Orangutans - Part 3 - Escape Ape

The first of my favorite Orangutan intelligence stories involves an ape at the zoo in Sacramento. This happened only a few years ago, and was widely reported. It is a true story.

It seems that each morning, when the keepers arrived for work, they were walking into a building where all of the Orangutans had been released from their cages and were wandering around inside. The first time this happened they blamed the keeper for not having properly secured their cages for the evening. But, something like that would be extremely unusual. No one that I know of, including myself, ever leaves an animal enclosure without checking - and double-checking - the lock mechanism to ensure that it is secure. The keeper insisted that the cages had been locked properly.

After the same thing happened on subsequent days, they finally installed a camera system to see what was going on after they left for the evening. Well, they found out - and it was something that no one expected.

See, Orangutans are really, really smart. And, as I've said, they learn very, very quickly. And, Sacramento's male was no slouch in either department.

Upon finding them out the next morning the zoo pulled the tapes from the prior night. They showed the keeper locking up and double-checking everything, turning off the regular lights, putting on the night lights, bidding everyone goodnight, and leaving. The showed all of the Orangutans settled in for the night. Then they showed their male Orang looking around furtively, making sure they were all alone...

A digression... Male Orangs, once they become the dominant male in their group, develop huge cheeks and a large air sack that hangs down from under their necks. These are air sacks. When he see a threat, or needs to call to members of his group, he will fill these sacks with air and bellow. It is a call that can be heard for a mile or more in the jungle. Orangutan teeth are well developed, and look quite like our own. They can use them very delicately - I've seen them expertly hold a kiwi fruit against the window and, using only their teeth, expertly strip the flesh from the delicate skin without making a single tear - but they can bite quite hard if they choose to do so. For dental checks we will teach them to grin to show us the front of their teeth, and open their mouths on command to check for cavities or other damage/abnormality. But, no one is ever going to be so foolish as to stick their hands in the cheeks of an unsedated Oranguatan to look to see what is inside. And, to search the cheeks of a dominant male, you'd not only be sticking your hand inside, you'd be sticking a large part of your arm inside, as well. Not gonna happen. Their male had figured this out.

Once he decided that the coast was clear he was seen reaching into his own mouth, down along the gumline inside of that huge cheek and extracting a piece of wire about 3 inches long. No idea where he found it, but he had - and he'd kept it. He'd seen how the keepers used their keys to open the locks. As far as he was concerned, the wire was reminiscent of a key. And, for all intents and purposes, in the right hands, a wire is as good as a key. And, he had the right hands.

Yep. They captured it all on tape. He pulled out the wire, went to work on the lock, and in short order had used it to pick the lock and release himself from his enclosure. Then he went around to the other cages and picked those locks, letting everyone else out to play. Then, after checking to make sure no one was watching him, he re-secreted the key along his gum line, so that it wouldn't be found and taken away.

Dumb apes? Not on your life.

Orangutans - cont.

Kutai had a daughter last week. She's doing a little better with her than she did with Bajik. At least she started to. She was nursing her and caring for her, but not enough, so we're having to supplement. She and the newborn are off exhibit in hopes that they will bond. So, Boomer is on full-time house-dad duty. And, he's doing very well at it, too.

We've shown the baby to MJ and she's made it quite clear that she is more than willing to mother this one, as well. We're hoping that seeing MJ want the baby will make Kutai even more possessive about the fact that it's her baby. I didn't go into the zoo today, so I'm not sure what the outcome was. But, they were going to decide this morning if we would leave the baby with Kutai or give it to MJ. Frankly, I'm betting that MJ ends up with her. And, that makes me happy.

