Besides being in every wedding or attending every wedding or wedding related event under the sun, or rain, or whatever, from May-June, I've been working at the zoo each Monday and Tuesday from 9AM-whenever I am told to leave (usually around 5 or 6:30 depending on where I am working and what keeper I am with). That means I get up at 7AM, get ready, drive to work, work hard, eat lunch, work hard some more, drive to Tom's apartment, change, try to talk myself into working out, eat dinner and visit a little, drive home. Sleep, shower, repeat. (and depending on the day, there is also a shower between work and other stuff)
Since my last post, I've begun working with Large Mammals on Tuesdays but sticking with Primates on Mondays. I've worked Orangs and Gorillas, Elephants, Tigers, Lions, and Otters. The otters at Zoo Atl are much cuter than the ones at Bear Hollow simply because they are Asian Small Clawed rather than River Otters. They're smaller and cute, and there are a ton of them! We have 9, and they are all family and very group-oriented.
With the elephants, we have three girls. They are all 24 years old right now, and have different personalities, which is fun to see. Each one was born in Africa and came to the zoo as a little, young elephant. Dottie, Tara, and Kelly are really well trained and very food motivated. They make big messes, but I'd rather clean up after them than orangs or gorillas, to be honest.
Tara
(L-R): Dottie, Tara, and Kelly (with hay stuck under her tusk)
I still love working with the primates though, just because they are so unique. I prefer orangs to gorillas, probably because they are more interactive and let you see their personality more easily. Chantek is my favorite orang. He's a big male, currently without any roommates (Hati, who was living in his area, had to be put down because of renal failure one of the days that I was working there. He seemed as upset about it as the keepers; it was heartbreaking). He can do 150 words in American Sign Language, most of them referring to food (typical guy). haha He's obviously really smart, and he does some really funny things, like crawl up in his hammock and pull a blanket over his body (tucking himself in) when he wants to sleep, and showing you his "hurt" (a scar on his airbag) that he wants you to touch all the time (I have to get permission to do that, but he loves it when you touch his hurt). Chantek let me feed him and everything my first day working with orangs, and because he didn't seem to have a problem with me, the keepers will let me give him his food and juice and stuff whenever it's feeding time. He'll sign to me the food he wants. I didn't really get it at first, but it makes me feel kind of special now to know that he doesn't have a problem with me. They said that he really hates some people (I've seen this first hand-usually taller men) and spits at them immediately and constantly when he sees them. He also doesn't normally take to interns, and one of the gorilla keepers said he hasn't ever signed to her. So anyway, I liked Chantek right away, but finding out he liked me back (or didn't seem to mind me anyway) made me really happy.
We also got a new orang this month, Dumadi (Do-Maa-Dee), who is from Fort Wayne. He is only 8.5 months old! Dumadi's mom died when he was only a few hours old, and he needed a surrogate mother. Madu, one of our female orangs, had experience as a surrogate, so we got the baby! He is absolutely adorable-he looks like a muppet baby puppet or something. I've gotten to give him his bottle and hand feed him pieces of carrot and sweet potato, which is awesome. Madu will try to grab you or get you to give her his food, so you have to distract her or get him in a part of the cage she can't reach. Then, if she gets mad, she'll spit at you, but you just have to ignore her so she'll stop, like a little kid...or high school boys or something. haha
Dumadi
With tigers and lions, I've really only helped as far as cleaning goes...I've watched them shift, but I haven't helped prepare diets for them yet (which is fine with me-carnivore diets like that=ground up nasty meat and/or a frozen rabbit, yuck). I have chopped (the fruit and veggies) for all primates (including lemurs, drills, monas, glts, etc.) and for elephants. And the other day, I got to help feed some of the otters, who eat small fish and balls of wet cat food, and they like to eat crickets too (as a treat, I think). I've only helped with them once so far, but they're pretty cute.
In the gorilla area, it's funny to see how they posture and hit their chests, push each other, bang on doors and mesh, and make noises. They definitely have territory issues with some people, and there is always a dominant male, but that doesn't mean the girls won't gang up on him at times if he is beating them up. This isn't at our zoo, but here is an example of it. Anyway, it's also fun to see how the mothering styles vary. There is one mom that has twin babies, and she never lets them get more than 4 feet from her before pulling them back. One of the other moms, Kudzoo, was Willy B.'s first child, and she got a lot of special treatment, so she thinks she is royalty, and her daughter, Macy B., thinks she is a little princess too. She's really cute, though. And then there is another mom who has a son, Gunther, who she quit letting ride on her back before the age of one (usually they'll catch a ride on mom's back for at least 2 years, getting down, but still allowed to ride if they want to). Gunther is said to be pretty chill about whatever situation, probably as a result of this less babying/sweet parenting style.
Outside of the zoo, plans are coming along for the wedding. We've decided on Christine Hall Photography because she is amazing, and I'm SO excited about that! For music, we are going for a band that has several names, including Pseudo and Parrothead Paradise, but they will be playing more traditional songs for a wedding reception for us. We heard them when Gamma Phi had a Great Gatsby datenight, and they played music from the 40's through today. We loved dancing to their music, and we were pretty impressed at how they adapted so well to so many different styles. So we talked, I called, and now they should be sending me a contract! =)
I tried on my wedding dress today with the veil and my shoes for that day, and it was really fun. I had had a dream last week that I was too fat to fit into my dress, so I felt the need to make sure it would still fit me ok...it does! =) good news. I still want to lose some weight before the wedding though. I want to lose weight before our engagement pictures in Savannah on September 22nd so that I look better for those pictures. Tom works out every day pretty much, and he looks really great. Of course, Tom has ALWAYS looked really great! =) I just need to get back to senior year of high school size.
I'm exhausted because I spent HOURS today packing up my apartment. I had already packed some and brought it home last week, but this time, I went and finished packing everything I owned that I wasn't throwing out, and then I moved it to near the door, brought down enough to pack my car, and drove that home. I need to go back with Dad's truck to get some of the bigger things, but a few more car/truck-fulls, and I should officially be moved out of Athens....and not going back. It's a weird feeling...like I'm not old enough for that reality. Yet, when I think of tests, homework, papers, projects, meetings, and all-nighters, it makes me happy all over again that I am officially done being a student! =)
I need to get some sleep....hopefully this blog has been sufficient in catching up on my last month or two!
Love,
Meghan
