From brushing fur coats, manicures, baths, new play toys, and just plain cuddle-time, Wild Wonders animal ambassadors get lots of TLC all year long. They deserve to be spoiled and our staff and volunteers wouldn’t have it any other way! Come & visit us, take a tour and see for yourself.
Valentino Lynx relaxing
Frankie Fox enjoys his new tunnel
Cezar gets ready for his manicure
Cuddle-time for Meadow
As part of our job as keepers we observe the animals constantly. So, to help us do this in a systematic way we do something that we call rounds.
Rounds are done three times a day and during this time we account for all the animals and make sure that there is nothing wrong. We check their food, water, shelter, house and also their body language as well as their behavior. That way we can supply them with more water or whatever they might need but also catch anything thats weird about their behavior.
An animals behavior tells us a lot and if something is wrong or an animal is sick you can often discover whats going on through how they are acting. Though, it doesn’t tell us everything, it can be the first step in finding out something is wrong. That’s why it is important for us to check on the animals regularly throughout the day.
Yet, in most cases everything is fine and you often get a grumpy animal looking at you because you just woke them up.
Here’s a few pics I took during am rounds…
Lou and Olivia
Siri
Kiki just waking up
Victor
This morning I had a few extra minutes to spend some quality time with Mozart and to give him some well deserved treats. Its important for us to hand feed Mozart as well as spend time with him so he can get more comfortable being around us.
He was very cute earlier as he decided he wants the bigger treat from my hand and then flaunted it in front of Jackson.
Check out the video!
Coming up on August 10th,11th, 17th and 18th we are having our
keeper-for-a-day programs.
This is a chance for any animal lover age 8-13 to see what it would be like to be an actual zoo keeper. The program is from 9am-1pm. During this time the junior keepers will learn how to prepare diets, make behavioral enrichment, and feed and clean some of our animals.
This is a great opportunity to see if zoo keeping is something you would like to do as a career or just a chance to learn more about animals. Once the feeding and cleaning is finished, you will get to see all the 120+ animals we have at our facility and touch some of our animal ambassadors.
To learn more check out the website or call Wild Wonders at 760-630-9230.
If you want to participate in this exciting program but are unavailable during those days, make sure to keep checking the website for upcoming days or give us a call.
Some of you know that Buster has been staying with Tamara, one of our staff members, to help him get the attention he needs. On occasions such as today, Tamara brings Buster in to visit and we all get to spend some time with him. Today, he has been very talkative and interacting a lot with the volunteers and staff while we feed the other animals. He was so cute sitting on his perch saying “Buster” and “meow” that I wanted to get some video of him. Unfortunately, he often gets quite when people pay attention to him so I tried the best I could to get him to say a few things. Still, its great to have him around, we all miss him so much when hes gone. Luckily, he wont be gone for too long and he visits often. Check out the video!
As I walked around the facility today I decided to give the Kinkajous some extra treats. Though all staff members are able to feed and clean every animal, it takes more time to build a strong enough relationship to take an animal to a show. So, while I went around and hand fed the Kinkajous, I also worked on building a better relationship with each of them.
Take Linus for instance, I am unable to take him to a show but I make sure that each time I’m here I spend a little time with him. It takes more than an animal seeing you everyday to have that animal trust and be comfortable with you. That’s why its so important to socialize with as many animals as possible while we are working.
Here are some cute videos.
Maya eating some monkey bread
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDymV6E5SZc
Kiki enjoying some honey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS-IF8_TCGE
Linus eating honey
Everyday the Kookaburras get fed but most often our volunteers have already gone home for the day. So, in case you’ve never seen a Kookaburra eat, you should check out this video. It is really interesting to see how they swallow their food.
Its starting to get hot again and we are working overtime to keep the animals cool. Its always a challenge to find new ways to keep them hydrated and cooled down. For some of the animals just a nice bit of shade or an ice bottle will do. For others they like the ones that involve treats or some kind of enrichment. Sitka for instance likes to play with whatever we give him. So, today I gave him an ice cube with apples frozen in it. He spent quite a long time getting to the apples while he cooled down from the ice. Its important to keep the animals at a comfortable temperature but its also a lot of fun to watch them try out our methods to maintain those temperatures.
The animals of Wild Wonders are really enjoying the summer weather. Tiani, our Siberian Lynx usually likes a cooler climate, but these June days bring out the kitten in her. The cats love the exercise yard & spend lots of time rolling in the grass & playing with toys in the pond. Come for an Interactive Tour & watch the animal antics. Get up close & personal with amazing animals like Tiani!
Animals have holidays practically everyday but when a holiday does come around for us humans, animals tend to engage in the same activities we do. For example:
Some tend to hang out by the pool
Some often go to the beach and sun bathe
We might spend the day outside
Some spend their day partaking in the activity of eating
Some just cuddle up with their loved ones
And others don’t even get out of bed at all
Happy Memorial Day!
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