Since Boomer isn't getting along with his sister, at the moment, she couldn't be put back into the family group. And MJ's older brother JJ is a "normal" Orangutan that prefers a solitary life. So, we weren't sure she could go in with him, either. For a while it was looking like MJ would have to go elsewhere. But, if Kutai doesn't care for this infant, either, MJ's value as a surrogate goes way up. We won't breed Boomer and Kutai again, and Boomer's genes remain at the top of the heap. So, if MJ gets to take the new baby, the likelihood is that Kutai will go elsewhere. That should smooth things over between Boomer and MJ, and eventually, we'll bring in another female for him to breed. Meanwhile, MJ will get to stay and interact with us and the public - and she is easily the most interactive of all of them. And, she'll teach the little one's how to interact, too.

Bajik already found a small space in the window where he could pass things back and forth to the people outside. They filled that space, but left another that MJ promptly found. We spent a good 1/2 hr. the other day playing with, and passing to one another, a stick that she'd chewed down to a point that it would pass through the small gap. I won't do it in front of the public because I don't want any of them getting the idea that they can pass her stuff that she shouldn't have. But, it was fun for us. :-)

Which leads back to just how intelligent Orangutans are. I have a couple of favorite stories illustrating that. I'll tell them in my next entry.

Orangutans

On a lighter note... (After re-reading yesterday's post I need a lighter note, and, since it was replied to - thanks, Puffy - I can't very well remove it.) Let's talk about Orangutans.

Only takes about 30 minutes to teach a 'rang a new behavior. Nothing stupid about them. My favorite, of ours, is MJ (Maggie, Jr.). She was born here. She has an older brother, JJ, and a younger brother, Boomer. Her older sister, Nana, was transferred to Columbus last year. She was integrating well, but then died - quite suddenly. The necropsy didn't give any results that were conclusive.

We'll start with a little education about how zoos work... We don't get to breed animals without permission. There is, for every endangered species,, a group of peeps that make up that particular species Species Survival Plan (the SSP). Don't care if it's an insect, a cat, a monkey, or a primate - there is one. If you are AZAA accredited (and, after getting accreditation, renewal is not automatic - when your time is up, you start again from ground zero, as if you'd never hadf it before) you belong to, and accept the edicts of, the SSP for the species that you exhibit.

They keep a lineage, of every captive animal, wherever they live in the world, that traces their lineage tracing back through the years to the point that their particular gene pool came in from the wild. They rank them in terms of what genes we need in order to keep the captive gene pool viable and healthy. They tell you who may be bred to whom, what animals should be moved to what facilities, etc. If you want to breed a pair they look at whether you have the facilities to deal with the offspring. They look at what the demand is in zoos around the world. They look at whether the genes involved are a good mix. They may well tell you that you must trade a given animal, or send a given animal, no matter how popular, to another facility. Etc. They are dedicated to keeping the species population healthy and viable. They take a very dim view on breeding outside of their guidelines. If you want to keep AZAA accrediation you are well served by following their dictates.

Now to Orangutans. There are 2 species of 'rangs. Sumatran, and Bornean. Same DNA, but somewhat different characteristics, born of the slight difference of habitat over the millenia. For years the SSP allowed inter-breeding. JJ, Nana (R.I.P.), and MJ are all hybrids. Not too long ago the SSP decided that the slight differences were enough to seperate them. It is no longer allowed to breed between them, nor are hybrids allowed to be bred.

We have, in addition to our hybrids, Boomer and Kutai. Boomer is JJ, Nana, and MJ's half-brother. He was born here. He is a full-bred Bornean, and at the top of the gene pool ranking. Kutai is also a full Bornean. They are allowed to breed and procreate. And have. As of last week, twice.

The thing is that monkeys and apes have something in common (if we'd only recognize it the same way) with man. They only know how to raise a child if they have observed a child being raised.

Last year Kutai gave birth to her first child, a male, named Bajik (pronounced Bajee). He was a big baby. It hurt. She did everything right, to a point - birthed him, cut the cord, cleaned him. Then she put him down and ignored him. It was Boomer that picked him up and took him to a point that the keepers would see him upon entering in the morning. The birth was early, so we weren't on full watch.

