On Monday, we went to the fantastic San Diego zoo and got to see some great shows and listen to some interesting and very important people. Bird/animal trainer extraordinaire, Steve Martin, of Natural Encounters Inc. is running a contract show there and we got to talk to him for quite a while and it was rather enlightening. Despite my general dislike of birds, I would deal with it if I could work with him. His company also does a lot of consultations with zoos and other organizations, so the work would eventually not be limited to birds. The new Elephant Odyssey Exhibit at the zoo is fantastic and we got a little behind the scenes look (not that there's much you can't see anyways) at how they run and a good talk with a keeper about their whole operations. Still an awesome zoo to see if you haven't yet!
Tuesday brought us to the San Diego zoo's wild animal park. Here they have a training compound where they run their cheetahs and you can currently pay a fee to see this as well. Look out though because in about a year, they are going to start offering it daily and for free! We got a good talk with all the trainers there about cheetahs and all the other wacky animals they work with. We then went on a tram ride to see the unique multi-species Africa exhibit where the animals are just mingling as they would in the wild (minus the predator factor). After that we found the new mule ride area and talked to the wranglers there. The mule ride takes visitors near the Africa exhibit, but then goes on a longer trail through the hills nearby. During the ride, they talk about the animals in the exhibit as well as the local landscapes and very endangered habitat they ride through. They are contracted to the zoo through Zoo to You, a company run by some of our grads. After our talk, I stayed and talked to the wranglers for a bit and I think they would have offered me a job on the spot had they not just hired. Still, it's a good prospect for a summer job if I can't find one.
Finally, Wednesday came and we got to go to Sea World! I've never been to one before so I was a little excited to see how this went. We got the royal treatment in the morning and were whisked around from stadium to stadium to talk to trainers about the sea lions, belugas, polar bears, otters, dolphins, and of course, the killer whales. After that, they gave us the afternoon to enjoy the park. We saw all the shows, of course, and it was really neat, despite the extreme cheese factor. I got to see the Anheiser-Bush clydesdales on their last day. The park was recently sold to another company, so the clydesdales had to go. It was a pretty good day, and I got to pet a dolphin for the first time! I found it all interesting, however, I also know none of that is for me as swimming/water creatures are not my thing.
On Thursday, we checked out of our hotel and hit the road. We made a detour to see Have Trunk, Will Travel, a most excellent elephant company. Any elephant you have seen in movies/TV/advertising or any elephant rides you see on the west coast area, it's them. Their facility is gorgeous and I would give my right arm to work there! The people were very nice and the elephants were cared for with the utmost precision and you could see it in everything they do.
We got home and then I had one somewhat normal day at the zoo. Since the semester is over now, I didn't have much to do besides some feedings now. The weekend brought our holiday event again, "Arctic Lights". The snow and everything happened just fine, just would have been nice to have more people... (Pictures from Six Flags: Discovery Kingdom: Saw fish, walrus, and sea lion)
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1 comment:
Sounds like you had a GREAT time!
Mark
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