It was cold the first day, lovely the second and progressively colder the third. I got to feed with Mike and our neighbours (Dave, Susanne and Emma) the first day and my co-worker Clare the next two. It was all a ploy to get my vet and operations manager to FINALLY take a day off. It dubiously worked.
Feeding the animals is very cool. The animals are so happy to see you - literally, they run when they see you - even the lynx.
When it comes to feeding, the preserve is kind of like a great big farm. We haul hay and scoop pellets - just on an enormous scale. And, of course, the animals are very different and really spectacular to get close to. Also, between the hay and the pellets comes some less than ordinary opportunities - feeding the kestrels that we are rehabilitating, for instance.
Ironically, the part I struggle with the most is counting the animals. There is a real art to finding and counting the animals. They move, they hide, they blend into their surroundings. More than once, I had to loop around and around before finally finding all the animals I needed to. Imagine, an enclosure of 9 caribou and I couldn't find one!
Overall, though, I would say we did pretty good. I followed instructions very carefully and did everything I think Maria wanted us to do. The animals were happy, healthy and I only got locked into an enclosure once (in the caribou enclosure, Clare thought I had left, it was hilarious)!
Getting in there and getting my hands dirty, figuratively and literally, is a great way to remember why I work at the preserve. Certainly, I was not born to do manual labour for a living, but I'm really thrilled I get to do this once in awhile, and I think I just may make it a regular thing.
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