Today we were extremely understaffed due to vacations and people switching their days off so that they would be here for our AZA inspection tomorrow so it's safe to say I was kept quite busy! However, it was a pleasant experience because I truly felt like an independent keeper today, not an intern, because the two keepers who were here relied on me heavily in order to help make sure everything was done on time. I cleaned the camels outside yard, Harapan's entire indoor enclosure, Rhea's (the red river hog) outside and inside exhibits, the takin's indoor enclosure, the pot belly pigs enclosure, and the red pandas exhibit, all of which I did by myself! I also prepared the diets for all of the red pandas, the takins, the wild horses, the emu, and the pot belly pigs alone as well. My keeper even told me "zoo keeping seems to fit you well" so I guess I handled the pressure and added responsibilities well!
Not only did I help with all of that more than I usually do, I also helped train Harapan twice, feeding him out his entire diet for morning and afternoon, fed the red pandas during their keeper talk, and handed out the biscuits while doing crowd control at the camel talk today. I also got to participate in Jack (the baby camel) training. I had hold of Sauuri's (his momma) harness while the lead keeper had his, I walked around the yard with Sauuri, while Jack followed. This is a training we will begin doing regularly in order to get him adjusted and more use to having a harness on him for when he gets transported to his new home at a different zoo.
While today was extremely busy and tiring, I enjoyed every moment of it, reassuring me, as this whole experience has, that the zoo keeping field is truly where my heart lies and where I belong.
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