here. Goodbye zoo, I love you.

Hello Florida....

Intern tours and Jammin' at the Zoo

So I finally leave STL next week. It's been crazy...and to think I've been here for almost a year. That definitely wasn't the plan, but I'm glad it worked out this way. St. Louis is such a great city and I've met a TON of amazing people. 

Yesterday was jam packed with awesomeness. During the summer, the interns are invited to go on intern tours around various parts of the zoo. Yesterday's tour was in the Red Rocks area and we got to see the zebra, addax, and banteng chutes that they use to put them in the yards with. It was really cool. Also got to see two baby wallabies (not joeys) and had one last visit with Tokar, the brother of the three Somali Wild Ass mares, in his separate yard in the back. 

Another highlight of the tour was seeing the babirusa piglet at the antelope house. If you've ever seen a babirusa, you know "cute" really isn't a word most people use to describe it. I, however, think they're adorable and the piglet was no exception. 

                                                    

I've only got to go on a few intern tours (due to working in the education department as well, usually on tour days) but the Red Rocks tour was by far my favorite. It was cool to learn so many things about an area that most people generally disregard. 

Later last night I went out with a fellow zoo intern to Jammin' at the Zoo, a wine and beer tasting event that also features live music. Besides getting an opportunity to enjoy some of the best wine in the area it was a beautiful evening to be out and about. 

Almost to the Finish Line

With less than a month at the zoo to go, I have a lot of things to get ready for. Packing for school, getting paperwork out of the way, getting my last hurrahs in with friends before I move. It's so weird to think I've been in St. Louis for nearly a year. It had never been my intention to stay this long, but I'm glad I did. Working at the zoo has been amazing! 

With so much time dedicated to my Interpreter's job with the education department I haven't had nearly so much time to go into the lab. This may not be entirely bad since I've found I'm coming down with a bit of senioritis I suppose...I find myself increasingly resistant to do fox videos, asking for other projects to complete instead. It's just as well, it may be time for me to move on anyhow. 

The Stingray exhibit is a phenomenal success and has been a ton of fun to work. Talking on a microphone for 3 hours can get a bit old but it definitely beats working fast food or some other menial job. I've been super fortunate to be a part of both the Research and Education departments at the zoo. By far my favorite Stingray is the baby cownose, Stewart. I need to get a picture of him! 

But what on earth am I going to do with this blog when I leave? I'm not really sure yet. I'm hoping to get a job at the Lowry Park zoo in Tampa, or at least try to volunteer, so maybe it'll transition nicely.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to taking more pictures, going on some intern tours (went on a Carnivore tour which included a back-area tour of the Big Cats! Standing two feet away from two Amur Tigers is pretty intimidating) and just kicking back and enjoying whatever comes next in the 3 weeks I have left. 

By the way, when we were down with the tigers, we were close enough to hear them chuff. One was taking a bath and washing his enormous paw. Despite their intimidating size, they were still horribly adorable. It was super hot the day we went on this tour, so all the tigers were seeking shade or playing in their pool. 

In other news, the littlest Asian elephant, Jade, was finally introduced to the rest of the herd permanently. Seeing one baby elephant is cute, but TWO in one exhibit is just...well....twice as cute. Jade and Mahlia can be seen from time to time making little hay hats. On the super hot heat advisory days, the elephants have been playing in their water. It's a shame I don't have any pictures. 

Finally, the Equid herds have been separated. Having watched the foals grow up over the fall and winter, it's been tough to see them get so big. Soon the mares will breed again (hopefully) and the cycle will continue, with some new interns falling in love with the new babies. The things we do for conservation. 

Full Circle

As I've been busy with my new job at the zoo as an interpreter, I don't have as much time to dedicate to the lab. I have been making the equid study a priority though, so I get to take Mondays off to do it. A lot of what I'm doing now is primarily fox videos and training new interns. It's very strange to see friends leave and meet new people; the other day, I came to the lab and noticed a very confused guy looking at the intercom. Recognizing the confused look on his face, I asked what he was looking for.
"Oh," he said, blushing. "I'm a new intern with the research department..."
So I smiled and showed him how to be buzzed in.
Incredibly, this hit way too close to home. My first day as an intern, I had done the exact. same. thing. My friend who had shown me how to buzz in had just left the zoo two days prior to this event...so I feel like some things have come full circle.

Already two of my good friends have left that were both seasoned interns when I started, and frankly its a little sad. I was lucky to be able to work with a lot of people that I not only got along with but who became my friends here. I realize how cheesy that sounds, but its true. Its strange now looking back and realizing that I bonded with them while now the new interns seem so foreign.

