Day 2 - The Zoo Experience

The rain let up in the afternoon, so the girls were able to capture
the wonderful pictures below. Another great day at the zoo.

Canyon, the mountain lion, lives in the mountains. She was obese
due to low activity until the zoo keepers made it possible for her to
be healthier by giving her obstacles to walk, jump and explore.
Photo by Jasmine Moreno

Rain vs. Chinchillas

Did you know that being in a zoo everyday causes you to learn something new? Today, when it started raining, some of the animals such as the Arctic Fox, the San Joaquin Fox and the Chinchilla, stayed under something to keep dry. The Chinchilla especially interested me because if it gets wet it could be very hard for it to dry off due to the density of its fur. 

The difference between a Chinchilla bath and a human bath is that Chinchillas actually bathe in dirt instead of water. Bella the Chinchilla even has a specific place where she likes to roll around in the dirt to 

clean the oil from her fur.

Jasmine Moreno

This is the Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula, a native to South
America.
Photo by Bibiana Bastillon

A Recipe for Bear Chow

Combine 1 scoop kibble, 100 grams of meat, 2 oranges, 2 heads of Romaine Lettuce, 1 corn on the cob, and 1 hard-boiled egg. Mix well.

For Holly, Huckleberry, and Zuni, this is their average breakfast, with various veggies throw in on Tuesdays. Each of these bears have their own buckets for this food concoction. Today, I was responsible for measuring the meat and making sure all the ingredients made their way into all the buckets. 

Doing this for the bears made me feel like a cook, a weird one at that. You usually don't add raw meat to a dish, but the bears didn't seem to mind.

Bibiana Bastillon

Kite is one of three American Kestrels at the zoo and
is the smallest of North American falcons.
Photo by Karly Vizzi

A Pigeon Goes to Rehab

One of the focuses here at the zoo is rehabilitation. Today I got a little taste of that. While shadowing zoo tech, Krystal, she got called to check out an injured pigeon that was dropped off at the zoo. 

We took it into a room and Crystal examined the wing that was injured. I was able to help out by lining the cage with newspaper so that the bird could rest until further examination. It was very fascinating to witness the rehabilitation aspect of the zoo that not many get to witness.

Karly Vizzini

Cyrus, the snowy owl, is diurnal. He is active during
the day and night. Photo by Nicole Sannes

A Balanced "Diet"

At the zoo, our mornings are dedicated to shadowing the zookeepers. Today, my mentor and I went with Katie, who gave us a tour of her "string" or section of animals, and then took us to the feed room. 

Inside the feed room, Katie allowed me to help her make the "diet", which are the daily meals for the animals. This was a unique experience because I made several animal meals, with the guidance and help of Katie. When we were finished, Katie took us up to watch her feed Lotus Blossom, the American Badger. 

I loved watching the badger become excited by the food that I had prepared for her that morning.

Nicole Sannes

Thank you to La Bamba Mexican Restaurant and Nuevo Vallarta Grill for supplying delicious burritos for our students and staff.