We tried, but Kutai wasn't having anything to do with it. MJ, having seen babies raised before, and dearly wanting her own, became the surrogate mother. She took Bajik on as her own, fed him from a bottle, nurtured him, taught him to enjoy "reading" picture books, etc. She, Kutai, and Bajik, were reintroduced to Boomer. (Male Orangutans are usually solitary animals. JJ prefers it that way. Boomer has always wanted to stay in a family group. So, although it is unusual, and wouldn't be found in the wild, he actually lives in a family group with his "women "and children.)

Upon reintroduction things went well, for awhile. MJ started making a vocalization that Boomer took exception to. They had a bit of a battle and MJ ended up with a dislocated elbow. At that point she needed physical therapy, and she couldn't take proper care of Bajik. So, we put Bajik back in with just his mom and dad. Kutai continued to ignore other than to play occassionally, njust as if he weren't hers. Boomer, being a mellow fellow, took over both mom and dad duty...

(Too late, too tired, too long. To be continued tomorrow...)

Random Newness

Wow. Been awhile since I posted. I've been busy, but it's been a good busy. Sorta. But, sorta scary, too. Let's see...

1) My nephew has moved in. He's a good guy. Drove 800 miles to stay with us to take a job with a Harley dealership in the area. He's worked in Harley service for a number of years. The place up here he was at is self-destructing, so he'd moved in with his folks in VA for awhile. This dealership has been recruiting him for a bit now, but when he got here the guy who he needed to talk to - not actually with the dealership, someone brought in by Harley to fix a turnover issue - was on personal leave as his mother was in ill health. He talked with them upon arrival last week and they hired him, but didn't know what they'd be paying him until this dude got back to negotiate it. Finally talked to him today. Told them he didn't drive 800 miles for a $10/hr. job. They negotiated. Thirty days to see that he really does know what he's doing, then a raise, with another after 90 days. He'll have Blue Cross 80/20, but no dental or vision coverage. S'okay. He's using this as a stepping stone, and can use it because he can stay with us until he can get on his feet.

He's been particularly helpful to me. Those of you that know me from the "other place" may remember my Dodge Stealth posts. I now know that my intuition about the guy that wanted to buy it was correct. DN, in two days, diagnosed the issue I was having and found a way around it. I'm 1 starter ($125) and 4 tires (prolly a couple hundred) away from having a road worthy car again. After 3+ years of sitting idle, I'll be able to drive my baby again. Better yet, the Blue Book for it's year has gone up. Driveable it'll be worth at least $3000 more than what I was offered for it last. And we were thinking it was gonna take a couple thou to fix it. He just saved me a bundle!!!

2) Jobs. That's where the scary part comes in. Still no job leads or interviews, for either of us, even in sight. Resumes go out, but so far as I can tell they go into the great void. Even jobs that are almost identical - same position, same industry, same responsibilities - to what I had before haven't even gotten me a follow-up call, much less an interview. And, they've been looking for better than 3 months. They've even changed their degree requirement in their posting so that I'd qualify. They just can't get past the idea that if I don't have specific AS-400 experience I'm not qualified. I have news for them. They are not going to find many people with AS-400 experience. Period. And, frankly, it's not that hard for an experienced Systems Manager to transition from one operating system to another. It's a lot easier than learning a new programming language, or networking, or long-range planning, project management, people management, etc. But, if I can't get through the door to talk to them about it my protestations mean jack shit.

3) Bills. Combined with jobs that's where the scary part comes in. I was able to take loans from the 401k's I set up that, as of yesterday, have allowed me to pay off or settle all of our credit debt, except for one card that I'm current on. So, no more dunning phone calls and, even though the few I settled will show up on our credit reports as settled rather than paid, our credit had gone to hell in the last 4 years anyway, and it's better than bankruptcy. At least imo. We used the money, we owe it. Except where the creditors charged usurous interest and penalties (even after not using the card for more than 3 years, when we ended up owing considerably more than we'd ever charged) I felt I had, from a moral sense, if nothing else, to pay it off. And, I did. And, pay a years worth of property tax and house/car insurrance.

