The Best Summer Internship!

[Kater]

*I AM SO EXCITED!* :D :D :D

This summer I will be interning at Hawaii’s only USDA licensed exotic animal sanctuary - Three Ring Ranch (http://www.threeringranch.org) in beautiful Kailua-Kona. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about large animals, exotics, raptors and even endangered native Hawaiian species. I am so thankful I found out about this place - it was totally by accident! For a very long time I was under the assumption that we didn't have any animal sanctuaries on the islands.

The Director-Curator, Ann Goody, has an amazing ability to communicate with animals in the most non-threatening way and is also able teach these communication skills to others. This is something I very much hope to learn from her! I wish I could describe her to you - but trust me, she is extraordinary!

Many of her past interns have gone on to be admitted into veterinary schools on “first rounds” (meaning they were admitted after their first application). One of her most recent interns attends the veterinary school I would most love to attend - Western University of Health Sciences Veterinary School. This school operates on a "reverence for life" policy and just admitted it’s first class of students this year, so it is very new.

I have to confess - I doubted I would be accepted into this program. I met Ann and visited her amazing facility over Winter Break. During that time I got the feeling that she didn't think I was committed or enthusiastic about the possibility of interning for her. I am not one to "wear my heart on my sleeve" and I tend to be shy when meeting people for the first time. Even now I still have lingering feelings of doubt - maybe she admitted me only because she needs the help and not because she truly believes in me? I don't know why I doubt myself in this way or make assumptions about how others perceive me. My parents were with me during the visit and my father came out of it feeling that Ann clearly wanted me to intern for her. Regardless of these inconsistencies I can tell you one thing for sure - over the course of my internship Ann will see my "true colors" and then be unable to doubt my commitment to my future, my goals and my vision of raising the status of animals in society!

I don’t know exactly what to expect with this internship. Although I spent over three hours with this woman talking about her experiences and her past interns I still don’t completely know what to make of her! She is truly unique! She has told me some of what I will be doing in her e-mails and I would like to share that with you....

We will be immersed in projects and you will get lots to do, perhaps more then you can imagine. Be prepared for a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities. You will learn all the care of each creature and assist with at least one project/paper for publication as well as one animal environment to be created or re created for increased animal enrichment. We are working towards TAOS (The Association of Sanctuaries) accreditation this spring. Like a zoo with AZA (American Zoo and Aquarium Association) accreditation this is a major project.

We have other Interns here as well who have been learning the whole routine and for them it is the final drill. To get into vet school having the record of caring for these creatures as a keeper shows the skills and hands on abilities you need to succeed. Anna, who is here now learning the animals, is a great Intern who can teach you quite a bit.

I looove having something this exciting to look forward to after the school semester is over. I have been having a very hard time adjusting to college and life in the Midwest and am so glad to have found such a great opportunity, which will bring me closer to my goals but is also in the place I am most comfortable.

If you don't have time to go through the sanctuary's whole website you should at least check out these 2 highlights!

Zoe the "white" zebra - http://www.threeringranch.org/zoe.htm

An exquisite Hawaiian stilt - http://www.threeringranch.org/shorebirds.htm

Thanks for reading!

[Logan]

Congratulations!!!!! This sounds wonderful!!!!!! :D

[G.P.girl]

oh you're so lucky!! i bet you'll have alot of fun!:D

[boscibo]

How great for you. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity, and a fun way to spend your summer. :)

[ramanth]

Congrats!!! Sounds like a wonderful internship AND you'll be close to home. :D

[Kater]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! As I've already said... *I'M SO EXCITED!*

Has anyone taken a look at Zoe (http://www.threeringranch.org/zoe.htm)? She has a very rare condition called "amelanosis" which results in striking gold stripes and pale blue eyes. I encourage you to take a look-see! :p

[ramanth]

I did look at Zoe's pictures. (forgot to mention that before) :o

What a beauty she is! :D

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

Zoe is beautiful, and so lucky to have a good, safe home.

