Nature's A Bitch

This post was not one that I ever wanted to write, but sadly I felt I needed to.

We all know that nature is cruel, to those who don't think that, just consider that  only half of the new born gazelles born in Africa will survive their first year of life, or that many bird species have 2 chicks and leave the one that hatches second to die from starvation as that chick was only a back up (I saw this in the Galapagos Islands).

Knowing nature is cruel seems to just come with the territory but having sad news twice recently made me wish to tell you all.

Firstly 2 of the baby vervet monkey babies that I was following when in South Africa have died. I am so thankful not to have been there to discover this, because, from following them every day, you fall in love with their little personalities. It is not known what happened or when, just that one morning 2 were missing.

The more heartbreaking news is that on Tuesday afternoon our baby East Africa Rhino calf Fara at Chester Zoo also passed away.


Everything was done to try and save her when she started appearing ill in the morning but sadly there was nothing the team could do.

I am unbelievably honored to have been able to see such a rare part of nature, however sad at the outcome. From  the day that Fara was born until we were told the sad news, she brought a smile to everyone and excitement to many that have never gotten to see something so amazing and small.

Knowing that there really was nothing that anyone could have done to help her makes it harder in some ways, but, nature is a bitch and even a birth in captivity does not mean that the baby will survive.

image from ChesterZoo.org

To all those who sadly never got to see little Fara, its a great shame, but, it just means that we all need to work harder at preserving these species in the wild so that maybe in the future, you can be seeing them where they belong!

Love

My Placement so far

As many of you may know my current placement is at Chester Zoo where I am working as a 3 month intern with the Rhino Team.

My role involves HUGE amounts of poo, which is understandable due to the size of rhinos! In the morning we clean out all of the rhino enclosures inside and out providing them with plenty of food and nice new bedding, we then move onto the other animals on the section after break which include tapirs, capybara's, bongo, rowan, zebra, brown antler dear, and warthogs, just to name a few.

Exciting News

After returning from an amazing Ski trip in Les Arcs (there will be a post later) I arrived home to a letter from Chester Zoo!

Earlier this year I applied to Chester Zoo for a 3 month placement which would be part of my year in Industry. In November I had my interview and with the nervous wait of a month or so I have finally been given a placement to work with the Rhinos for a whole 3 months and I couldn't be more excited.

Why not big cats you say? Well, a 3 month placement at Chester for big cats would mean that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere near either tigers or lions as they are dangerous species and only people are there a year or longer would be able to. This meant that I wouldn't really gain as much hands on experience bar brushing and prepping food. Instead I mentioned my love for Rhinos and if I'm honest, any animal of that magnitude that lives in Africa which I love and to my amazement I was offered a place which means that I will get to work along side Rhinos but also Giraffes and other animals.

My interview went on, somehow for an hour, in which we discussed the types of questions you would expect when going to volunteer at a zoo, from the roles of a Zookeeper to why are Zoos important and much more. The whole interview experience made me feel very comfortable and welcome. Everyone who I met was so friendly that it meant I wasn't as nervous as I expected.

I still cant believe I have a placement, all it means now is that I need to find 2/3 more so bring it!!