Last Day :(

When I arrived at the Zoo, I headed over to the Forest Aviary and changed out the food bowls. By now I think I could prepare diets with my eyes closed, but I don't, cause that would be weird. As I was taking out the food, I talked to the visitors again and bribed the birds over to the visitors using a mealworm so they could take pictures. I kinda feel bad for the worms because the birds toy with them before they eat them. They throw them around, give them the illusion of escape, and then eat them.

While we were preparing the diets, Sherry explained different facts about birds to me. One of the topics she discussed was how birds breathe. They do not breathe like humans. Birds have lungs and air sacs and when they breathe in, the air does not just travel to and from the lungs. The air travels from the mouth/nose to the lungs and from there they go to the air sacs that are interconnected to the lungs. This process allows air to be constantly in the lungs, allowing for longer flight.
Sherry also gave me the random fact that duck's feet do not freeze because of something called a "countercurrent" blood flow. The blood that is warmed travels to the feet, but unlike humans, the warm blood warms the cold blood that is traveling back up to the body. So there is never really any cold blood in a ducks body. So there's your random tidbit of the day.

She also told me more facts about feathers. She explained to me that there is actually a vein in the feather that provides the blood that allows the feather to grow. Once the feather has stopped growing, the tip of the feather closes and the blood flow stops. Also along the "hair" of the feather are tiny barbs that hold the feather hairs together. So when the birds preen their feathers, they are helping getting the barbs to hook back onto the feathers. They're getting all pretty for their close up.

Bugsy

One thing that surprised me the most during my time at the zoo was that birds have major personalities. They get embarrassed, happy, sad, and they mess with you. One of the birds with the biggest personalities was the Blue-Bellied Roller, Bugsy. Bugsy always tries to steal my headband and paper towels. Today he was perched on a branch right in front of me and I noticed that every time I moved my head, he would move his. I had great fun with that one, until Sherry gave me a odd look. Also it's funny because whenever I see a bird trip, I also see them look around to see if anyone noticed (which is also what I do).
We headed back to Barn 8, where I got to witness the courting ritual of the Kori Buster. It was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. The Kori Buster puffs out the feathers on it's neck and lifts up it's tail. The oddest thing though, is the sound. It makes a sound that sounds like someone with their bass in their car turned all the way up is driving by.

Kori Buster during Courting Ritual 

I think in the end, my favorite birds were the White Headed Whistling Ducks and the Lovebird. The Ducks were so funny when I was putting out their food. They would nip at my jeans and whistle at me as loud as they could until I put their food down. The lovebird would keep me company while I was preparing the food. I know I was really losing it when I started having a conversation with him...
Since we finished the bird's food so early, Sherry decided to take me down to the brand new Safari Exhibit. She took me around and told me what she knew about the elephants, giraffes, ostriches, lions, and cheetahs. What I liked most about the exhibit is how you were level with the giraffes head and how scared the kids were of the giraffes tongue. After our tour, we headed back to Barn 8 and I said my goodbyes to everyone. It was sad and they told me to come back any time and hopefully that will happen!

Forest Aviary

After my day officially ended, Olivia and I got a behind the scenes tour of the elephant exhibit by Olivia's mentor. It was AMAZING! We were two feet away from a giant elephant. We witnessed the zookeepers training the elephants to lift their feet up to the cage so they could wash them. They also showed off the elephants skills with her backing up, opening her mouth, and lifting her trunk with just the zookeepers asking her to. The zookeeper that was giving the tour told us that the heaviest elephant they have, Ginny, is over 10,000 pounds! She also

 told us that baby elephants weigh around 250 pounds, small right? Just kidding, can you imagine giving birth to that?! Adult elephants eat around 250 to 300 pounds a day! (Weight Watchers would not approve). The zookeepers told us that they train the elephants to make giving them shots easier (by leaning against the cage) because the needle has to be huge because the elephant skin is around an inch thick! She also explained to us that just like how humans are right or left handed, elephants are left and right tusked. They use the dominant tusk to scratch trees, spear naughty humans that go past the fence, brake branches, and other stuff. The dominant tusk is usually the more worn down one. The elephant's tusks are just part of their teeth and whenever they loose one completely, they can never grow it back.
I LOVED my internship at the zoo! I wish I could continue it. This internship has given me the thought of becoming a zookeeper in the future and I would love to work with animals in any job I have in the future. I mean, how cool would that be? I extremely recommend interning, volunteering, or just visiting the zoo whenever you can.

