Feed Me All Night Long -- You Can Do It!

[anarchist_nomad]

Safely ensconced in my dorm room at Tokai now, writing as the wind whips the rain past my window. Have not seen much of the town yet... though most of what I have glimpsed looks like it is back to normal post-quake. Most, though not all. Some buildings -- like the "Pono Pono" Hawaiian restaurant -- are covered in scaffolding as they get restored.

I have unpacked and settled in, so I shall be off to sleep soon. Early morning tomorrow and I want to try to beat the jet lag before it has a chance to take hold. Before logging off for the night, though, I wanted to post a couple of pictures from Sunday. A couple of people have expressed interest in the "Zookeeper for a Day" experience that the wonderful cheshcat purchased for me. Thus, until I have time for a proper write-up, here are some sample photographs![*]

1. The first set of pictures was taken whilst I was feeding lemurs. They are so cute -- particularly the ring tailed ones! I started by tossing the food to them, or bending over to let them take the vegetables out of my hand:
   
   
   
   Apparently, the little guys like their veg better when it has been steamed!
   
   
   
   I was standing under a tree to feed them. Being climbers, some eventually decided to take a more pro-active approach, rather than waiting until I brought the food to them! Here comes one, sneaking up on an unsuspecting Nomad!
   
   
   
   Of course, such efforts should never go unrewarded!
   
   
   
   
2. Equally cool, but in a completely different way, here is everybody's favourite Nomad getting all close and cuddly with a two year old crocodile!
   
   

At the risk of repeating myself, this really was an utterly amazing day! For an animal lover like myself, cheshcat really picked the perfect gift!!

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[*] Photography courtesy of the lovely miss_amaranth, who took over 800 shots in the space of about eight hours!

Comments

[stormdog.livejournal.com]

That sounds entirely fantastic! I'd love to see more pictures. We'll have to compare crocodile stories. *grins*

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

We'll have to compare crocodile stories.

Ooooh -- absolutely!

(Just one more of the many things for us to talk about when I see you next month! *grins back widely*)

[if0x.livejournal.com]

That looks like it was a ridiculously amazing day! Am insanely jealous!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*smiles* It really was!

Apparently, a lot of zoos have this sort of program. So cheshcat shopped around to see what the differences were. Ultimately, the one she picked was particularly excellent for a couple of reasons. One is that the Cotswold Wildlife Park runs "Keeper for a Day" as a one-on-one encounter -- they only schedule one person on any given day. Other zoos run groups, rather than individuals. For instance, the London Zoo takes groups of up to five people around. Another is that it was a full day event. We arrived at 9am, before the park had even opened, and left when it closed at 6pm. Apparently, there are some places that only run this sort of thing for half a day. Finally, it was really excellent to know that all the money from the "Keeper for a Day" program goes into only two things -- conservation efforts and sending keepers to conferences. Indeed, one of the keepers, in the reptile house, thanked me for participating, citing an especially good conference that he recently went to from that pot of money! :-D

I don't know where you live, but I would definitely recommend seeing if any nearby zoos have a similar program. It was a unique experience and a truly fantastic day!

[miss-amaranth.livejournal.com]

I have just one thing to say to this: AWWWW!

(Also, I'm slightly pleased with how the photos came out! *grin.*)

I love you
xxxxxx
xxxxxx

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Yes, well done with the camera, Sweetheart!

I particularly like the fourth shot with the lemur -- there is some lovely dynamic motion captured in that picture! Well done, indeed!

Also, there are many many more photographs left to peruse! Yay!

Love you!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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[whisperkit.livejournal.com]

Wow, that looks like you had a breathtaking time. I'm completely jealous, but very happy for you! ;D

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Awwwww -- thank you! :-D

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

As a huge fan of lemuroids of all descriptions, you can only begin to undrstand how jealous I am!

I'm also a member of the John Aspinall Foundation which attempts to breed and re introduce endangered species such as lowland gorillas into their native habitat (they run the zoos at Howletts and Port Lympne down here in Kent)

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

As a huge fan of lemuroids of all descriptions

Agreed! Lemurs are pretty awesome! (Which is why they got the biggest share of airtime in my first photo spread from the weekend! *grin*)

Also, it is worth noting that, although the above pictures focus on the ring-tailed guys, the Cotswold Wildlife Park has several different species of lemurs. See, for instance, the following picture of a red-bellied lemur leaning on me to double check for himself when the food dish was really empty:



The motion-induced blur means this is not a great picture -- indeed, I may try cropping my head out of it and focusing from the chest down -- but the little guys are just so adorable!

