Friday, June 27, 2008

aaaannndd more from Nashville!!

Today was such an interesting day!! I got to start getting familiar with our Hornbill, Jane, and she seems to be liking me well enough. I’m really excited to get to know her a lot better and hopefully soon I’ll be able to handle her.

I also got to hold the Harris Hawk, Diego, today!!! I was going to ask this morning, but the opportunity never really presented itself. Then this afternoon my supervisor asked me if I wanted to take her back to her pen from the amphitheater! Of course, I said yes! So, if they’re asking me to do stuff like that then I must be doing something right. Too bad no one had a camera, but perhaps there will be other times when someone does have one handy.

It was a strange day… Victoria, the other intern, got bit by two birds and then our Red Tail Hawk, who thinks she’s a human (imprinted) and finds other humans to be a threat, grabbed Victoria through the mesh on the side of his cage and got her headband and one of the keepers had to get her off. Luckily, the only injury she got was just one scrape on her head and some major bruising.

I got bit by my opossum buddy, Oscar, bit my hand. Drew some blood, but a bandaid made it all better. He has some trouble walking (blood tests will be done soon) and I had woken him up and was going to move him so that the Zoo Teen could clean his pen since they don’t have authorization to move them, and I had my hand somewhat in front of his face and I think he was just so frustrated with being awake (nocturnal animal), with being moved, and not being able to move well on his own… and so he took it out on me. The Zoo Teen jumped more than I did and it stung at first. But it wasn’t a deep bite since I think it was just a warning telling me he was cranky. Strangely enough though, I wasn’t angry… I had no emotion about it except for a matter of fact thing and just fixed it and went along with my day. I have no hard feelings towards Oscar at all and actually gave him a treat and pet him later that day. Maybe it’s because I’ve accepted the fact that it’s a zoo… and it’s part of the job.

And that’s my day!!!

~*~Shilo~*~

2 comments:

Nicole Collins said...

Thanks for the update Shilo. I love the picture of Diego and will get it posted today.

John Z said...

Hey Shilo,
Glad to see you're recovering from your 'possum encounter. Keep up the good work--love to read your bloggin'.
jz