BYE!

Fourth Day!

This morning after I woke up and picked up Olivia and we headed off to the zoo. My day started off with a bang when we had to go and change a baby Malibu Stork nest material. Now this baby has earned it's nickname of "Monster." This has got to be the meanest bird I have ever met (which isn't a lot, but just go with it). He doesn't like you, he bites, his parents get made when you mess with him, and he makes the loudest, most awful noise (Olivia can do a great impression if you ask her). A zookeeper had to throw a towel over Monster's beak and held him down, while another grabbed the used nest material (which smelled absolutely terrible) and replaced it with new material. Monster escaped the towel and I don't even know how many times the zookeepers got bitten. I just stayed out of the way.

Kinda What Monster Looked like,
But Monster's Uglier 

When we arrived at the Forest Aviary, we started preparing the food bowls and I went out and replaced the bowls form last night. Then Sherry let me hose the aviary, to get rid of all the little birdies presents they have kindly left for all the visitors. So instead of just regular poop, I got to work with watery poop.
After I hosed the aviary, I got new nesting material for the Waldrupp Ibis's because two of the Ibis's have two chicks that they are raising. Walrupp Ibis's are extremely endanger and the zoo is so happy that they now have chicks. Sherry is worried though because it seems as if the Ibis's are caring for another egg, hoping that it will hatch, and Sherry is worried that it might be an infertile egg.

Waldrupp Ibis Chick

 After we took pictures of the chicks, I started walking around the exhibit. As I was walking around, I realized that I can now tell which bird it is just by the sound they make. My favorite bird call is the White- Faced Whistling Duck. It's funny because if your late giving them their food, they will let you know. They go inside the cages and whistle as loud as they possibly can. Then they follow you all the way to where you set down the food. And during this internship, I found out that I can whistle better then I could before. Here's an example of what they sound like.

Speckled Pigeon (African)

Also while I was in the exhibit, I answered questions that the visitors had. I showed them all the food in the bird's bowls and all of the visitor's were shocked to see that the bird's do not just eat birdseed. They all thought that that's all birds eat and were surprised to see meat in many of the bowls. The visitors also usually wonder about the Speckled Pigeon (that are native to Africa) because they all believe that normal pigeons somehow got into the exhibit. I had to explain to many of them that they are not normal pigeons, but they are AFRICAN pigeons.

Wax Worms

Later in the day I started preparing the lunch feeding and I got the lucky job of sorting the wax worms. I think they are grosser than the mealworms because they feel sticky and slimy. But they accept death easier than the meal worms.
As I was preparing the food, I had to remember about Kambui's (The Silver Cheeked Hornbill from earlier) weird diet. He cannot eat citrus and Sherry explained to me that Hornbill's do not drink water, but they get water from the food that they eat. So we have to give him food that is rich in water.
Mrs. Nancarrow and her husband visited me this morning. Sherry and I got to show them where I have been working this past week and the surrounding exhibits. I hope they had fun! They also got a free trip to the zoo.
As I was leaving, I kept hearing the strangest noises coming from the tortoise exhibit, like one was breathing really loudly. I looked over and saw a male tortoise entertaining a lady friend. I pause for a second in shock and the male tortoise hissed at me (I didn't even know tortoises could hiss). I guess he wanted some privacy so I went on my way. It was a very odd way to end the day.

I thought this was cute
No relation to story

Third Day!

I started the day the same way. Olivia drove me this morning (perfectly, I might add) and when I arrived at Barn 8 I waited for Sherry to finish her Coco. We then headed over to the Forest Aviary were we prepared the food for that morning and replaced it with the food from last night. For such small animals, birds eat a ton. 

We then headed over to the Weaver Exhibit where we set up a cage, which we would later put a newly hatched baby Weaver.We put the baby Weaver in the cage, which is inside the exhibit, in order for it to get used to it's new environment. It allows it to see where the food bowls are, where the birds hang out, and it's in order for the rest of the birds to get used to the new baby Weaver. We didn't want the birds to get angry at the new addition. 