Problem is that we'll need to live off of what is left, which includes paying off the loans to myself from my 401k. Unemployment ends sometime in June for me. Thankfully, the mortgage will continue to be covered by the unemployment insurance I had the presence of mind to take out when I refinanced. At least until the end of the year (or, I think, through Feb., which would be even better). We have to claim the insurance and some of the card settlement debt as income for next years taxes, but honestly worrying about my tax burden is so far off compared to what's now that it doesn't even register except on the periphery. Bigger issue is that, now that I know exactly what my fixed expenses are, I know we must have a combined income of at least $65k. Better than $20k less than what I used to make alone but, with no job prospects for either of us in this amount of time, pretty daunting. It's getting harder and harder, the more I am rejected, to make myself believe that I ever was worth what I was being paid to begin with.

3) DH was really excited about a program that would have let him earn his teaching accreditation and his M.Ed. without cost to himself. But, since they won't count any of his computer corse work in maths, and they won't consider any courses he's taken w/o earning credit, he's not elligible for that one. There are others they made him aware of that might work, but he's pretty much given up. They don't pay what we'll need (or his half of what we'll need) - see #2, and they wouldn't ultimately let him teach what he most wants to teach - math and science. And, they say that he can't have another job while going through them. *sigh*

4) The zoo remains a bright spot when I get to go in. I'm now allowed to handle the small snakes. (They run volunteer animal handling like we're in a union. Doesn't matter what experience we've had, or how much time we spend there. It's all on a schedule based on seniority. They want peeps to take Mystic on walks, but we have to get checked off on putting her collar on. She lets me do belly rubs. I know that I'll have no issue putting on her collar. But, the volunteer that worked with her two people before me has to do it first. I like the volunteer, but she's missing parts of 3 fingers on one hand, and 4 fingers on the other. She can't get the collar fastened before Mystic gets frustrated and backs off. But, she has to be able to do it first because of seniority. Only then can the peep that started with her a week before me try it. And, only then can I start. It's been a year and a half, now. I always thought it was supposed to be about what was "best" for the animal. My bad.)

I'll be starting back up with our natural behavior talks this weekend. DH is doing the Sat. Shark Feed and I'll help with biofacts. I'll be doing the first of the Seal Training talks on Sunday, as well as my first Turtle Yard feeding. I'm looking forward to those. I love the public education and interaction at the seal training. I can easily reach 200+ people at one of those. The turtles will be new, but I get to handle them, they're well attended, they're cute, and since peeps think nothing of picking up and bringing home, or relocating, a turtle, the educational possibilities are terrific. (i.e. DON'T DO IT.) We'll trade off on the next shark feed and I'll do it, with dh doing the biofacts. Then there are the Polar Bear talks, and the ocassional Snake feed, which are always fun. Won't even try for Elephants. The peeps that like elephants are way to territorial for me. (Although the senior one is now talking to us, which is nice. It's a lot like Jr. High School in some ways.) And, then there will be all of the Zoo-Teen interactions now that they're out of school. We love that. We'll be losing some to graduation, which is bitter-sweet. But, there will be some new youngsters to mentor and watch learn and grow.

5) I've started to reclaim my yard and the perennial flowerveds from years of neglect. When Frankie (our Pyr) was alive we really couldn't go out to enjoy the yard. He was fine with the other dogs if we weren't around. If we were he'd "protect" us by attacking any other pets that looked at us for too long. Wasn't fair to him to keep him seperated in the house, so they had the yard to themselves for the most part. I've pulled bushels of invasive Shepherd's Purse, clearing almost 1/2 acre of flowerbeds, and have bushels to go, but I have clearings in some beds ready for the native wildflowers and planted perennials to move into.

