Warming up on the river

With temperatures in the 90’s, it’s definitely beginning to feel like summer around here. For the past 2 weeks we’ve been working at the kiosks, doing canoe patrols, and just getting to know the park. I think I like doing canoe roving the best because we get to be on the river all day. Everyday there are usually 2 or 3 groups of 2 people who are on the river in solo canoes. We basically just canoe down the river, talking to people along the way and making sure they have life jackets, fishing licenses, etc. I like river roving because it’s a good way to practice my canoe skills, and it’s also nice to talk to people on the river rather than at a kiosk all day.



This past Wednesday our whole interpretive unit went to a workshop at Promised Land State Park, which was about an hour away. We learned about different wildlife programs for kids and how to create lesson plans that would keep their interest while teaching them. We also had a speaker, Lindsay Barrett George, who creates children’s books that mostly revolve around nature and wildlife. At the end we all had the chance to choose one of her books and have it signed, which was cool.

We also received tons of material on wildlife programs which included lots of neat ideas. Being in the interpretive unit at the park, we need to create and present educational programs. I’m currently in the process of trying to design a program which focuses on nature at night (stars, night sounds, animals). Right now I only have a general idea of what I want to do, which would be a night hike around the area with some educational stuff thrown in.

Other than that, nothing too interesting has been happening…yet. Since we don’t have cable, internet, or cell phone service at the house my housemates and I have been playing lots of Wii and watching lots of Glee. I’m having a blast though and I’m excited for the rest of summer!
Until I snag some internet somewhere again,
Lara

Off to a great start!

So I have been here at the CCF for about a week and a half now and so much has happened! Since I have arrived, I have had the opportunity to do so much and have experienced so many things. After orientation on my first day here I jumped right into things and immediately began work. I started off with more broad assignments until we decided where I fit in here at CCF. So far I have been involved with cheetah husbandry, guardian dog and goat care, general maintenance work (landscaping, and automotive work), some computer work (still in this process, and will be for a while), and one of my favorite jobs… cheetah runs.

Here at the CCF we have just over 50 resident cheetahs. When assigned with cheetah husbandry, we start off by preparing the meat for the cats and any meds that the cats may need (right now we only have two cheetahs who need meds). Our local Namibian farmhands take care of cutting the meat into proper portions but we have to count the pieces and make sure there is enough and that they are suitable. Overall on average it takes about 1 donkey (which are bought from local farmers) per day to feed all the animals under our care. However, we do often times have other sorts of meat come in that we most definitely utilize. Last week we had giraffe (which lasted for a few days) and I think I saw an oryx in the meat room as well. CCF is composed of multiple farms and on each of those farms there are multiple “camps” or enclosures in which all the cheetahs are spread throughout (as I mentioned in the earlier post). So once we have all the food prepared and ready to go, we load it up in a vehicle and typically start out our day at either the Eland camp, which is right next to the main center, or the Bellebeno camp which is about at 30 minute drive from the main center. During the drive to Bellebeno, we typically get great views of a lot of wildlife because we pass a couple of waterholes. We never leave CCF property and all the cheetahs we currently have are located in the closest farms to CCF so you can imagine the size of CCF’s property. The cats at Bellebeno are currently the furthest captive cats from the main center and they are candidates for release into the wild, which is very exciting. It typically takes the husbandry team 9-12 and 2-3 to feed all of the cats outside of the main center. At the main center we have 8 cheetahs (4 males, 4 females) that are fed where visitors and guests can observe, which provides great opportunities for education and interpretation. I really enjoy feeding, but it is only one part of the work that goes on here at CCF.

Here at CCF, one of the most important and effective conservation programs we have in operation is the Livestock Guarding Dog program. We have 8 dogs here at the CCF main center which we use for breeding so that the pups can be donated to the local farmers. For more information on how this program works, click here. Along with the dogs, we have a large herd of goats and sheep, which we primarily have for training purposes. Basically, to prevent farmers from killing cheetahs and other predators (which is one of the cheetah’s greatest threats) CCF donates Anatolian Shepherds to the farmers. These dogs are actually guarding dogs rather than shepherd dogs and very effectively protect the herd from any predator. Along with the dogs we have a large herd of goats and sheep, which we primarily have for training purposes. However, CCF has recently been making goat cheese from goat milk harvested from our goats.

As I am sure you know, the cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal. Everything about the cheetah’s physiology is designed for speed and therefore it is important for the cat’s health to get regular exercise. At CCF we exercise our cats by running them with a lure machine, similar to the ones used for greyhound racing. I have recently began helping with the cheetah runs and it is a job that I enjoy very much. We typically do the runs in the morning a couple of times a week, but we have done runs for the OK Cubs (ambassador cheetahs in training) in the evening.

