Animal Training Practicum: This is a fancy name for our training class, which is just a lab this time. This semester we focus mostly on training behaviors for the Spring Spectacular show, or other fun public interactive things where possible.
Elementary Vet Procedures II/Lab: This is the continuation of last semester's lecture and lab. This time, we present the big paper we wrote last semester in a slide show/talk. Lab is rounded out with blow dart training and gun safety!
Ethical and Legal Issues: This is also called "Applied Animal Ethics". It's taught by a guy from outside the program, but he's been doing it a long time and loves the program. Here we will learn about the different issues about utilizing animals they way they currently are and what all sides of the arguments are so we can better defend the right to do what we do.
Projects: Yep, there's a class for this. This never formally meets, but it's how we get to do all the cool travels we have coming in April!
Second Year #2 Zoo Work Skills: This is the catch-all again. Covers our day-to-day duties on the zoo. Area, day watch, feedings, etc.
Wildlife Education III Lab: This is the class where we are broken into our two casts and start building and rehearsing our fantastic show for Spring Spectacular.
Zoo Days III: Just zoo days again. This time we have two at LA and one at Santa Barbara.
There's your class break-down, now to my actual week:
Started on Sunday with my first zoo day of the semester. I did the Wild Woods string at LA. It was sweet! The guy was really nice and it was lots of fun to hang out and watch the wild dogs be totally nuts. He also helped me by talking about working in zoos and he seems to think that I'd be good in a zoo environment...well, he only knew me for the one day, but we'll see. The rest of the week was insanity with classes and Spring Spec. stuff starting to happen. A lot of my classes were somewhat preempted by all the medical issues our animal population continues to run into. It was decided that on Friday, Legend (our Gray wolf) and the rest of the three sheep would be put down. They were all really old and definitely at the end of their lines. It was a rough day for everyone. I spent that morning taking Buddy, the raccoon, to the vet to be checked out. He has congestive heart failure, so we are playing a waiting game, but also treating him at the same time. Our population continues to shrink... My week ended with another, and my final, LA zoo day. I repeated the Indian rhino string since I didn't get the full experience last time. There was lots of craziness there with things that I am betting they don't want me talking about on the internet, so I won't. I still had a great day and I really enjoyed feeding Jabba, the hippo at the end of it. One more zoo day, and that's all over now! (Pictures: Legend, a sheep, Six Flags: Discovery Kingdom--Tigers)
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