I've put up the hammock that I've had for at least 10 years for the first time. And, lying in it brings back my childhood memories of peace, contentment, and safety that I always associated with this house. I'm thinking of maybe bucking the idea that a vegetable garden won't grow well with my walnut and oak trees and trying it anyway. I'd love to bite into a home-grown tomato once again. It's not too late to plant given that we had frost last night. I just have to decide where. But, this morning I had a revelation that vegetable plants are still just plants. Maybe, I don't have to have a traditional garden with everything planted in one large garden area. Why couldn't I plant a few bush beans over there, a few tomato plants elsewhere, corn along the fence, etc.? Don't know if dh will go for it, but, in a way, it would integrate better and not spoil the wilderness of the woods with a tidy, ordered, garden in a single spot that might not be good for every species.

God. I never expected to be this unsettled at the age of 50. This isn't how it was supposed to be. But, it is what it is. Some bad - Some good - Some scary. Some comforting. And some, although this is the part missing right now, hopeful. Guess I'm looking for the hopeful right now.

I am, I have been, so fortunate. I wasn't raised in the lap of luxury, but I was certainly raised with more than many. Economically, an upper middle-class upbringing, at least. More. I had parents who loved me. A father that raised me and cared deeply for me after my mother died - in a world where men just weren't single fathers, all that often. I had a good education. It's my fault I didn't finish it for the credentials. I had a good job, and did a good job of it. I had the investments that allowed me to take the loans to pay off my debts. I still have investments - more than many that I know have. I have a great husband. We've travelled, seen a good part of the world. We've enjoyed some of the best theatre, the best food, vacation spots, friends. So many haven't had these resources, haven't had those memories.

I should be thankful, and I am. It's just that where I am right now? It's as if I spend my time giving thanks for what I've had, and dwelling on how fortunate I've been, rather than looking at where I am now, I'm tacitly acknowledging that that's all there will be. It's over now. I'm over now. Downhill to bag-lady. But, dwelling on that is wrong, too.

Because, I have been incredibly fortunate in so many ways. It's so wrong to compain about what's in my life now, or what might come next. At least, at the moment, it's still so much more than what so many others have, even if I have to remind myself of that sometimes (like now, maybe). But, I want more. I want to be back on a stable and even keel, again. I want to not feel guilty for feeling this way. And, I want to find a way to make it happen. I don't want a free pass. I want a chance. If it's still okay to be talking about "chances" when you're 50 years old. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe, "chances" are only supposed to be for the young and my time has passed for them. I hope not, but I'm not sure.

Wondering what I'll think if I read this entry years from now. Wonder, sometimes, if I'll be here, years from now, to read it. I'm trying to reach for the positive. My guess is that I'll re-read it at some point, probably tomorrow, and be most concerned about whatever grammatical errors I have made. My hope is that those concerns will be the greatest of my issues with it. My fear is that the day will come that I can't read it, because I won't be fortunate enough to have a computer to read it on. Or, the will to read it. Or, the life to read it.

I have a feeling that, having said so much, I'll avoid ever reading it again. I hate wallowing - and that's what this feels like now - particularly when I do it. I knew I'd have a problem with blogging.

Overheard

Today I heard parents explaining to their child that the reason that the elephant yard was separated from the hippo pool was to keep them from breeding... "Because, that would make a Rhinoscerous."

God help us all.

Damn It!

While it's nice that our continuing maintenance levy passed the one for capital improvements failed by fewer than 900 votes.

THAT SUCKS!!!!!

People just didn't get that:

1) This was really a continuation - not something new. Because what it's continuing ended last November, state law wouldn't allow us to say it was a continuation. It had to be advertised as "new".

2) We weren't expanding the zoo. We were rebuilding a few exhibits so that
a) We could keep our baby elephant as he grew
b) We could repair the Aquarium (the last of our NWP buildings to be refurbished) and
make it more energy efficient.
c) Create a year-around Children's Zoo (the elephant yard will encompass the grounds
occupied by our current CZ.
d) Retire our debt, left by our last director, so that the new director can operate on a pay-
as-you-go strategy.

