BEE BALM AND ZOO EXPERIENCES

          Bee Balm apparently comes in many colors, at least according to the flower catalogs I get in the mail. I’d like to have some in each color, but I’m going to have to be satisfied with the pink. This is probably the first year in forever I haven’t ordered a single thing from any of the catalogs I receive. I figured why add anything when I’ll be moving, but now I’m wondering if or when that will ever happen.

I do leave the bee balm seed heads over the winter because the birds like them. I also used to have several clumps that were in sort of a row at the edge of the flowerbed, but they’ve migrated into just one clump. It’s funny how some plants get bigger and take over more territory while others consolidate into a smaller space.

Today I’ve decided to write about various animal experiences at Woodland Park Zoo. I was always so careful about asking for favors because I knew how hard everyone worked and now I’m saddened I didn’t take better advantage of my job and position. I could have probably increased my exposure by 100% based on stories I’ve heard from other folks.

This photo is of a male lion which I took quite some time ago. I was invited to and allowed into the Feline House. I wandered around behind the scenes, taking pictures of the various cats. I was hunkered down taking photos of this cat when he suddenly reared up, charged the bars and roared. Did I really need to tell you I fell over on my ass and my heart rate rocketed???

The baby kitties are the absolute best. This is a “secret” photo of one of the tiger cubs. No one was supposed to be around the mom and babies. Mom was off doing something away from her babies and I and another zoo staff person were snuck into the building to take some photos. I so badly wanted to go into the space and pick those kitties up…not allowed as it might make the mom really unhappy. At a later time, I got to go to Animal Health when they were doing an exam on a baby tiger. It was so quiet until about two minutes after it was put back into it’s carry cage to be returned to its mom. It was unbelievably noisy, growling and screaming. I’m surprised the mom couldn’t hear it half way up the zoo. Still, I got to take pictures and how many people actually get to even do that?

When it came to the snow leopards, I got to see/hold the babies twice during my career there. The first time, it seemed to be more of a pity experience because both myself and the other staff person on the experience were being treated for cancer…I survived, she didn’t. That time, it was so hot outside and we had to wear rubber gloves so we couldn’t really feel the kitties. Still, I held one up to my face and felt it’s fur…it wasn’t soft and cuddly, it was coarse and stiff. The second time I went with a couple of other staff people and again, we weren’t allowed to hold the kitties, but we could pet them without wearing gloves. Still great experiences. I also got the chance to be with/touch one in Animal Health. Look at the size of that tail. It was huge and very heavy.

I love the lemurs. The keeper there took a ton of photos of me feeding them, but did I look up even once??? Nope, I was so engrossed in feeding and interacting with them. Amazing.

The zoo doesn’t have elephants any longer and I’d forgotten that John had an opportunity to not only visit the Elephant Barn, but an opportunity to interact with Chai and Baby Hansa. I found this photo which I didn’t remember having. He got the chance because one of the elephant keepers who led our Kenya trip invited him to drop by…so we did.

Jaguars, cannot forget the jaguars. Initially, we had Junior and his mom, but somehow in their playing, he killed his mom. The zoo got new jaguars after that and they had babies. I don’t remember now if these were the first ones or the triplets that came later. In any case, the keeper invited both myself and another staff person to the Tropical Rain  Forest to meet and feed the three babies. We got to give them rolled up turkey meatballs.

Can you find all three

And, the only time I ever got to see a jaguar swim was when the zoo had invited a very important person to come visit. The keeper hung raw chicken from the vines in front of the jaguar exhibit. In order to get the chicken, the jaguar had to get in the water and swim to the glass. So exciting. Also exciting was when the jaguar exhibit opened. Toddlers would walk about right in front of the glass and the jaguar would stalk them…we referred to those toddlers as kidsicles.

Orangutans look so intelligent and yet are so kid-like. They hide beneath their gunnysacks and think we cannot see them, kind of like little kids who think you can’t see them playing peek-a-boo. Just before the orangutan exhibit was to open, I went there to check it out. Towan, the big male, was, I thought, sitting on his sister. There was another zoo staff person there. I told Towan to stop and the staff member informed me they were actually copulating…soooooooo embarrassed. I got the opportunity to hold Towan’s hand in Animal Health during an exam…doesn’t my hand look tiny in his???

There were other opportunities not within zoo grounds. One year, the Board Retreat was held at a donor's home. A woman who works on behalf of cheetahs came and brought her cats. I didn't get to pet them or get very close, but just being THAT close to a cheetah on a leash and taking photos was so special. And, I cannot forget the year the dinosaurs visited for the summer. 

The zoo has been working on behalf of the Western Pond Turtle for ages. I think it was my last year I finally went on a turtle release trip. The eggs are collected, the turtles headstarted at the zoo and once too big to be eaten by a bullfrog (not native to the northwest) they are released in a couple of different spots in Washington and Oregon. Amazing and very important work that's kept these turtles from going extinct.

During my last few months at the zoo, I was given permission to bring my sons and grandchildren to the zoo for special experiences behind the scenes. I’d make arrangements and then we’d, those of us that could, show up. I was and they were so fortunate to be able to encounter so many of the animals on a one-to-one basis, i.e., penguins, giraffe, hippos, grizzlies, orangs, raptors. I’m sure there were others, but I’d need to find the USB drive that holds all the experiences and who knows which one it is in the pile.

A zoo is a wondrous place to work. I feel incredibly lucky to have had Woodland Park Zoo in my neighborhood during my child and young adulthood. I was blessed to have my first job there as well as to end my Executive Assistant career at the zoo. Besides the photos, I have so many memories…all of them good of all the two-legged, four-legged and no-legged animals, human and non that added so much to the tapestry of my life.