Week 1

Hey everyone!

Well, it's been a pretty good first week out here! I'm still getting settled in, but it get a little better every day. As far as my internship goes, this first week was a lot of procedural stuff. Paper work, meetings with important department heads and supervisors. But it's still a lot of fun! The way we decided to set the internship was that I'd bounce between the 5 sections within the carnivore department, and I'll spend 2 weeks in each section. Currently I'm working in the Bear Mountain section. This includes asiatic bears, grizzly bears, wolves, coatis, big horn sheep, and dall's sheep. Now I know that sheep are not carnivores, but its sectioned this way due to exhibit location in the zoo. The bears and the sheep are really close together, so for efficiency they are grouped with us. In case you were wondering what they heck coatis are, they're like raccoons from South America.

There is a usual routine that the keepers have and I am helping them along in those activities including: cleaning, feeding, diet prep, and shifting (almost). Shifting is moving animals within the exhibit so that we can feed them/lock them in to clean the exhibits. All of the animals with the exception of the coatis are considered Code Red Animals. Meaning that they can kill you. So, interns aren't allowed to shift/be alone with said Code Red Animals. While I do have keys that unlock all the exhibits, it's still just a precaution. I'd rather keep all my limbs anyway, so supervision is ok with me.

I'd have to say that the bears are my favorite so far! There are a male and female for both species, and they all have their own personalities. It's fun to see! While we are separated by multiple reinforced barriers to keep us safe, at points there is only steel fencing and I'm inches away from them! All animals are in the zoo are under what's called Protective Contact. Meaning there is no direct interaction with people. It's safer for everyone because even though some of the animals have been in captivity their whole lives, they are still wild and have the potential (even if accidental) to kill you.  The wolves are SUPER old (16) which makes them not as cool as you'd think. They're almost deaf and they want nothing to do with people. They're still fun to watch trot around, but they're not like dogs at all. While the sheep seem harmless, each group has a ram and they are what's dangerous about the exhibits. The Big Horn sheep especially. He rams the doors you happen to be standing next to, and he could easily kill you. He'd break all the bones in your hand if you leave it hanging through the fence. Gotta be careful!

Well I think that's all for now! My weekends are Mondays and Tuesdays if anyone decides to visit :) and some of you were wondering about my address: 2952 East 13th Avenue, Denver, CO,  80206

Aloha