So, we're regrouping. We'll take it back to the voters for the November General Election, but meanwhile we're contacting other zoos to see where we'll be able to send Louie and Renee if it doesn't pass.

Now, a note to those who voted against, or just didn't bother to show up because you figured that these levys would pass just like every other levy we've ever asked for...

Damn You, People! Think! We're ranked among the top zoos in the country. We're ranked as one of the top zoos for our size in the WORLD! We generate $6 in revenue for that county for every $1 we take in. Pull your heads out of your asses and wake up to realize just what a gem we have here.

Bonnie Bunny - Some Peeps are Seriously Freaky

O.K. Let’s see how this works. Compose in WORD so that when blogger gets titchy and eats the post I haven’t lost the whole bloody thing.

I don’t feel like re-writing my whole rhino post, but the day was great! I’ve scratched and fed a number of rhino’s, but I’ve never had one so happy about it that he purred. Just like a large, thick-skinned, housecat. Sweet.

So, today, I’m going to tell you about the “Bunny Lady”. Truly freaky.

We have a Zoo-Ed that’s been around for quite a few years – more than 8, from what I gather. She usually comes in on Saturdays for a few hours. I’m not really sure what she does. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen her interpreting an exhibit, nor, I think, does she do any animal handling. Neither dh, nor I, have really had much contact with her, or, frankly, even noticed her much.

That – the noticing – changed for the first time on Earth Day, and escalated rapidly this past weekend.

I was asked if I would narrate a special shark feed that we were doing, in conjunction with a number of other events in honor of Earth Day. I’d already agreed to be a course marshal, and take Eddie, our zoo dog, out as an ambassador for “The Dart Frog Dash”, and annual 5K race through and around the zoo property. DH was running the race, so I agreed.

Those two events took up most of my time in the morning, and I wanted to spend some time with Mystic (the Arctic Fox) and get Calvara (the Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine) out to meet the public. So, it wasn’t until late afternoon before I checked out the various information tables we had set up.

As I’m wandering around looking at the educational materials on recycling, hybrid cars, bats & bat boxes, the emerald ash borer, etc. I notice this Zoo-Ed wandering around with a rabbit hand puppet. She’s pitching her voice into falsetto range & sticking this puppet in the face of various visitors. O.K., cute, I suppose. Whatever.

Fast forward to last Saturday… Our baby elephant turned 3 on the 30th. He, and his birthday, is a BIG, BIG, deal. He was the first elephant born at the zoo. He was maybe the 2nd or 3rd baby elephant ever conceived via artificial insemination, and no matter how they are conceived, most baby elephants are still-born, and a high percentage of live-births die before they are one. He’s important to the species (particularly because very few male elephants are in captivity) and he’s a huge draw for the zoo. (And, if our levy doesn’t pass today, which is quite possible, we will lose him. * sob *)

All week long we had various daily events revolving around Louie’s birthday, culminating in his receiving his birthday cake on Sunday. Part of the weekend festivities included a book signing. The Zoo published a beautiful children’s book written by Grandma Marion that talks, in rhyme, about Louie’s conception, birth, and 1st year of life. (It’s called “Louie the Miracle Elephant” and, if you’re interested, you can order a copy from www.toledozoo.org). If you don’t mind an age appropriate (think PK-G4) sex-ed lesson it’s a great book.

Well, we had both the author and illustrator there to so a book signing. They’d asked for Zoo-Eds to help with crowd control, etc. We’d told them we’d do it on Sunday (which is when I got a lot of the information to follow), but I noticed that the Zoo-Ed that was “helping” on Saturday was the “Bunny Lady”.

