First Time Alone and Zoonosis Class

Yesterday I got very few pictures because it was my first day of test training! This means that I am getting to the level in volunteering where they think I know the animals well enough, and they trust me enough, to go into the enclosures alone and do all of the daily work.

I first went into the bobcat enclosures, getting a 100% on my work! I didn't get any pictures since when you are the only one in the enclosure no one is watching your back while you snap shots, so I didn't want to risk it on my first try! All of the bobcats are comfortable with me, but they are wild animals which means you can never fully know what is going on in their brains. 

I then went to help with Hannah, I was able to get some pictures of her because since I am not an employee I cannot go into her enclosure (for safety reasons). I did play soccer (she has a GIANT ball) with her though!

And for all of you who were wondering, she is better at soccer than I am!

After I was done playing with Hannah I went to Samson's enclosure. I also went into this one alone (he has a two sided enclosure and was in the other side) and cleaned it. He came over to say hi and to watch me while I did so. I also got a 100% on his enclosure which means I am getting very close to no longer needing to be constantly watched! This will help free up the staff to do other projects increasing the amount of work able to be done each day.

After I did all of that work I attended a Zoonosis class. The class was all about diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. I learned that generally it is indirectly passed usually through formites, which are inanimate objects that harbor micro-organism that are harmful to humans. 

The class was very informative and it has definitely reminded me the importance of always wearing gloves, switching them out between enclosures, and to wash my hands continually. While we like to think that all of our animals are free of disease, there is always the possibility that it is simply in remission. 

We also get a lot of rehabilitation animals in, which require even more precautions since they are more likely to have the various diseases that we could contract. 

All in all, volunteer was a very informative and enriching experience this week that helped move me into the next level of knowledge, bringing me closer to my goal.

Trainee Training

My day consisted of helping out another volunteer, helping her move up in the volunteer ladder (aka, be able to do what I do!).


We started out the day at the bobcats, I showed her how to clean their enclosures, change out the water bowls, and as always, make sure you know where they all are at all times.

As usual, I played with Achmed and the water.

Kruger was feeling loving today and kept rubbing up against me, it may have been because I had treats with me though!

When I went to pull the hose out Kruger started jumping and swatting at it.

Cinnamon kept a very close eye on me while I was cleaning her enclosure today.

Peacock breeding season has officially begun, too bad our males are showing off for nothing, we have no females!

I got to help out with our rehab skunks today too. This little guy was peculiar, instead of running away and hiding like most, he would instead run right up to us, pound his feet in a warning fashion and stare at us.

Today was a fasting day for the mountain lions, but Sheba has a lot of medications so we put them in some ground up elk for her.

Samson was really hungry today, which is good! We usually try to get him to eat 4 to 5 pounds at a time, but lately he hasn't. However, he ate all of it today!

While we fed him one of the other volunteers went into his other enclosure and put a box with a femur bone of a cow in it for enrichment

Tonka did not want to go into his run today so that we could clean his cage. However, when we began to walk away to feed Sheba he immediately got up and ran over!

Right before I left for the day I went to say bye to Samson, he was enjoying laying out on his roof and tanning!

Training Is Tricky When All The Animals Are Asleep

As soon as I got onto the property yesterday several of the peacocks were showing off to each other. This display is, unfortunately, futile since we do not have any female peacocks on our property for them to swoon.

I then went into the building to prep the meat for the lions. One pound of venison for each of the mountain lions and four pounds of beef and one pound of turkey for the African lion. While I waited for the food to thaw I went over to the med center to help feed the ten day old baby barn owl we have currently. He was found on the ground near his nest with his other dead siblings so we now have him and will take care of him until he is old enough to care for himself.

Other than being found abandoned he is in good health and is eating and drinking normally.

Once I was done in the med center I went up to the mountain lions to feed and help work on training with them. Our training varies depending on the particular lion. For Sasha we are hoping to get her used to us so that we can approach her and be able to touch her with a scratcher without her thinking we are trying to hurt her. My part was to sit next to our trainer and while she enticed Sasha with food I would very gently press the scratcher on her shoulder. She usually would jump away or bite at the stick, but she is improving a lot from when we started. 

For Tonka we are getting him used to his small carrier placement so that we can more easily move him once his new enclosure is fixed. My part was to scratch him and give him food, encouraging him on how good he was doing while the trainer went away for a while to do other things. We leave him in his crate for longer and longer periods in order to get him used to it.

Once we were done with the mountain lions we tried to get Samson to train, but it was 85 degrees out and he wanted nothing to do with us and instead stayed hidden under his house in the shade. 

The same was true with Hannah, she slept in her hay and even when we tried to entice her with food she refused to wake up. She simply opened her eyes a little to see what we were doing and then fell promptly back to sleep!

I then went to play with to bobcats. However, I ended up mainly pulling weeds and cleaning their carriers instead because they didn't want to get off of their platforms.

The last thing I did was help train Chewy. His is very nervous around people so my job was to walk around the perimeter of his enclosure multiple times so that he could see me and with time will hopefully begin to relax when people are around his enclosure for extended periods of time.