Lest I forget: As far as conservation efforts go, see my above comment to if0x about why this particular "Keeper for a Day" programme is especially awesome! :-D

Very glad that you liked the pictures. I'm trying to think which ones to post next. Perhaps a sequence from feeding the giraffes...

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

awww I love the croc!

I want to go again!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Ain't he a cutie? *big smiles*

When cheshcat arranged this for me as a birthday present, back in March, I was rather excited. However, between then and now, hearing about your own experience as a keeper just made me all the more bouncy with anticipation! It was such an excellent day!

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

OMG so much envy

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*grin* Aren't they adorable? Will try to post more pictures soon, so that the lemurs and crocodile don't get all the airtime! :-D

[cjtremlett.livejournal.com]

Yay! These are wonderful!

I expect lemurs to be cute, but that is also a very cute croc you've got there!

And the Nomad is also always adorable!

[miss-amaranth.livejournal.com]

"And the Nomad is also always adorable!"

IAWTC :-)

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Awwwww -- thank you! Very glad that you like, hon!

And, yes, the crocodile is surprisingly cute, isn't it?[*] Actually, looking at that picture now, it looks almost too perfect to be real! It almost seems as if I am holding a well-molded plastic crocodile there! Which I know to not be the case, as it thrashed about something fierce a couple of times whilst I was holding it!

P.S. Thank you, sweetie, for the kind comment about Nomad adorability! Maybe I should put up an LJ poll to see if I can compete on the front with a baby croc? *wink* (I wouldn't dare go up against ring-tailed lemurs, though, as I would have no chance whatsoever!!)

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[*] I use the gender neutral pronoun because, when we asked, we were told that the keeper did not yet know the gender of the little one. Which surprised me -- partially because it is two years old and partially because crocodiles have a temperature-dependent sex determination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature-dependent_sex_determination). In other words, the temperature of the eggs decides the gender of the baby crocodile. Since these eggs were laid in captivity -- from parents who are at the same zoo -- I would have guessed that the sex of the six babies would have been determined, or at least known, by the staff!

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Those lemurs have such amazing taaaaaaaaaaails! And the juvenile croc looks kinda cute and harmless... now....

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Those lemurs have such amazing taaaaaaaaaaails!

*grin* Aren't they absolutely awesome?

And the juvenile croc looks kinda cute and harmless... now....

Indeed!

The head of the reptile house mentioned that those jaws (and teeth) can already draw blood... but would not do much more harm than that... yet.

Although I have to say: Right before that picture was taken, we had spent some time looking at iguanas and snakes (including a black mamba) whilst discussing how the entire reptile house had been re-designed from scratch four years ago to make it more appropriate to the animals and more interesting to the public. As that conversation wound down, the keeper said something to the effect of: "And now for something a little more hands-on." With that, he opened the back door to the crocodile's habitat. Not what I had expected from "hands-on"! My first thought was along the lines of: "Eeeeeeeeep!" But holding (and petting) the little guy was really a rather amazing experience!

[skibbley.livejournal.com]

Awww to cute animals. Just seen similar today in the Isle of Wight.

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Awwwwww, indeed! *big smiles*

I do love the Isle of Wight... but have never visited animals there. Which zoo did you go to?

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

And on a completely unrelated note...your hair is getting LONG. ;-D

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*grins* Thank you, sweetie! I'm rather pleased with it! Nearly as long as a lemur's tail now, methinks! :-D

P.S. Can't wait to see you in December! I miss you and J! I know it is only September now, but I am already getting excited for our Solstice plans!

[ms-redcat.livejournal.com]

The lemurs are especially cute!

My girl did zoo camp at the Bronx Zoo as a kid. If they did individual animal feedings (especially of penguins!) I would so get that as a present for her!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*grin* You mean like this?



Seriously, though, you should definitely look into it! Believe me, this makes an absolutely fantastic gift! Something you don't expect, something unusual... and something you will always remember! Go for it -- I bet she will love it!

By the way: Am very much looking forward to seeing you in less than two weeks! Yay! In the past, you have mentioned bringing your partners along to the Sooper Sekrit festival. Are they joining you this time?

*big hugs -- virtual now, real soon!*

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

That looks most awesome fun.

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*grin* It was indeed a fantastic day out! If you ever get the opportunity, I heartily recommend it!! :-D