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memento1So yesterday was a crappy, crappy day. I could go into detail about the crappiness, but I really don't care to relive it or document it for all eternity. So let's just say it was crappy and leave it at that.
Today, on the other hand, was much nicer. Slept in (finally!), read a bit (I'm reading a stupendously crappy fantasy novel a former intern left in the bathroom...it passes the time), and opened for a big Sunday crowd. I did the opening fox talk, which went wonderfully as all foxes were active and present for treats (it's really no fun giving a fox talk with no foxes around). In the middle of my talk, the wolves started howling. This is quite an unusual occurance, as they almost never howl in the middle of the day, but it was very cool and overcast weather. So that gave me a great segway into wolf behavior. Brought the whole group out to the bison field for the wolf/bison demonstration, and it was a treat. They brought in the Alphas, who are always great hunters and provide for interesting bison interactions, but today was really superb because of the cool weather. They spent almost the whole hour testing bison, running back and forth and trying to pull bison out of the herd. Seneca actually got a mouthful of fur off of a bison's head, but it got really interesting when a mother and calf broke off to appraoch the other herd who was temporarily enclosed in the next field because of two injured calves. The wolves immediately caught on and went running after the pair. One mother and one calf is no match for 3 wolves, and for a moment it looked like the wolves had a chance, but then the rest of the herd came running over, all stamping and snorting and chasing the wolves everywhere. They had another chance with another wandering calf a while later, which was just as exciting but just as short-lived, before breaking off and heading in for the day. It was absolutely fascinating, and the staff all agreed next week they will give the bison a break and put in the less-skilled Pillow Pack, because too many demonstration like this one and the bison are sure to slip up sooner or later. It was the best demo I've yet seen, though, and probably the best one I will. I felt quite privelaged to be there.
I had the big tour immediately following the feeding demonstration, and again, because of the cool weather, almost all of the wolves were active and curious, so several came up to the fence and checked out the crowd before Marko went around feeding deer parts, which was just as interesting. So it was a great tour.
We were invited to the movies with Monty (the staff photographer), so a few people went to The Bourne Supremacy, and Monty, Pat, Veronica and I went to I, Robot. It was pretty good. Not outstanding or particularly memorable, but it was action packed, funny, and entertaining, so I was happy. On the ride back, we were commenting on Monty's techno music, and he played for us his Russian Hip-Hop Techno, so I now have on loan a very eclectic and totally Monty mix CD which includes the Hamster Dance song and Sesame Street Techno. All in all, a very good day ;)
Today, on the other hand, was much nicer. Slept in (finally!), read a bit (I'm reading a stupendously crappy fantasy novel a former intern left in the bathroom...it passes the time), and opened for a big Sunday crowd. I did the opening fox talk, which went wonderfully as all foxes were active and present for treats (it's really no fun giving a fox talk with no foxes around). In the middle of my talk, the wolves started howling. This is quite an unusual occurance, as they almost never howl in the middle of the day, but it was very cool and overcast weather. So that gave me a great segway into wolf behavior. Brought the whole group out to the bison field for the wolf/bison demonstration, and it was a treat. They brought in the Alphas, who are always great hunters and provide for interesting bison interactions, but today was really superb because of the cool weather. They spent almost the whole hour testing bison, running back and forth and trying to pull bison out of the herd. Seneca actually got a mouthful of fur off of a bison's head, but it got really interesting when a mother and calf broke off to appraoch the other herd who was temporarily enclosed in the next field because of two injured calves. The wolves immediately caught on and went running after the pair. One mother and one calf is no match for 3 wolves, and for a moment it looked like the wolves had a chance, but then the rest of the herd came running over, all stamping and snorting and chasing the wolves everywhere. They had another chance with another wandering calf a while later, which was just as exciting but just as short-lived, before breaking off and heading in for the day. It was absolutely fascinating, and the staff all agreed next week they will give the bison a break and put in the less-skilled Pillow Pack, because too many demonstration like this one and the bison are sure to slip up sooner or later. It was the best demo I've yet seen, though, and probably the best one I will. I felt quite privelaged to be there.
I had the big tour immediately following the feeding demonstration, and again, because of the cool weather, almost all of the wolves were active and curious, so several came up to the fence and checked out the crowd before Marko went around feeding deer parts, which was just as interesting. So it was a great tour.
We were invited to the movies with Monty (the staff photographer), so a few people went to The Bourne Supremacy, and Monty, Pat, Veronica and I went to I, Robot. It was pretty good. Not outstanding or particularly memorable, but it was action packed, funny, and entertaining, so I was happy. On the ride back, we were commenting on Monty's techno music, and he played for us his Russian Hip-Hop Techno, so I now have on loan a very eclectic and totally Monty mix CD which includes the Hamster Dance song and Sesame Street Techno. All in all, a very good day ;)
