The past week has been very busy, but also very awesome and exciting! On Tuesday, me and some of the other interns visited Boyer Farm (I think that's how it's spelled). Somehow its affiliated with the Cincinnati Zoo, but to us it just seemed like mostly land with some plants. To be honest, I wasn't overwhelmed and was a little grumpy to have wet socks after a hike through a marsh for no reason in particular.
Thankfully, the afternoon got better because we got to go visit the apiary on the farm! It was so cool dressing up in bee-suits and actually getting to open up a hive to look for the bees! Bees are truly fascinating animals, ones that we need to protect. Without them, there would be nothing left to eat!
Thankfully, the afternoon got better because we got to go visit the apiary on the farm! It was so cool dressing up in bee-suits and actually getting to open up a hive to look for the bees! Bees are truly fascinating animals, ones that we need to protect. Without them, there would be nothing left to eat!
Wednesday was... Dollar Day!!!! It was the perfect weather - not too hot, no rain, and that meant lots and lots of people. Dollar Day is the one day of the year where the zoo's pricey admission is only $1. So it was packed! There were over 24,000 people that day, and it was totally crazy. That being said, it wasn't as bad as I expected considering all of the horror stories I had heard. I actually had a blast and ended up staying until the zoo closed at 6! I just lost my voice, since the only way to interpret was to yell over the crowd. But it really was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I was able to take part in showing the zoo to families who had never been able to go because of the cost. No catastrophes for me!
That's me, just casually hanging out with some elephants!
Thursday's intern lecture was insanely cool - learning about elephant foot care! I learned a lot about how important it is to take care of any animals foot, but in particular an animal as large as an elephant! Without proper foot care, these animals could die! So the keepers have to constantly trim their nails and foot pads and be checking for things stuck in their feet that shouldn't be there. I also learned that day that when using power tools on elephant feet, wear a facemask because the smell is AWFUL. But really, it was a treat getting so close to these magnificent animals. The girls were really sweet, and it was amazing how the keepers could walk right in with them to move them around. It was a different story for the male Sabu, however. He was so intimidating! I understood immediately why there was no contact with him; he was one massive animal, and as the keepers said, he had the personality of a bull elephant; he knows he's the boss, and he could easily kill a human. Talk about making you feel small! After learning about foot care, it was really nice of the keepers to let us meet the girls out in the yard and to go touch them. They sure were playful and sweet!
Thursday's intern lecture was insanely cool - learning about elephant foot care! I learned a lot about how important it is to take care of any animals foot, but in particular an animal as large as an elephant! Without proper foot care, these animals could die! So the keepers have to constantly trim their nails and foot pads and be checking for things stuck in their feet that shouldn't be there. I also learned that day that when using power tools on elephant feet, wear a facemask because the smell is AWFUL. But really, it was a treat getting so close to these magnificent animals. The girls were really sweet, and it was amazing how the keepers could walk right in with them to move them around. It was a different story for the male Sabu, however. He was so intimidating! I understood immediately why there was no contact with him; he was one massive animal, and as the keepers said, he had the personality of a bull elephant; he knows he's the boss, and he could easily kill a human. Talk about making you feel small! After learning about foot care, it was really nice of the keepers to let us meet the girls out in the yard and to go touch them. They sure were playful and sweet!