Didn’t think much of it until I walked into the employee cafeteria for lunch and saw her sitting at a table, alone with the bunny still on her hand, holding a conversation with the bunny and “feeding” it parts of her lunch. Ummm… huh? There’s no public here. I said something to her and, just as had happened on Earth Day, “the bunny” (who’s full name is evidently Bonnie Bunny) answered me. I patted the ears and made a crack to the Zoo-Ed along the lines of “You’re getting way, WAY, too attached to your bunny.” Little did I know.

Shortly after I was accosted by some of our Zoo Teens wanting sanctuary from the “Bunny Lady”. Seems she’d gone down to our lunchroom where they were hanging out eating. The only time she used her real voice was when she was addressing “Bonnie”. One of the kids was eating a sandwich with lettuce on it – Bonnie got in his face and tried to steal his lettuce, for which she was scolded. Bonnie then went picking through his hair – God only knows why.

She looked in her mailbox and found that “Oh, look, Bonnie. Someone left some pictures we ordered. Let’s look at them.” One was a picture of a wolf eating a rabbit. That evidently caused Bonnie some distress, because she started to “shake” and “cry”, and this woman had to pat her on the back and “console” her.

A couple of the kids were listening to something one had stored on their cell phone and they laughed about it. She evidently thought they were talking about her, and that evidently hurt Bonnie’s feelings, because she had to “calm” her down again and scold the kids for making fun of Bonnie Bunny. Her behavior was seriously freaking these kids out - dh and I, too, for that matter. She never once dropped the Bonnie Bunny persona.

Did I mention that she has this thing dressed up in a miniature Zoo-Ed uniform? No? My bad. It gets worse. Evidently, she works our admission gates as an employee. She wants to get Bonnie Bunny her own green shirt (what the employees wear) and her own name tag so that Bonnie Bunny can “greet all our guests”. (I pointed out to the kids that someone needed to tell her that bunnies don’t live long enough to even be a Zoo Teen, you must be 13, much less long enough to be an adult Zoo-Ed, or qualify for a work permit to be an employee.)

I guess that all of the emotional stress for Bonnie made her feel ill, because she told our Children’s Zoo Manager that she was going to take Bonnie over to the vet hospital for a check-up because she was feeling ill. (Did I mention that Bonnie sometimes whispers in her ear when she has something to say?)

On Sunday, when I was working the book signing, I found out about some of what had gone on over there. They were seriously freaked by her. She was costing them sales because she was scaring the public. One little 4-yr. old started to cry at her antics. Child, or adult, she was addressing them all as Bonnie Bunny. Adults were shying away and looking at her like she was crazy. They finally called their boss and they released her rather than continue to deal with her attempts at “cuteness”.

Well, I waited until one of our Zoo-Ed Coordinators stopped by to see how things were going. There was a lull in the action and said, loud enough for the marketing employees to hear “Well, I’m just glad the “Bunny Lady” isn’t here today.” * look of total innocence * That provided the opening. Our Coordinator got an earful from the merchandising employee.

Best story? Evidently, she bought some of the books for herself, paying with plastic. They ran the card. They have a line of people waiting to buy the book ($10 with all proceeds going back to the zoo). They give her the receipt to sign. (Did I mention that she wears this damned thing on her right hand?) “Oooooh, Bonnie Bunny can’t sign that.” “O.K., but we need to have it signed.” “Oooooh, but that pen is tooooo biiiiig for Bonnie Bunny to hold.” * semi-screaming now * “Look! We have to have it signed!”

I filled in the Coordinator on some of the rest of her antics from the day before, as her eyes got bigger and bigger. She’s promised to say something to our Volunteer Manager and see if they can’t do something about her. Lord, I hope so. Last thing we need is the public thinking that we have crazy people working here – even if she has been good for some comedic relief.

One of the teens suggested getting a tiger puppet and doing a demonstration of a natural feed – ripping the bunny to pieces. If no one else does anything, that may be our only other option.

If I thought that this was a serious psychotic break I’d be more compassionate. But, I don’t. I think she thinks that she’s being cute. She isn’t. She seriously isn’t.

Probably is. Haven't seen it in a while.

