Yesterday’s
post was about John and the wild bear and AJ feeding Denali and Keema back in
1998. It made me think of all the special times I was extremely fortunate to
have at Woodland Park Zoo. Because of my position, I very rarely asked for
favors from the keepers. I knew how hard they worked and how little time they
had to make room for donors and important people who wanted an experience in
exchange for their dollars. The bear experience with AJ was my first and I’d
been at the zoo for about seven years. I wouldn’t have asked for that except I’d
done something for Carl (cannot remember what now) and he told me to call if I
ever wanted to feed the boys.
The next auspicious event was the
birth of Hansa, the elephant. The entire zoo staff had been waiting and waiting
for this big event. All zoo staff were told to stay away from the elephant barn
when the baby was born. Chai would be a new mother and the elephant keepers
wanted to make sure mom and baby bonded without any kind of activity that might
upset either of them.
When I went home the night of November
2, 2000, I knew the baby was on its way. My boss called and left me a voice
mail at about 4:00 am, saying, “We have a baby girl.” I was so excited and
couldn’t wait to get to work even though I wouldn’t be able to go see her right
away.
As it turned out, the Exhibits Crew had
to quickly build a platform so the baby could nurse from Chai. They did so and
Chai and her little one was so calm, word went throughout the zoo that we could
go to the elephant barn…quietly and calmly. I immediately went down, the first
of three times that day and each time I cried…tears of wonder and happiness.
Hansa (she didn’t have a name then)
was so unbelievably cute. One of her Aunties was able to stick her trunk
through the narrow opening in the door. Hansa was absolutely determined to
investigate this. It was pretty funny watching a couple of keepers whose
combined weight probably didn’t match that of Hansa trying to turn her back
toward her mother.
A few months later, another zoo
staffer and I snuck down to the elephant barn for an unapproved visit to Hansa,
her mom and aunties. The keepers were glad to have us, but those in charge
wouldn’t have liked us visiting. Hansa was growing, but she didn’t yet have any
teeth. She stuck out her little trunk, grabbed my hand, stuffed it into her
mouth and began sucking. It was and felt amazing. I went back down a few months
later and was just about to give Hansa my hand again when the keeper yelled, “Stop,
don’t do that…she has teeth now.”
John did get to experience the elephants. In 2001,
we went on a zoo safari to Kenya and the couple leading the trip were both zoo
employees. One of them worked in the elephant barn and invited us come visit
after we got home. It was either before or after Halloween because we carried
pumpkins filled with fruit from the parking lot to the elephant barn. We got to
watch Chai, Hansa and the aunties enjoy our largess and John got to hand feed
the elephants as well.
My
granddaughter was born almost a year later. When she was big enough, she and
her mom would come to the zoo. If I could, I’d wander around with them. One day
in 2005 we went to the elephant barn and Chai was being trained to do
something. The keepers said hi, but went on with their training. I didn’t think
anything of it, but the head keeper caught me almost a week later and
apologized for not being able to make time for my granddaughter. He said to let
him know when I’d like to bring her back.
So, I planned a visit with my son and
his family. At that point in time Haley couldn’t say elephant properly. It was
cute the way she said it, but in the time I spent with her the weekend before
the visit, I taught her to say it properly…and was a little sorry because I
missed her old way.
The big day came and AJ, Angie and
Haley arrived at the zoo. Haley was excited, but the closer we got to the barn,
the slower she walked. When we got to the barn door and knocked, she said, “We
go home now, daddy.” We ignored her request and went on into the barn. Haley
didn’t want any part of those huge animals. The keepers talked about the difference
in the elephants and baby Hansa. AJ and Angie both fed the elephants carrots
and Angie took a lot of pictures. Haley wouldn’t go near them, not even for her
daddy and she’d do almost anything for him. As you can see by the photo, even
Nana tried to get her to give Chai a carrot. Nope, and if you look at her toes,
you can see she’s a real primate…she’s holding on to me with those too. I was
disappointed she didn’t have a better visit.
That evening, AJ’s family and Angie’s
family got together to celebrate Angie’s birthday. Angie had the photos she’d
taken that morning developed. Haley went from person to person with the photos,
explaining who was who and what was what. She may not have appeared to be
paying any attention, but I don’t think any of us had to correct anything she
had to say about the photos and the visit.
Two years later, June 8, 2007, Hansa
was dead from a previously undiscovered herpes virus. Her keeper found her when
he came in. He called the Assistant Director and told him and he, in turn told
me. I was the third person to know Hansa had died. My immediate response was, “You’re
kidding.” Then, I had to call my boss, the President and CEO, and her response
was, “You’re kidding.” We just didn’t want to believe little Hansa was gone.
I cannot begin to tell you how sad the
entire zoo was that day. Memories were shared, tears were shed, everyone felt
terrible. The sadness of that day wasn’t to end for me when I went home,
however. Haley’s dog, Sadie, had reached the end of her days. She was an
American Bloodhound and she had been a member of my son’s family for years and
Haley’s life since her birth.
John and I went out to tell Sadie goodbye.
I offered Sadie a cookie and she took it to be polite, but she just didn’t want
it and let it fall out of her mouth. She looked at me so apologetically. My
tears returned only where during the day, they had been for Hansa, now they were
for Sadie who would make her final trip to the vet the next morning.
The day Hansa was born was my very
best day ever at Woodland Park Zoo. It even surpassed those from when I was a
child and the zoo was practically my playground. The worst day at the zoo for
me was the day Hansa died. Still, I have many stories from my time at the zoo
and I hope to share them with you in future posts…baby snow leopards, jaguars, Jungle
Parties, Paul Newman.