Congratulations to you! It is quite an accomplishment to be accepted to the internship. You will learn so much, and they will be lucky to have such a dedicated contributor among them!

[catnapper]

Wow! That experience will be invaluable. Imagine, you're not too far now from a whole summer of hard work and great times.

[Kater]

Wow! Time really flies!!! I'm leaving for my internship today - I can't wait! If anyone wants details, updates or pictures then please visit the livejournal dedicated to my internship experience at : http://www.livejournal.com/~trr_intern .

I probably won't have time to post much but I'll still be thinking about everyone here. Take care and I'll be back in July!!!

[lizbud]

Kater,

I don't know how I missed your original posting, but I did.:o

What a wonderful opportunity for you. Congratulations on
being chosen for this program. It sounds amazing.:D I'm looking
forward to future Journal entries.:D

[Karen]

This sounds like an amazing opportunity! We didn't know about this place, or we would have visited it when we stayed in Kailua-Kona for a week this February! At least we don't feel bad about not knowing, as you grew up in Hawai'i and didn't know about it until recently! Kailua-Kona is a beautiful, beautiful place, and the opportunity sounds wonderful. Take lots and lots and lots of pictures, okay?

And have fun!

[Lillycat]

how exciting! good luck to you and hope it all even exceeds your expectations!

[Kater]

Hello everyone! I’m back!!! :D :D :D

I apologize for not posting sooner….I’ve just been so busy with my summer school class that I’ve only had time to lurk. I also apologize for not updating my live journal – when I was finally immersed in the whole experience it became clear to me that it was not going to be feasible to update regularly. I know…excuses, excuses! Well, I’m hoping this long post complete with pictures will help you to see what an amazing experience I have had!

My internship lasted for six wonderful weeks. During the first four weeks I "learned the ropes" and tackled various projects with my mentor Ann at my side. Then for the last two weeks Ann took a fabulous family vacation to France (her first vacation in FIVE YEARS) while myself and another intern were co-keepers in charge. Needless to say, I was quite nervous about being responsible for the sanctuary's over seventy-five animal residents. I had all kinds of horrible nightmares filled with scenarios of all the things that could possibly go wrong. However, now I can now confidently say that we did an excellent job and there were no major emergencies.
*PHEW*!!!

Now I’ll introduce you to *some* of the animals. I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I had hoped, but there is a good chance I will be returning next summer and I promise to get more then.
I know… more excuses. *Sigh*

The geckos on the Big Island are of a different variety than the kinds common to my island, 'Oahu. Our geckos are generally neutral colors like grey and brown, but these geckos are quite colorful, as you can see.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/BigIslandGecko.jpg

The Big Island also has many wild saffron finches whereas I have never seen one of these on 'Oahu, although they live on parts of the island. This picture fails to accurately portray their vivid coloration. They are very pretty birds!
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/SaffronFinch.jpg

One of the projects I participated in at the sanctuary was the release of a rehabilitated native Hawaiian duck. She had been named "Cali" and was the sweetest duck you could imagine. The koloa or Hawaiian Duck is endagered and I've heard some say their estimated population was once a mere 700. However, more recent estimations are closer to 2,500. She was always softly quacking to us whenever we passed by her or worked near her. I really missed her sorely during the weeks following her release.
We released Cali at a crawfish farm where at least five other koloa had been living. Here she is on the way to her new home...
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/KoloaRelease1.jpg

The crawfish farmer "did the honors" and released her into the water...
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/KoloaRelease2.jpg

I realize you can't really see Cali in either of these pictures. I was very careful with taking pictures around her or of her since she is an endangered speices and was going to be released back into the wild. But I've found a picture to give you an idea of what she looks like...
http://www.harteman.nl/omnibus/anseriformes/ducks/hawaiian.html
She looks like the duck on the right in this picture.