For more pictures, see my blog here at http://ehwalker91.wordpress.com

Please feel free to comment and ask questions. Until next time...

- Eli

Week 4 is no bore! Plus a little more

Holy nuggets it's the 4th week already!

The week started off by welcoming 4 new volunteers! Three are working on the primate project and are currently at Fireburn reserve hanging out with the released howlers, the last is my newest helper who will take over looking after Twiggy after I've finished here. I spent the first few days showing Jess around and introducing her to Twiggy. We then took the shifts together to get her accustomed to the day to day routine of things. With Jess, myself, and the occasional help of Shawn it has become a lot easier to let Twiggy out in the lagoon for larger amounts of time; allowing for her to graze longer and eat more sea grass! Good stuff all around.




Wildtracks has acquired three new animals this week! 1 owl, 1 kitten, and 1 new howler monkey. Shawn has taken the owl under his wing (punny!) Paul and Zoe are assessing the howler and myself and Ashley are taking responsibility for the kitten. I've named the kitten Puma because it's awesome. It was found by a family on their front porch; having a language barrier we were unable to explain that the mother will probably come back for it; it being two weeks old it relies on us to syringe feed it 10 cc's of formula every 3 hours (makes for long nights and busy days!).

This week also consisted of Twiggy's check up! A team of scientists came over from Florida and took blood samples, measured her weight, fat levels, as well as length and girth. It was really cool to watch! I stood by with a bucket of water to keep Twiggy hydrated as they explained what they were doing. I was also there to help restrain her tail, the most dangerous part of the manatee; she was trying very hard to flip us away and it took quite a bit of muscle power, and to help roll her over (quite stressful)! To do all of these things we had to catch Twigatron, put her in a sling, and lift her out of the water! It. was. awesome.



I also took part in one of the most important days of the month.....POOL SCRUB DAY! Can you say par-tay? Okay, it really wasn't that exciting, but I felt like a beast removing all of the delicious fungus from the pool walls and floor. It is important to keep the pools clean and filled at all times in case a stranding occurs, this way Wildtracks will be ready for the animal and can begin to make the manatee comfortable.

________BEFORE____________________________AFTER_____________


I never got around to publishing this so I'm going to add my final 4 days into this blog.

All 4 days ran reletively smoothly. The three volunteers came back from Fireburn to relax and do some data analysis, so it was nice to have a good amount of people in the main house. Twiggy has been enjoying her 8 hour days and we decreased her formula/water ratio from 200:400 to 100:400 and she's taken to it just fine. Puma is growing stronger and becoming more active; when I'm not out with Twiggy I'll be letting the kitten run free for a few hours and feed it its 10cc's of formula. During the week it peed on its own without any stimulation, which was new and great news.



It was sad to say goodbye to such a wonderful group of people and an amazing experience; I felt as if I was leaving home instead of going back to it. The journey went well; we had to chase down my plane in a pick up truck, but it ended up seeing me and turning around so it's all good :) I got to enjoy my last few hours on the beach of San Pedro and soak up my last bit of sun before coming back to Chicago (where it's cold and cloudy! what is this non-sense?!) and have had that one Madonna song stuck in my head ever since (last night I dreamt of San Pedrooooo!!). Anywho, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your internships; I can't wait to read all about them.


Good day!


~Jordan

Hatchery

I started working at the Berkshire national fish hatchery about a week and a half ago. over this time I have done daily routine maintenance around the hatchery which includes feeding fish two times a day, mowing the lawn, scrubbing tanks, power washing tanks, making new informational posters, giving tours. stocking trout into lakes and rivers. All and all I am enjoying my time working at this hatchery.

Busy busy busy

*Fore note before I start. I would like to thank Jeanne and Mary-beth for some of the pictures I have been using in prior and future blogs.*

This week was a busy week with me working Wednesday thru Sunday. Wednesday was a laid back day. I came in and helped feed the birds like usual and handled Chico for a little bit. I was able to jess him up and unjess him with no problem at all. Brenda had Dakota out too, just a bit of bird handling to pass the time. Then we took Chappy out to Bolton for a health check at the vet. We needed to get this check done in order to complete the paper work that will accompany his transfer from CT to ME with Hope from Wind over Wings. We got to go in thru the back door and see everything that was going on. All of the surgery prep work, and of the animals in holding. Oh my it was busy...Me, Jeanne, and Brenda kind of tucked ourselves into a corner near the X-ray room and people were going back and forth, carrying dogs, going in and out of rooms. Everyone was very interested in what we had in the box. After about 45 minutes or so we finally got to see the vet and get the check done. Chappy was pretty good for being in his box the whole time except for when he went and nipped Jeanne on the arm. But hey, it was a stressful situation and he hasn't been inside too too much.

