First Day

Pictures

This picture shows the typical dress worn at my site. We have to wear this khaki uniform.

This is a picture of three of the elephants in the main yard.

Here, you can see that the elephants are separated from their trainers by large, steel gates. This is for the protection of the keepers because the elephants aren't tame even though they are trained. This surprised me because the elephants seem very tame when they're with their trainers.

This is my mentor's office. I will spend most of my time either working in here or working with the keepers in the yard. (below)

Economy Questions:
1. Has the recession affected the amount of visitors coming to the Wild Animal Park?
"Through creative marketing and new products, attendance has been minimally affected.

2. Has the recession caused a decrease in funding for the care of the animals?
"Yes it has affected many things in relation to revenue and Donations to the Zoological Society of San Diego. However, through operating expenses and innovative fundraising, we're still financially sound."

My Day:
Today, I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for my internship. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't late so I left at 6:30 and arrived at the Wild Animal Park at 7:20. Then, I found my mentor and he showed me to his office where he introduced me to the rest of the elephant department. My first order of business was attending a USDA meeting at 8:30 with my mentor, in which they talked about things that needed to be repaired in order to maintain facilities that were approved by the USDA. Then, I had to find a uniform that fit me so that I was ready to work.

The rest of the morning until lunch, I sat with my mentor in his office and he gave me an overview of what his department does. I learned a lot about how the elephants at the Wild Animal Park are trained differently than at any other zoo. At regular zoos, they are trained with fear because the trainers beat the elephants with bull hooks to get them to comply. This is how it has been done for thousands of years since elephants were domesticated Asia. The Wild Animal Park is one of the few zoos where the elephants are trained with positive reinforcement. The animals are never intentionally hurt in their training process.

After I talked with my mentor, we went to lunch with the other keepers in a small cafeteria nearby. Then, I went with the keepers to watch them do their jobs. I also helped clean up the presents the elephants left behind. I wasn't able to interact with the elephants in any way because even though they are trained, they aren't tame. Their training is based on a trust relationship that they built with the keepers and since they don't know me, they don't trust me. It would be dangerous for me to try to pet them or feed them. However, I might be able to do so after a couple of weeks. After I was finished with cleaning, it was time for me to go home.

I'm really excited about being able to do more work with the animals and just being able to work there in general. Everyone was really nice and made me feel welcome. Once I figure out what my project is, I think things will run smoother because I'll know what I'm doing. I'm a little nervous about the dangers of working with such large animals, but I think I'll be fine as long as I do what I'm told. I think I still have a lot to learn before I can start my project. I need to get a better understanding of how everything works there so that I know what to do.