In the Groove

It’s day 11, and for the past couple of days I have been caring primarily for other wildlife. This includes the basic duties of the other teams such as food preparation, feeding and cleaning enclosures. Team other wildlife is made up of the animals at the center that do not fall under the two primary dietary divisions of either primates or bears. Other wildlife is made up of two iguanas, two otters, three langurs, a horse, four hornbills, a cockatoo and a peacock. Typically, other wildlife and quarantine go hand in hand. The animals in quarantine are those that are new to the center and are kept in quarantine for a few months before placed within the center in order for staff and volunteers to closely observe the animal to test for everything from health to social behavior. Currently, there are fifteen animals in quarantine, two leopard cats, five macaques and eight gibbons. For the past few weeks, other wildlife and quarantine have been run by a volunteer named Sara. Unfortunately, she will be leaving for India in less than a week, and she and the two volunteer coordinators, Emma and Tommy, have been training me to take over when she moves on. I really enjoy what I’m doing and I know that the more I do it, I’ll love it even more.