Your Hair Should Be White

Classy, stylish, and eloquent. You've got a way about you that floors everyone you meet.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

We'll see if this posts. The post I tried to make earlier, a rather long one having to do with my sweet, sweeeeeeet, day up close with the rhino's got eaten. Pffft.

Guess I'll have to start doing them in Word and pasting them in, just in case.

Rhino's Rule

Wow - I've been linked. Cool! Thanks HD!

Last week was the volunteer appreciation party at the zoo. I received another Presidential Gold Medal for putting in over 500 volunteer hours for last year. Well, I didn't actually receive it yet. They passed out the Bronze and Silver awards (dh received Bronze), but they haven't received the Gold's yet. Those come with a "personal" letter "signed" by the POTUS and a picture of him posed to show how proud he is of me. Goody. The rooster enjoyed the last one I put on the bottom of his bird cage. Maybe I'll let the cockatoo tear this one up.

Anyway, our reward is an opportunity to choose an area to go behind scenes. We rank our 1st 3 choices and are placed first-come-first-served on one of the tours. It's an opportunity to see areas we normally wouldn't see, and spend time with the keeper. And, we can each bring a guest, though we never have. The choices are:

* Africa (Been there plenty of times, but it's cool)
* Arctic Area (Also been there, but since at least 1 of the Polar Bears is generally inside, that's cool, too)
* Avian Breeding Center (need to do this someday)
* Lion Holding (you get to stand in a cage - but the keeper contact is probably worth it)
* Hippo Holding (want to do this one, too. imagine it's pretty cool as 1 of the hippos is always in)
* Aquarium (really cool if they let you play with the octopus)
* Vet Center (Been there lots. Nothing new to see that I can't see on my own.)
* Conservatory (might be okay, dunno)
* Reptiles (Another place I already spend time)
* Rhino Holding (BINGO!)

(They used to offer Primate Holding. Did that one last year. It was great fun. But the requirements that required us all to be TB tested every 6 mos. changed and it's no longer required for volunteers. No way will we allow someone who hasn't tested negative anywhere near our primates, so they no longer offer it.)

I lvoe our rhino's. Their hearing is quite good and they've come to know my voice as I've talked to the public about them. If I talk to them you can tell they're actively listening.

Lulu's our female. She was wild caught and came to us via S. Carolina back in 1988. She's 36, and years ago she was bored and her horn was itchy, so, in the process of scratching it she straightened it. It's about 4' long and sticks straight out, so we get asked lots of questions about her. (It used to be about 3' longer, but last summer she filed the end down and broke it off. Makes it easier for her to eat, and what's left is still pretty impressive.)

Sam's our male. Born in San Diego in 1973, he came to us via Philadelphia, also in 1988. He's just a sweetheart. At 36 and 31 the two of them are setting records for longevity, as White Rhino's usually only have a life span of 25 - 30 years.

We got to see what their diet looks like, the supplements they take, and their treats (they get a bit of sweetfeed made for horses). Saw the implements the keeper uses to trim their callusses and horns. Then the fun began. She had us go into their holding areas (basically big loose stalls with rubber mats for flooring and various toys). Then she opened the door to the outdoor exhibit about 2' and called Sam to come. She had a bucket of yams and carrots and we got to feed him and scratch his head and ears.

Now, I've hand fed other rhino's. And, I've had the priviledge of scratching quite a few, including a baby Indian Rhino (babies are really soft) and some Black Rhino's (who really, really, like having their tongues scratched. But, I have never met a rhino that took as much pleasure in it as Sam does. Did you know that rhino's purr when they're happy? Neither did I. But, they do. A nice deep contented purr. We actually had to stop every now and again to give him a moment to recover from his ecstacy. Evidently, when the keeper is grooming him he'll become so relaxed he'll actually fall over if she doesn't stop. Sort of like cow tipping on a large scale.

It was a sweet, sweeeeeeeeet day!