Part 1: Summer Job
I got a summer job working at the West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon. I was part of the presentation staff, so I got to do some of the animal shows. I got to play with these cuties...
Coco the cougar is on the left and Bobbi the bobcat is on the right. It was quite a memorable experience. Not many people can say they've been bitten in the neck by a cougar or made a bobcat purr. These babies are pretty amazing and I can't believe I had the opportunity to handle them on a daily basis. I also got to work with other animals.
We had three of these little guys:
I love baby opossums. We had three brothers. They crawled all over my shoulders. Opossums are super cute as babies, but not so much as adults (though our adult was super sweet).
We also had two sweet ferret sisters.
They were also super sweet and loved to sleep in the hood of sweatshirts. Apparently, they are illegal to own as pets in some states (they are legal in Oregon).
We also had a young red fox.
I liked her, but she didn't like to be shown. She was a bit bitey and hard to hold on to. I hope the owner stops showing her soon. She gets very stressed out when she is handled and clearly doesn't enjoy it. I hope she gets to join the other foxes soon.
This was my favorite Nurseryland baby...
This is a baby apricot skunk!!! I LOVE skunks! I have learned that they are legal to own as pets in Oregon and that they make amazing pets! It is easy to have the scent glands removed so they can't spray and you can litter box train them. They will bond with people just like a dog or cat will. Nick and I would like to have a skunk someday! I would like to get a kitten and a skunk at the same time and raise them as litter mates. It will be a while though, because our dogs would not tolerate having another animal in the house.
I have also discovered that I do NOT enjoy these animals:
Yes, they are super cute, but they are smelly, noisy, always hungry, and obnoxious! They poop and pee everywhere! Plus, they get mean and have very sharp claws. I don't think it is possible for me to truly hate any animal, but raccoons come close...though this one is pretty cute...
I got to interact with a few other animals as well.
A pregnant coati snuggled with me a few times when I fed her.
She had to be separated from the others until after she gave birth and she just wanted some love. These animals are basically the raccoons of Central and South America. Not all of them are as sweet as this one is and I wouldn't try to snuggle one in the wild, but I was happy to have the opportunity to spend some time with one.
I also got to feed one of these pretty creatures.
This is a De Brazza Monkey. Ours would pick through her food bowl and eat her favorite things first, bananas and grapes. She always ate her fruit first and then her vegetables. She never actually let me pet her, but I was able to go into her enclosure and hand feed her.
Working at the park allowed me to discover a passion for my new favorite animal! It's a...
Ring Tailed Lemur!!!!!! These animals are so soft and sweet (most of them)! There was one we had who liked to ride around on my shoulder while I cleaned out his enclosure. I even got a few lemur kisses on my nose from him. I also got to go into an enclosure with a community of lemurs and hand-fed them. They are very soft, like a chinchilla. My lemur friend is definitely what I miss most about the job.
I worked here for almost two months. It wasn't a bad place to work, but I was working almost full-time and I didn't want that. Nick was home alone all day and I really wanted to spend time with him before the school year started up again. I decided to work until the end of July and take August off to spend some time with Nick. I'll talk more about our August adventures in another post. Overall, the animal park took pretty good care of the animals. All of the presentation staff deeply cared for the animals and their well-being. I think the management could have done a better job. The enclosures are small and the animals don't have enough room to run around in, in my opinion. Also, I think our show animals were overworked due to the demands of our customers and the owner. It isn't enough for me to completely boycott the place, but I will only go on very rare occasions. I will probably take my kids there someday.
That's about it for my summer job adventures. I know way more about these wild animals than I ever thought I would. On a hiking trip, Nick asked me if bobcats bury their poop, and sadly, I knew the answer...yes, yes they do. I am thankful to have had this experience, but I hope I don't have to have a summer job again. Please feel free to ask me questions about these animals. I am happy to share my new knowledge. It is late and I am tired. I will post another summer adventure soon!
Cheers!
Ashley
