A Birth-DAY at the Zoo

Today was my first face to face time for my Master's of Zoology program. This time is spent at the zoo and deals with how to teach scientific inquiry to students of all ages. We spent part of the day observing the animals so I thought I would share some of my favorite photos of the day.

This gorilla is in honor of my mom. She loves all of the greater apes and it was fun to be able to get so close. In fact this primate was only about three or four feet from where I was standing! He seemed to enjoy entertaining the crowd and had a stare out with me for a few minutes.

This giraffe is named "Olivia." Sarah loves giraffes and I wanted to get some video, but they were being fed in their barn, so Olivia was on her way to dinner! :) I hope to get a chance to feed them this week.

This Malayan Bear is from Borneo and is endangered there. Our class was able to prepar the "enrichment" you see him playing with there. Inside were peanuts, dried apricots and grapes. The keeper also gave them (there's also a female in the enclosure) a whole watermelon which they loved! Enrichment is not just for nourishment, but also to stimulate the animals' sense of play. (It was fun for us too!)

I had to take about 20 pictures of this tucan before I could get one that wasn't blurry. He seemed to know I wanted to get a "still" picture of him.

Wolves are one of my favorite animals. Gray wolves actually come in different colors, but are still called "gray." When I was growing up in San Diego I was called up to the stage during an animal show. A wolf came out and actually knocked me over and licked me on the face! That said, keep in mind that these are NOT dogs and should never be treated as such.

I throughly enjoyed my birthday and even though I am alone in a hotel room, I was warmed by all of the sweet messages on facebook. I feel loved. I'm living my passion. I'm blessed beyond measure.