The End

Wow the week moved so quickly.  And what a week it was.  It was one filled of training, X-rays, cleaning, and just loving on these creatures that have been my closest allies the last few weeks! I have finally figured out why I love giraffes so much.  THEY ARE LIKE DRAGONS WITHOUT WINGS!  Seriously think about it.  

A huge (giraffe huge) shout out to head keeper Allison Kao.  She has an amazing talent at training and working with these awesome animals.  Plus she has been wonderful to work with in some of the most unfavorable situations.  She doesn't know it but I got her some sushi for tomorrow as a thank you.  We are going to picnic on the Safari trail in the giraffe exhibit; hopefully far enough that the giraffe's tongues can't reach it!  

I am going to miss living and breathing giraffes.  Period.  And yes they still are my favorite animal for those of you still wondering.  They are simply amazing creatures and I cannot wait to work with them again, which happens to be tomorrow.  Yes, though my hours have been reached, I am going to try and stay in the barn as much as possible these next two weeks before I leave the Zoo.  I am also planning on following the veterinary staff for a couple days; I am really excited about that!  

I have learned so much.  This has turned out to be an amazing adventure (Tom quit counting the times I write amazing)--but it isn't over yet.  I will continue to try and update my experiences in the zoo for the rest of the month.  Thank you faithful readers.  Here, someone else wants to say goodbye!

The Fray Live @ Red Rocks 

I went to Red Rocks this weekend to see The Fray--it was definitely the best concert I have ever been too.    The venue in the middle of nowhere outside of Denver and is simply a beautiful venue.  You can see the Denver skyline below.  There was a torrential downpour for the opening acts and I was beginning to think it was going to be a long evening of being soaked.  But amazingly, the rain quit when The Fray took the stage; it was definitely an answered prayer!  

  

We arrived pretty early to the concert and I got to meet Isaac Slade, the lead singer!  It was so cool that the band took the time to meet some fans and there is something neat about being able to tell an artist that you think their music is awesome.  I gave my camera to a random person and had them take this picture; I had to have something to prove to my twin I wasn't lying!

Here are some more pics:

The band at the end of the show.

Amazing night.  This one is going down in the books.

Giraffe Tongues and Jazz

This is Mawimbi our 12 year old bull.  I spent a lot of time hanging out with him today.  He makes the funniest expressions:

How can anyone refuse giving him a cracker when he looks at you like that?

This is Ajali.  She has shoes on her feet because her front hooves were giving her problems.  She gives a whole new meaning to high heels!

And Mawimbi again shows off his long tongue.  I was standing right here the other day and almost ran right into a tongue hanging down above my head!

I had a great night in down town Colorado Springs.  One highlight was getting to see this great jazz band perform at an Irish pub with my friend Emma!

The upright bass player was amazing.  It was a little weird that there were bouncers outside the pub; they take their jazz seriously!

Friends visiting the zoo and Redrocks tomorrow in 40 degree weather! Bring it on Colorado, you forget I am used to Iowa weather!

The questions of visitors

I have found a pattern or maybe a correlation between our giraffe arrangements during the day and the questions visitors ask.  Well because in some indirect way you guys are visitors to this zoo, might I even go so far as saying "backstage, VIP visitors", I thought I would give some answers to the most common questions.  

The number one question asked is: Why is that guy in his own pen outside?

Answer:  He is a male.  We are selective on who we let him breed so he does not have full access to females all the time.  You can tell he is a male by the bumps on his face which leads to question two.

#2. Why are there bumps on his face; is he sick?

Answer:  No he is not sick or being punished.  Those bumps are calcium deposits and they get those when they reach sexual maturity. So Mahali, a male who was castrated when he was young, does not have those.  

#3.  Why are there giraffes inside during the day?

Answer:  Becky, the white one is usually inside because she is old and we do not force her to go outside.  She often remains inside and chooses to do so.  Every once in a while, once this week, she goes out for the day.  This is related to question #4.

#4.  Why are there giraffes in stalls inside?

Answer:  There are giraffes in inside stalls because they are limping and need to rest and have a soft place to stand and lay down; the sand stall is a perfect fit.  

#5 Has a giraffe been trained to catch a frisbee? 

I tried to answer to this crazy question as logical as I could:  No, they are hoove stock animals meaning they would be scared at something flying at them.  He went on to tell me that if I wanted to get ahead as an intern I need to bounce off ideas like that.  I think Allison has enough on her plate as far as training goes with 20 giraffes and all, as it is.  

And the list goes on! Really though, I have been having a great time meeting people from all over.  It is so cool to see how excited they are about the zoo and the giraffes specifically.  I have some help me do the draw bridge or medicate giraffes to make their experience even more defining.  

Today we did more X-rays on two of our giraffes today and did some training again:

Kahlid doing his neck stretches!

Allison rewarding Kahlid for targeting and following her around the yard.

The coolest thing ever.  

Night.  

I tried a giraffe cracker and I liked it.

After feeding many to the giraffes, I decided it was time I try one.  The verdict: it was actually good.  I would compare it to a wheat thin.  And with banana on top of it, I can see why they go crazy for them! 

It looks like there will be more for me now and less for them! 

I skyped my twin in Alaska today so I didn't have as much time to blog tonight.  So to make up for it, enjoy this video of Kahlid getting his enrichment in his stall.  

Tetanus Shots for the Giraffes

When I think about getting shots, I go back to my childhood when I received the whole rabies series.  Now since then, I have grown to not care about getting them, but there was a brief time when I was afraid.  Most of the giraffes are in this stage and are scared of needles and the vet tech who routinely "sticks" them!  So as they were going outside, we would give them the vaccine in the butt from a long pole.  A couple managed to dodge the whole endeavor and probably bragged to the others the rest of the day--but tomorrow they will get theirs.

20 giraffes = a ton of needles and vaccines!

Here is a picture of the majority of the herd.  Today I accomplished something I am very proud of--I was able to identify all of them today.  I believe that is Betty Frances in front and Tamu on the left.  Betty is the youngest and Tamu is 26 years old.

Want to know just how long a giraffe's tongue is?

Their tongues range from 18-21 inches in length!

So there is a picture above our restroom door in the giraffe barn that I thought needed to be shared:

Only in a zoo.  Night.

I thought the snow was long gone.

Today it snowed.  

This meant that the giraffes stayed indoors.  They only go outside if the ground is dry and the temperature is above 40 degrees.  It was difficult today because it is hard to shift and separate the giraffes and the Okapi into the six stalls.  The weather's implications left little time for training and other extras today.

I have a video of the training that is done with Kahlid.  You will see the keeper Allison using her target stick to get him to stretch his neck.  You also get to see Kahlid crouch down like he is taking a drink of water! Enjoy: