Sorry it has been a while since my last post but I have been so busy! I have been feeding the animals at the zoo now for a few weeks and I am picking out the behaviors I want to learn. As an intern we automatically get to do waves, vocals, and piro (spinning in a circle) with all the animals. We also get to chose 7 other behaviors that we want to do with the animals. I think I have picked my final 7 and I look forward to learning the criteria and starting to do more things.
In addition to all of the things at the zoo I have started running! I know it's hard to believe if you know me. I just decided I wanted to get back into shape so I'm giving it my best try. I am now on my fourth week and have actually made some progress! I just hope I can keep up the routine.
I can't believe how fast this summer is going by. I am already halfway done with my internship! Things have been going really well at the zoo. I was quizzed on the behaviors that I chose to do with the animals and earned my bridge!! It is a big deal in the training world but for those of you who don't know it is just a whistle that you use to let the animal know that they have done the behavior correctly. Tomorrow I will be tested on how well I can use it. I also participated in a practice diver down where I had to "save" the other intern who "panicked." It turned out to be pretty cool even though the water we were diving in was 50 degrees! I also got to go to the plains area of the zoo and one of the plains keepers let me feed some of the birds and foxes! It was awesome and the birds actually came from the Brevard Zoo!