Thursday ended up being cleaning day since we wouldn't be there on friday. Everything pretty much went as usual...except for Julian. He proved to me how smart Corvids are that day. Usually when we clean aviaries we let him out to run around the property. Lately he has been peeking around the Eagles aviary, looking under the walk in. Well today he decided that he had enough information and jumped climbed up the short side of the Eagle aviary. It took a bit of bribing, but he finally came down. He didn't exactly want to go back in his aviary either, he wanted to play with us the whole time. Silly Corvid...Our last task was to clean out the rehab cage and weight the owlletts. It's amazing how big those guys get in such a short time.

Friday we drove down to Clinton to help Hope sort out her house for the tag sale she's having before she moves. It was fun because while we were there Hope told us stories about Blanca (sp?) and all the experiences he's had with different groups. I can't wait to see him this week! The last thing we did that day was Hope gave Jeanne a chance to hold Skywalker, her Golden eagle. I was so happy for Jeanne, and I don't think the smile on her face could have gotten any bigger.

Saturday was the big day, the first of the farewell tours. It went amazingly well even though not that many people showed up. It didn't help that Stratford had some sort of festival going on so it was super packed. I got to meet all of Hopes volunteers and see how they did things. The program went so smoothly and was a nice way to end years of service to the state of CT. Me and Brenda ran the booth at the end where we were passing out information. We had a few people stop by.

Though out of everything this week I was reminded that you always need to stay on your toe when it comes to animal care. If we didn't notice Julian was MIA who knows what the Eagle would have done to him or how stressed he would have become. Its all about assessing the situation and acting in a swift but calm manner.

-Heather

Hello again from the Upper Delaware River! This past week has been much more exciting than my first week here. The week started out with basic first aid training on Tuesday, followed by CPR training on Wednesday. We also received fire extinguisher training and driver training so that we can drive the National Park Service vehicles. The most exciting and best part of our training (in my opinion) was saved for last: canoe training! On Thursday we learned about safety and basic canoe skills, and then we hit the water for some hands-on experience. We paired up in the canoes and went over skills such as paddling, putting your life jackets on in the water, getting back into your canoe if you fall out, rescuing other people from your canoe, and ferrying across the river. We also went “swimming” down Skinner’s Falls (a set of class II rapids). We floated down in only our life jackets, while the other seasonal rangers practiced their throw-bag skills to “save” us.




On Friday we hit the river again for an 18 mile trip from Skinner’s Falls to Lackawaxen, only this time we were solo. We all made it through Skinner’s Falls, then continued downstream while enjoying the many Bald Eagles we saw along the way. Let’s just say that by the end of the day my legs looked like a freshly cooked Maine lobster, and next time I won’t forget the sunscreen.




Saturday was our first day on the job in uniform. My housemate Becky and I were paired up to shadow a seasonal ranger, Adam, for the day. We worked at Ten Mile River which is one of the accesses along the river that we will be stationed at during the summer. The accesses are places where people can put in and take out canoes, boats, kayaks and rafts. There are informational kiosks at most of the accesses, where we simply provide information to people, answer questions, and give safety talks. We watched Adam give safety talks, gave a few of our own, then hiked up a trail along the river, picking up trash and doing maintenance on the way.



The 3 of us were together again on Sunday, only this time stationed at the Skinner’s Falls access. We hung around the kiosk in the morning, talking to people and giving safety checks. After lunch we took a short walk over to the area where people swim and hang out on a stretch of massive rocks along the water. The area was packed with people blasting music, sprawling on rocks, swimming, drinking, and just having a good old time. Becky and I walked around and picked up trash while Adam talked to people, advising them of poison ivy and promoting safety. Skinner’s was crazy, and definitely seemed to be one of the more popular places on the river.






Well, that’s all for this week. I need to go lather my legs in aloe now!!
Until next time,
Lara

California State internship

I have now been at my state capital internship in Sacromento California for over a week. It is so far an amazing opportunity for me becuase i am getting a lot of experince. Some of the things I have been able to do is learn the basic structure of my state politics, and what it takes to have a functioning state assembly mans office. As well as they are giving me a lot of experience in water, and time to research and understand water and agriculture.