It's a Zoo Life

Ciao ciao,

I have come to a conclusion!

Its impossible to dislike working with animals. No matter how rude, smelly, bitey, faeces-associated they become you just have to remember that your working with these unique, incredible personalities and all the misery just drops away. Luckily I have not been subject to biting or faeces throwing. Gibbons can be a bit like dogs, they like you or they don't and you'll be damned if you can ever figure out why. They all took to me, thankfully, because my study would be impaired, as would my dignity, if I had to endure the shitstorm (literally) they have been known to unleash on their least favourite people.

I DISLIKE YOU!!! 

That doesn't mean they don't drive me mad sometimes. I get up bright and early, in fact so early it isn't bright, its still cold and dark, just so I can be at the zoo when they are waking up. This morning I got my customary hello and watched them engage in their morning grooming. Gibbons groom to reinforce their social bonds, its pretty logical when you think about it. If you've ever petted a dog you'll know how it makes you feel closer to them and you tend to like them even more, and that feeling is reciprocated. Especially if that dog is Aidan. Pat him and he'll love you for life.

Aidan. He loves you and your pats. And liver treats. And whoever provides him with liver treats. 

So the morning grooming is a very important part of a gibbon's daily social calendar, and it is what I am there to see. Who grooms who and for how long is a very good indicator of the esteem the gibbons hold each other in.

However this morning they spent a few minutes out and about and then decided that it was too early and they all went back to bed. Meanwhile I would love to go back to bed but I had to sit on my flimsy folding chair, in the chilly wind, bored out of my brain and I couldn't even go get a coffee because it was too early for the shop to be open (and to be honest even if it was open, zoo coffee? seriously?).

I was decidedly hating life, and inwardly railing at the gibbons who had the luxury of going back to bed on a whim, when I heard the elephants behind me.

An asian elephant.

Those of you who are familiar with Perth Zoo will know they walk Tricia (the older elephant) around the zoo for exercise. What you wouldn't know, and I had forgotten, was both elephants get walked around the zoo outside of the zoo hours to give them exercise.

I was regretting my life long ambition to work with animals and miserable in the cold but then I found myself sitting a few feet away from these beautiful, majestic animals, and I remembered that I get to work with amazing animals all day. I will try to never take my luck for granted again. Even if the little ladies and gents do act up occasionally or do drive me to distraction regularly, I get to spend my days sitting in a beautiful tropical enclosure, watching gibbons, surrounded by amazing animals who I have the luck and the blessing to see more frequently and closer than many people would ever dream. It almost makes up for the terrible coffee, almost.

You will also be pleased to hear, or not care in the least, that I am still winning the turf war with the pelicans. They like to follow the sun around the exhibit. When the time comes to move to where I am sitting, the lead pelican, I call him My Hombre, gets his posse and conducts a swim-by. This is occurs when an armada of pelicans (I have no idea what the collective noun for pelicans is but I think armada is appropriate) fluffs up their wings, swims around island to get a run up, and then when they come past me, they slow down, and give me the evil eye.

I can see into your soul...

According to google, it is a pod of pelicans. I think armada is better. Besides google doesn't know everything... it just knows almost everything.

Unfortunately I am back in the office now, writing down everything I have seen at the zoo. My next major assessment is a presentation on my project proposal and to be honest I'm quite excited. I love nothing more than talking about my apes and particularly to a captive audience. And by captive I don't mean they are interested. They are trapped, literally, they have to be there. Mwahahaha.

And on that sinister note I will leave you to your pelican-haunted nightmares. 

Until next time my hombres.

xxx