Today Sherry taught me all about the different types of feathers and what each type is used for. She used feathers from a Guineafowl, which has beautiful feathers (especially close up). The Guineafowl feathers have the lightest touch of color around the edges and sometimes even have purple around the spots. They have many different types of feathers, from feathers on their underside (down feathers), to the feathers on their head (crown) and the feathers on their wings. The feathers on the wings are sturdier than the rest because they need to sustain flight. These feathers are not split directly in half. The feathers on the wing are shorter on the side facing the head of the bird, creating an easier wind path. Birds that are silent fliers, like owls, don't have as fine feathers, but have a softer look to them.The tail feathers are split down the middle. 

Owl Feather

Wing Feathers

Guineafowl Feathers

When the birds were ready to get new food, Sherry let me prepare the diets all by myself while she hosed off the exhibit. The diets in the afternoon are a bit different than the morning ones. I find them easier. There is the softbill mix that is used for the majority of the birds, excluding the mainly meet eaters. It consists of spinach, hardboiled eggs, cabbage, rice, mixed vegetables, pellets (which kinda look like dog food), crickets, mealworms, and vitamins. I chopped and mixed them all together and placed it in the different bowls. The mealworms are tricky buggers, they always try to escape the bowls, it's if they are sensing their doom. Sherry tells me that sometimes she finds them in her pockets when she arrives home. 

Softbill Mix

The other mix is the fruit mix (which looks a bit more appetizing to me). The first part contains chopped apple, cantaloupe, banana, and sweet potato. At this point I need to take out a portion for the Silver Cheeked Hornbill, whose name is Kambui, because the types of Hornbill birds, including other types of birds, cannot have citrus because it messes with their digestion. After I set aside the portion for Kambui, I put in chopped grapes, oranges, and a surprise fruit. I then put this mix into the bowls. 

Fruit Mix

As I was mixing all of these wonderful ingredients, a lovebird flew into the cages in the place where I work. It would whistle to me as I was working, it was quite flattering. Who needs an iPod when you have birds singing to you?

The Cages

My Work Place

I then distributed these dishes throughout the Forest Aviary and Weaver Exhibit all by myself. I think I deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.  But besides feeding, my most important job is dishes. There seems to be a never ending pile of dishes. I wash and I wash and I wash, and the dishes never stop. They're like rabbits, always multiplying. 

At the end of my shift, I met a Guineafowl named Blue that was located in Barn 1. Blue was the cutest thing ever and always wanted attention. I even got to cuddle with her, without her even pooping on me!

Second Day!

Today started out like yesterday. I woke up at 5:30 (yay....), tried to help Olivia figure out the directions because she sometimes gets confused between North and South, but it's ok because she is just graduating High School (just kidding! she knows Dallas like the back of her hand and I was honored to drive with her), arrived at Barn 6 and caught up with the zookeepers.
I followed Sherry, the head of the Forest Aviary and the Weaver Exhibit, again today. She began by explaining to me the importance of reusing. She reuses the measuring caps to laundry detergent, food containers, lettuce strainers, and anything else she can find a use for. She finds mirrors at buildings at the zoo that are set to be bulldozed and uses them with baby chicks, so that they do not imprint on her. With the budget, the zookeepers don't always get all the tools they want, so they have to make do.

Sherry also told me how she got into working at the zoo. She majored in Biology and minored in Zoology at the Nebraska State University. She then started working for a company that worked on saving different animals in Nebraska and she was the first women to work in the mountains in Nebraska following mainly sheep. She then moved to Dallas and started working at the Dallas Zoo. After a couple of years, she and her husband moved to Hawaii where she worked in training birds. After three years in Hawaii, they moved back to Dallas and she returned to working at the Dallas Zoo. She has worked at the Dallas Zoo for 23 years, so needless to say, she knows her way around.

As you may have guessed...
this is not Sherry

We prepared the diets for the different exhibits and then headed over to the Weaver Exhibit. At the Weaver Exhibit, Sherry explained to me that the birds with bands on their right legs are male (because the man is always right... HA!) and the females have the bands on their left legs because female birds only have one ovary (cuts down on weight during flight) that is located on their left side. The male Weavers are brighter and larger than the females and they are the ones who build the nest. When the males build their nests, the females choose their mate depending on the nest and the males ability to defend it. After the female chooses a nest, she lays her eggs, then leaves to find a new mate (doesn't even pay child support!) The male then tends to the eggs until they are ready to hatch. We then counted the amount of eggs and chicks in each of the nests. Sherry told me they counted over a thousand eggs last season.

