Critters, critters, and more critters

Yesterday was a "wow" day.

There aren't many of these in life so you have to really enjoy them when they roll around.

It was my first day as a volunteer at our local zoo.  My assigned areas are the ponies and Rocky Mountain Wild.  I will admit that I wasn't too thrilled about these assignments because I had wanted the penguins and hippos.  Gosh, was I ever wrong.  I even enjoyed hanging out with the ponies yesterday.

The "wow" came in the Rocky Mountain  Wild area.  I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I didn't want to be the geeky volunteer who can't put the camera away.

Here's a quick summary of some of things I got to do yesterday.

• I got to throw pieces of trout to the river otters to wake them up and get them going for the few zoo guests who braved the wind and cold to visit the zoo.  These guys are a bunch of clowns and might easily become my favorites.

• I got to get the grizzly's night time cages ready with hay, assorted vegetables, and bear chow.

• I got to hand feed the moose.  He apparently really likes to eat sticks.

• I got to muck buckets and buckets of pony poop and then take them to the compost bins.

•  I cleaned the turkey stall and then got to help round them up for the night.

•  I fed the ducks. 

• I got to be in the same room as a couple mountain lions.  One of them is recovering from surgery.  I will just tell you they are very leery of strangers. Their roar kind of sends chills through your spine.

• I got to help feed the lynx.  Although these lynx look sweet and cuddly, let me tell you I would not want to be alone with one.  They growl and roar--even the kits.  Their feet are unbelievably large too.

• I got to be there while they brought the river otters in for the night.

• I was in the room when they brought the grizzlies in for the night.  I always thought it would be quite intimidating to have a grizzly so close with only a chain link fence between us, but they were more interested in the food that was left out for them than the humans.

• This picture was taken in their enclosure by the side of their pool.  I was lucky enough to be able to go out there while the keepers did some training with them.

• I got to hang out with the porcupines.  This is the sweet female who just sat and sweetly ate her food.  You had to be on constant move from the male though because he follows you around--not to be mean, just because he wants to mark anything in his territory.

It was an amazing day not just because of the animals, but because of the keepers.  They were so grateful to have help and made me feel very welcome.  Most of all, they are so passionate about the animals they care for.  They don't only feed and clean up after them, they provide them with different types of enrichment that make their lives a little less monotonous.

It was a great, but physical demanding day.  I slept better last night than I have in ages.  Can't wait to go back again in two weeks.