"Tour" of the zoo
Getting started as a volunteer at the zoo was easy. I found an email address on the zoo's website and Voila! I was hooked up. Will emailed me back in a few minutes, and I called him to set up a time for the zoo tour. I love tours. I think my dream job would be giving tours of the Texas State Capital Building. I really enjoy a good tour, lots of info, and some super facts. Well, I work 8-5 and so does Will, so I told him that I'd skip my lunch hour. I was so excited! On Thursday Curtis and I went to the zoo for my introduction to volunteering. I was going to get to meet all the animals and all their keepers.
Not quite. I went to the zoo and met Will. We went through some back door and were behind the fish exhibit. It was a funny shaped room with big aquariums, filters, and other unknown pipes. There weren't many fish. I saw lots of snails in the nearest tank. That was it. I don't know how to get into the fish exhibit as a normal visitor, and I don't think I saw all the fish.
Then we went outside for a second until we came to the next hidden door. I think Will said this was the reptile area. There were zoo keepers in here! Whatever picture you have in your head of what a zoo keeper looks like, get it out. This guy was big, wearing black, had lots of earrings (those earrings that make you have big round holes in your ears). He offered to let me hold some of the hissing roaches that he was working with. Yikes. The other keeper in there was a small blond lady working on the plumbing.
We left and I knew where we were! We were by the flamingos! Yes! On to the mammals! But we went through another bamboo-ish door while Will explained to me that he's not a keeper, so he's not allowed around the mammals. Super. In this back area behind the bamboo wall there were lots of building. There was a holding area for "extra birds," a greenhouse area, a keepers breakroom, a clinic, and the food room. There was also a pile of old Christmas trees.
The breakroom has lockers, lumpy couches, a cluttered table and a little aquarium with turtles in it. The clinic was really clean. In the back they had a bird with a hurt foot and two prairie dogs waiting to be spayed/neutered. There was also a little screech owl in there waiting to be shipped to St. Louis. Will really likes screech owls.
Will gave me some papers to fill out and showed me the hidden door to the parking lot.
OK, I'll be here at 8:00 on Saturday.
Not quite. I went to the zoo and met Will. We went through some back door and were behind the fish exhibit. It was a funny shaped room with big aquariums, filters, and other unknown pipes. There weren't many fish. I saw lots of snails in the nearest tank. That was it. I don't know how to get into the fish exhibit as a normal visitor, and I don't think I saw all the fish.
Then we went outside for a second until we came to the next hidden door. I think Will said this was the reptile area. There were zoo keepers in here! Whatever picture you have in your head of what a zoo keeper looks like, get it out. This guy was big, wearing black, had lots of earrings (those earrings that make you have big round holes in your ears). He offered to let me hold some of the hissing roaches that he was working with. Yikes. The other keeper in there was a small blond lady working on the plumbing.
We left and I knew where we were! We were by the flamingos! Yes! On to the mammals! But we went through another bamboo-ish door while Will explained to me that he's not a keeper, so he's not allowed around the mammals. Super. In this back area behind the bamboo wall there were lots of building. There was a holding area for "extra birds," a greenhouse area, a keepers breakroom, a clinic, and the food room. There was also a pile of old Christmas trees.
The breakroom has lockers, lumpy couches, a cluttered table and a little aquarium with turtles in it. The clinic was really clean. In the back they had a bird with a hurt foot and two prairie dogs waiting to be spayed/neutered. There was also a little screech owl in there waiting to be shipped to St. Louis. Will really likes screech owls.
Will gave me some papers to fill out and showed me the hidden door to the parking lot.
OK, I'll be here at 8:00 on Saturday.
posted by Lauren at
8:24 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Lauren! I was so excited to read your blog because I knew that you were a good storyteller from all of those great Montevideo emails you wrote before. Ok so I have to tell you about my scary trip to the zoo this last summer. I went with a Kadesh (highschoolers) group with Leadership Camps that I was leading and one of our service projects one day was to go help at the zoo. They put us to work in the back employee area cleaning and what not. I was kind of raking a pile of gravel making it all smooth I guess (I dont remember) when ALL OF A SUDDEN like 2 or 3 RATS coming running from beneath somewhere right towards me and so I did what any calm, rational person would do...I screamed at the top of my lungs and threw my rake about 10 feet in the air. It was insane. My reaction got quite a big laugh. Some group leader I was..haha
By
Anonymous, at 10:53 PM
How much fun! I always dreamed of working at a zoo! I used to absolutely love animals and I would get my dad to take me to the Abilene zoo ALL THE TIME! I hope your adventures at the zoo go well and keep us updated!
By
Mary, at 8:08 AM
Lauren, how much fun! I used to LOVE going to the Abilene zoo. It brings back really good memories of me and my dad walking around, checking out the animals, me lecturing to him on what each species was, etc. (I used to read about animals so I would know all about them!) Have a great time at the zoo!
By
Mary, at 8:10 AM
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