Name: Keitha Lear
Class Year: Senior
Hometown: London, Ohio
Internship: Keeper Development Intern
Location: Dallas, Texas
I am halfway through my internship! It has gone by so fast;
I still feel like it is my first week here! Since my last blog, I went back to
the routes I have been on to learn how to disinfect their enclosures, food
dishes, and enrichment items. In the Keeper Development Section, we have a full
week where we disinfect everything because there aren’t enough hours in a day
to disinfect each animal’s enclosure before we have to put them out by the time
the zoo opens. So, we get a week to get it all done. After that week, I went
back to work with the goats in the Blue Barn for a more in-depth tour and to
learn their names (all of them are named after cities in Texas and I am really
bad at geography)! I also went on a browse run, which is required for keeper
who are in the “Blue Barn” route (shout out to Dr. Lehman and his “Trees of
Ohio” class where I got to use my knowledge of identifying trees to find food
for the goats). Then this past week, I helped out in the Program Animal Room
(or PAR). These animals are only seen during summer camps and when the
Education departments have talks. Therefore, these animals are found behind the
scenes. We have many species in PAR, from Rabbits to Guinea Pigs to Scorpions
to Blue Tongue Skinks and many more! I helped with the usual feeding, cleaning,
and giving out enrichment. I have not yet learned how to handle them, but I
hope to by the end of my internship! The only issue is that I am allergic to
rabbits and guinea pigs, so I have to wear a face mask every time I enter the
room. It is really a bummer for me because all of them are so cute and
irresistible!
In this blog, I want to talk about my research project. All
interns are required to complete a project by the end of their internship. Some
interns have a research project, while others have a project that needs done in
their section/ around the zoo. It was assigned to the intern by their mentor.
My project is research based. The Dallas Zoo got a pair of Keel-Billed Toucans
a couple months ago and just 3 weeks ago, a family (Mom, Dad, and Son) of
Bearded Emperor Tamarins were introduced to the toucans. This mixed species
habitat has never been done before and it is my job to study the behavior of
the toucans and tamarins and where they are in the enclosure, then analyze the
data. I practiced recording the behaviors for my first two weeks, then I am
going to be taking observations for 8 weeks, then finally I analyze my data and
present it to my section in my last two weeks. I am very honored to have gotten
assigned this project and I can’t wait to share the results, despite being
nervous about presenting in front of the Keeper Development Section! I’d like
to thank Dr. Young for having my class do behavior observations at the Columbus
Zoo my freshman year, without having that knowledge and practice, I would have
been even more nervous! I have been using a tablet that has the pre-set
behaviors on it. That way, I don’t have to worry about writing down the
behaviors; I can just touch a few buttons and keep focus on the animals!
In my next blog, I will share more routes that I
will get to go on and then the other perks of being a Dallas Zoo Intern as well
as more animals I got to work with outside of KDS! Thanks for reading! Bye
Y’all!
No comments:
Post a Comment