Weaver Eggs

Male Weaver working
on Nest

Male Weaver looking
for a hot date

Sherry also gave me the best advice in the Warbler Exhibit, never look up and if you have to, have your mouth closed while doing it! I pray and pray that this will never happen to me, but I still have three days left, so who knows.

Waldrupp Ibis

Later in the day Sherry gave me the hard earned job of counting birds. Now you may make fun of that, but it is a lot harder than it sounds. The birds seem to know when you are almost done, then they scatter! And you have to find them again and recount. As I was trying to count to see if the correct number of birds from each species were in the Exhibit, I began to notice all the different species. There are the Hamerkop, different types of Weavers, Starlings, Robin Chats, a Spotted Dikkop, Blue-Bellied Rollers, White Faced Whistling Ducks, Lovebirds, Waldrapp Ibis, and Guineafowls.

Lovebird

Blue-Bellied Roller

During my time today, I realized one thing that I would not have really expected, and that's how annoying the visitors are (especially the ones with kids). The Forest Aviary and Weaver Exhibit are right next to the crocodiles, chimpanzees, and tortoises. All the kids believe they can make the perfect Chimp call and choose to scream it loud and free for everyone to hear. They think they can get all the animals attention by screaming at them. They also yell at me while I am in the exhibit, questioning what I am doing there and when I tell them I'm a volunteer, they want to be one (dear lord, no).
The birds are on my side though. One bird, the Spotted Dikkop, kept charging the visitors and scaring them, which is funny because it's so small. And another boy, who was being particularly loud, was pooped on by my new friend, the Ibis's.

First Day!

Today was my first day interning at the Dallas Zoo.

I worked with the head zookeeper of the Forest Aviary and the Yellow Weaver exhibit. My main job for the day was cleaning the exhibits and feeding the multiple birds in both of the exhibits.
When I first arrived at the Zoo, the zoo keepers in Barn 8 (one of the many barns that contain different birds from around the zoo) showed me around the barn and introduced me to the different birds in holding. Most of the birds in holding are there because they are either sick, injured, taking care of their chicks, or there is no place at the moment in the exhibits for them. Some of the birds in Barn 8 were three cranes and a Silver Cheeked Hornbill. The Silver Cheeked Hornbill has joint and back problems and the cranes were taking care of their massive baby, who wasn't the nicest bird on the block.

Silver Cheeked Hornbill

They also showed me the incubating eggs and explained to me that when the chick is ready, they go into a section of the egg called the air cell, where they begin to breathe oxygen. Once they run out of oxygen, the carbon monoxide omissions trigger a muscle twitch in the chick's neck, causing it to begin to crack the egg open.

After the tour of Barn 8, I traveled to the Forest Aviary and the Yellow Weaver exhibits and helped prepare the birds meals for the day. We cut up different ingredients to place in bowls in according to the different diets of all the different birds in the exhibits. Their diets mainly consisted of wet pellets, fruit, raw shredded beef, baby mice, a variety of seeds, lettuce, sardines, rice, and different sizes of mealworms. Some pretty nasty (and smelly) stuff...  We then placed these bowls of food around the exhibits. We then power washed a majority of the Forest Aviary, cleaning up the never ending spots of bird poop that was everywhere.

Mealworms

Baby Mice

At the Yellow Weaver Exhibit, we replaced the food from last night with fresher food, using the same ingredients. Before we started spray washing the exhibit, the zookeeper I was following noticed a baby Weaver on the floor of the exhibit. We chased it around until the zookeeper finally caught it. After catching it, she handed it to me so she could put a band around it's leg. When I was holding it, it felt like it was humming because it's heart beat was so fast. I was so excited being able to hold a chick, until i felt a wetness in my hand and realized that this cute chick just pooped in my hand. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I also made friends in the Weaver Exhibit with this one Blue- Bellied Roller that kept flying at my head and grabbing my ponytail.

Yellow Weaver

After we were finished cleaning the Weaver Exhibit, I was done for the day and headed back to Barn 6, said my goodbyes and headed home!