ZooBorns

So I'm behind on my blog again, no surprise there. Still, I blame my MSc (well it must be good for something). As I'm settling down in the office to a day's work on the badger project, I thought it best to appease my fans with this website I found:

ZooBorns

So I'm probably a bit slow on the uptake as they've published books and everything, but if you don't already know it, they publish pictures of cute baby zoo animals like this one.

They also have an android app so you can look at cute pictures at any time (guaranteed to brighten even the darkest of days).

Reptiles and primates - An interesting combo

I had a lovely day at the zoo on Sunday. I worked on the primate and reptile sections, which was great since they're still very new to me and I always enjoy doing this I haven't done before. I started the day by cleaning out the squirrel monkeys, which I described to you last time.

I also got to spend time in the reptile house. I got to 'supervise' as the head keeper got one of the snakes out of the back to show the public (there is a rule that the snakes should only be handled with two keepers present). Suzie is an albino Burmese python; she is very large for an albino but not yet fully grown.

Once Suzie was put away, Steve got out one of the smaller snakes for me to hold – My first real snake holding experience, aside from the tiny green snake that some of you will remember in Nova Scotia. He also took the time to tell me about some of the snakes and turtles they have there.

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Back to primates, we also spent a good part of the morning giving the indoor gibbon enclosures a thorough clean. They're hoping that one of the gibbons is pregnant which would be fantastic for the keepers and the zoo. The tests have come back inconclusive so far, so fingers crossed.

Just before lunch, I got to feed Mr Jingles. I have a real soft spot for sloths so Mr Jingles is definitely a favourite of mine, and I love being able to hand feed him. I could reach him too so that was an improvement on last time. ;-)

To top off a great day with the primates, we spent some time in with the black and white lemurs. It’s always really special to spend some time with the animals and this was no exception. Although I wasn’t particularly sure about the lemurs climbing down my back where I couldn’t see them, it was great being able to make a fuss of them; I even got some licks from one of the males.

Obviously, this is not a picture of black and white lemurs; but here are a couple of ring-tails during the Feed a lemur experience. 

Then finally, the new tiger arrived. Narnia, the white tiger was moved down to the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent and has been replaced with Indy. They're hoping that Indy will get on better with Rocky, the male tiger and that they'll be able to share an enclosure. Rocky and Narnia had to be kept separated as they didn't get along.

A number of keepers, including myself had to help carry the moving crate into the separation enclosure so that she could be released. She went straight indoors so I couldn’t get a proper look at her, but hopefully I’ll have time for a visit now that she has settled in a bit.

Facts of the Week

Two-toed Sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni)

•  The sloth is the world's slowest animal. So slow, that algae can grow it's fur. This provides camoflage.
• They spend most of their time hanging from trees, even when sleeping (which they do for 15-20 hours a day).
• They are usually nocturnal, feeding at night.
• They are very good swimmers.
• While two-toed sloths can survive well in captivity, three-toed sloths can not.

Visitors to Birds of Paradise

I little late with my blog post again but better late than never :-)

Last week I was really pleased to be on the bird section of the zoo. I haven't been on birds for ages and I always enjoy working on the section.

I started off by going to the Toucan House (which really needs to be renamed as it only contains one toucan these days. I think I introduced you to the toucan the last time I was on the section. This time, not only did I get to clean out her enclosure, but I also hand fed her some grapes.

Despite reassurances that they had settled down somewhat, I refused to go into the enclosure with the sun conures; after being attacked twice now, I have no desire to get bitten again. Instead, I cleaned out the bats which I thought was much more fun ;-) I was warned that they will urinate on you, but I got in and out no problem at all, much to my relief.

The rest of the morning (and part of the afternoon) was more or less spent making up the foods. Although I do quite enjoy it, it does take a long time and by the end, I must confess I do get a little bored of cutting up apples. I also got to watch a bit of one of the shows - This is Stella, an eagle owl who was found living wild on an estate (living off the local cat population!).

In the afternoon, one of the other volunteers and I got to go and feed the penguins, who took this opportunity to all go for a swim (and they never go in the water). This makes feeding difficult, as we're not supposed to throw the fish in the water (in case they don't get eaten), however we stuck to putting them in the shallow part of the pool where we could easily get them out again.

At the end of the day, some visitors were brought to the Birds of Paradise section. The head primate/reptile keeper, thought it would be a nice idea to bring his new giant tortoises out of quarantine for the first time to enjoy a bit of sunshine and the fresh grass. The male tortoise wandered off almost immediately and happily set about eating the grass, the female was less sure and after a lot of sitting there, looking decidedly nervous anytime anyone went near her, she eventually headed towards a nearby tree.

 'Lancelot'*

 'Guinevere'*

*They don't actually have names yet, but one of the other volunteers and I came up with these two - The reptile keeper was less impressed. ;-)

The tortoises are about 12 and a half years old and were apparently living in someones garden until they got too big and were given to the zoo. As you can see from the photos they're already quite big but are expected to become a third bigger in size before they are full grown.

So here is my blog post for the day, I've finally got the photos up which go with the post. I wonder what section I'll be on tomorrow...

Chantil is fundraising for Earthwatch

Now that my trip is booked and definitely happening, the time has come to start plugging my JustGiving page. I still have to finalise the exact details of my fundraising challenge (and find some more people to join the challenge).

The aim: To raise funs for the Earthwatch koala conservation project in Australia which I'll be volunteering on in September.

The challenge: I'm hopefully going to be taking part in the Lake District 3000 - Climbing the 4 peaks in the Lake District over 3000ft over 2 days.

When: Dates still to be confirmed.

Where do I donate: Chantil Sinclair is fundraising for Earthwatch

Earthwatch is a charity which is very important to me. They help fund scientific research into conservation and enviromental issues such as climate change. I highly appreciate all of your donations.

Many Thanks.