We've had one last hurrah as a group; bowling for rhinos was a success! Well, none of us did too hot but we had a lot of fun and I got a lot of great pictures. Zoobots live on!

Yesterday we held a potluck for Lindsey, one of my friends that left. I had to peace out before I started crying. It's weird thinking you'll probably never see someone again. You'd think after all the people I met at Disney that I had to say goodbye to I'd be use to it.

Between working at the lab in the mornings and working as an interpreter in the afternoons I've got some long days ahead of me. It's going to be exhausting and more than likely will make me a little cranky at the end of the day, but it'll be worth it. I wouldn't give up the internship. It's been my first priority since I moved to St. Louis and I'll try to keep it that way.

Nobody gives a Somali Wild Ass

It seems the only people enthusiastic about the Somali Wild Ass exhibit here at the zoo are the interns and the anthro class that observes them. While obviously the Grevy's Zebras are the more popular equid on property I can't help but reserve all of my affection for our population of dibokali (as they are known in their native range in Somalia.) I do believe that 1.5 hours daily of watching them helps in growing attached to them, but honestly, they're so cute. How could anyone not love them? The foals still have some of their baby qualities, playing and nipping at each other and curious about everything. The mares are the patient mothers knowingly watching over the herd's young...well...except when the hay is out. Then its every Ass for themselves. Whenever I'm near Red Rocks with people the little child in me comes out as I impatiently wait to go see the SWAs (and the takins across the path from them) and should nobody give them as much attention as I do, I fight the urge to stamp my foot and cross my arms and DEMAND that everyone give their full adoration to them. Well, maybe thats a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea.

The point is this: The Asses are lively, unique, cute creatures that once upon a time I would have walked right past before I got to know what they were like and how important it is to conserve them. Before I was an intern, maybe I would have laughed at the sign that said "Ass" but now saying it is just habit (After all, its "Assinus" not "Donkinus.") I think a lot of people are willing to rush by their exhibit out of embarrasment or the belief that they are your common farm donkey and they miss the important fact that this is a rare sight; even for research, the upbringing of foals of this sub-species is a new thing to see. Really, when you think about it, its amazing.

On another note; working at Walt Disney World my friends and I surmised that there are two kinds of leash kids: the dog backpack kids and the monkey backpack kids. The dog kids are the obediant ones, sticking close to mommy, following when told to come. The monkey kids are all over the place and you know that if it wasn't for the leash, they'd be off in a mad dash. The mothers usually look frazzled and tired. This observation has proven to be true also here at the zoo. Next they'll come out with gator leashes and those will be the bitey kids.

Bowling for Rhinos and Spring in the Zoo

On May 14th the zoo will be hosting Bowling for Rhinos fundraiser at Tropicana Lanes in Clayton. Team registration is due May 5th, so hopefully we can get some teams of interns collected. If there is anything the zoo interns love, its bowling. Nothing has bonded us more than a couple of games of bowling. We had played around with the idea of starting our own bowling league, called "Zoobots", but this fell through. This is a great way to help the zoo, and I really hope a lot of people come out for the event. Interestingly enough, this past weekend is the first time I've gotten a good look at the rhinos here at the St. Louis Zoo. In fact, the animal I see most often in their yard is the groundhog that has burrowed its way in and makes frequent appearances out and about the exhibit. It's almost a lesson in surrealism; immersion offset by the realization you are still in the Midwest when a local critter is hanging out with the exotic wildlife. When the weather gets warmer I think I'll enjoy walking through Rivers Edge a little bit more. The Dwarf Mongooses are out (yes, mongooses. I checked) again; you can see them sunning themselves in their little yard in front of the Cheetahs. I wonder if sometimes the cheetahs curse fate for being so close to tasty little morsels and yet are so far away.

Over in Red Rocks the two infant Takins are the stars of the area. They are beyond ADORABLE.
The littlest one is constantly being bullyed by the older one, and they often tussle with each other. They run through their mother's legs and hop up and down the cliffs with such ease. Takins look like bears with hoofs but they are actually more closely related to goats than they are to cows (I have overheard several people make the mistake of assuming they are as such. I'd like to see a cow get up those rocks!)

Across from the Takins, the SWAs are growing up. The plan is to eventually divide the mothers/foals into two herds as they will be weened completely soon. It's weird to think of them as little adult asses...they'll always be infants to me.

Reading back over my posts, I've realized I have plenty of great pictures to post with them. Hopefully I can figure out how to post pictures at the bottom of posts and get some of those up!

EDIT: big brother Andrew helped me out with this :) thanks!