Just Another Day

With the weather being so nice I've been walking to work every day. It's just under 4 miles round trip, so its a good walk. I've noticed some interesting patterns in my music I listen to as a I walk; it seems that it always starts out with JPOP from the apartment, down the sidewalk, and through the first light. At the first stretch of paved path in Forest Park and to the Skinker/Lagoon light, a Josh Pyke song. Today, it was "Memories and Dust" on the way to work and the same distance from the light coming back from the opposite direction it was "Beg Your Pardon". Down the sidewalk, past the golf courses, Morning Musume or Mini Moni up to the beginning of Art Hill. 3/4th of the way up the hill past the Art Museum, "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys. It's almost like clockwork. Of course, this doesn't happen everyday, but it does happen a lot. Maybe I don't have enough variety on my cheap little mp3 player, though it does have about 250 songs on it.

Walking through the zoo is another story. In Forest Park, I walk quickly, justifying this as exercise. Once I hit the zoo gates, I maneuver around families, school groups, strollers, and renegade "dog children" (you know, the kids on leashes) who are just looking to trip somebody by darting out in front of someone. 

Once I get in, then well...its either off to foxes, or on a Monday, equid study. Students in Dr. Fiona Marshall's anthro course "bones to behavior" have been coming daily in the morning to observe the Somali Wild Asses, getting a feel for what we interns do. On Mondays, the interns collect real data. It's interesting to compare the changes in behavior from last fall to now. The mothers are more aggressive with their foals and the foals are always looking to cause trouble. Their play has gotten more aggressive, a turning point from infancy to adolescence. From what I understand, a new male, Josea, will be put into the yard next to the SWAs where the foals father, Abaii, lived until he was sent to Florida. A new female will be coming in as well to (hopefully) breed with Tokar, the brother of the mares. This may mean we'll have two herds at the zoo. Currently, I believe the count for Somali Wild Asses in the United States is 27, and only three herds are at zoos. 

It's great being outdoors again after being cooped up in the lab all winter. Soon I'll be starting a job with the education department as an interpreter, a job I'll be doing over the summer until I transfer schools. My schedule will get significantly busier, but it'll all be rewarding in the end. 

On a sadder note, the zoo's Polar Bear, Hope, passed away on March 30th. She was 23.5 years old; on average, captive polar bears live to be 20-22. She had been brought into the hospital due to her decrease in appetite and activity and was found to have advanced liver cancer. It was inoperable at this point and thus the most humane method left was to euthanize her. I had seen her on the treatment table through the windows on the double doors leading into the room, and as the other interns and I marveled at her size (a polar bear takes up A LOT of space on a table) we had no idea what was going on. We knew it was serious, usually doing operations the interns are allowed to come in if okayed by the curator. That day, the vets, techs, and keepers were busy. We didn't know it at the time, but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes to make the decision on the best course of action for one of the zoos most beloved animals. Polar Bears have always had a special place in my heart and Hope was one of my favorite animals in the zoo to photograph. I know the vets and the keepers are mourning her loss. For an official statement from the zoo, check out www.stlzoo.org