After releasing Cali we noticed some sad looking horses on a property near the crawfish farms. Their hooves were horribly overgrown and cracking. Also the horse on the far right was sunburned around her eyes and nose. They were young and very friendly, but seemed to just have been put out to pasture without an ounce of care and maintenance. It was very sad to see... :(
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/NeglectedHorses1.jpg
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/NeglectedHorses2.jpg

[Kater]

Not all of the animals on the property are sanctuary residents – some are Ann’s personal pets. Her pets include a Rottweiler, two Quarter Horses, a Cockatoo and a Canary.

Kela the Rottweiler is an interesting dog. She’s very keyed into a "guard dog" mentality but once she trusts and recognizes you, she’d do anything for you. She also has a stomach of steel and eats ANYTHING! I wish I had better pictures of Kela but she’s the kind of dog you don’t want to bug with a camera. She’s a little on the unpredictable side. Please don’t misunderstand me - she’s really friendly but also has a very dominant streak. I love her to death though and thoroughly enjoyed having her by my side as I worked.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Kela2.jpg

http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Kela1.jpg

The two horses on the property are Mr. Big and Voodoo. Mr. Big is the old buckskin gelding and Princess Voodoo is the young mare. She’s supposed to be a Palomino but she has gotten pretty dark as she’s gotten older. I just love this picture I snapped of the two of them grazing…
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Big_Voodoo1.jpg

Here is an up close picture of Biggie. (taken by someone else)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Mr_Big.jpg

And here’s an amazing running shot of Voodoo. (taken by someone else)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Voodoo_running.jpg

Kalani is a Cockatoo and a very talkative and funny girl. She’s also the one animal that gave me the most headaches and heart attacks. Ann told me from day one that Kalani is definitely the most difficult and demanding animal at the sanctuary. She’s a very smart bird, as are all parrots, and can be most manipulative. After Ann left she essentially rejected the other intern and bonded closely to me. Ann reasons that she felt abandoned and so decided that she would put all her trust into me. Since she would no longer allow anyone (besides me) to handle her I wasn’t able to get a single day off during the two weeks when Ann was gone. We only began to understand how much she had rejected everyone else when she actually flew up into a tree because another volunteer tried to handle her. She never flies unless she feels very threatened. She always has her wings clipped but I guess they had grown just long enough for her to be able to glide. So yeah, I had to get her out of a tree where she was perched about 35 feet off the ground during a light rainstorm and she HATES rain. That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about when I say this bird gives me heart attacks! But she was a very good girl and stepped into a net for me. If she hadn’t have done that I don’t know if I could have reached her! Although Kalani can be very frustrating she can also be very affectionate. I would cuddle with her for hours in the early afternoon. I would pet her and she’d get ecstatic and tell me "it’s so good."
These pictures were taken while she was dancing along to a song on the radio. Her crest was up and she was bobbing around…
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Kalani1.jpg
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Kalani3.jpg

[Kater]

The Barn!
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TheBarn.jpg

The barn is home to the softest creatures here…the chinchillas! At last count there were 13 chinchillas. My favorites were the babies (of course) and they needed daily cuddles to help socialize them. The babies are results of accidental breedings that happened when Ann was out of town for a funeral. She wants each of her interns to adopt one (or two) to take to vet school with them. I REALLY wanted to adopt one (actually two) so badly but I know I can’t commit to another pet right now. She will be neutering the male soon and hopes to adopt out the one little baby male.

Sleeping Beauty
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Chins.jpg

Exclamation Point
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Chins5Watercolor.jpg

Sleeping Beauty and Exclamation (the two I wanted)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Chins2.jpg

Sleeping Beauty and Pocket (the runt)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Chins6.jpg

Sleeping Beauty, Pocket and Exclamation
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Chins7.jpg

Living temporarily near the barn are the six water turtles. There are all kinds of different sliders in this group and I can hardly keep the types separate.
Here is a big ole "slider pile"! The turtle facing to the right is Jaws and she is the first animal I have given a shot. She had some sort of bacterial infection in her mouth so I had to give her intramuscular injection in her rear leg for a week! She HATED that!
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/SliderPile1.jpg

Chickens occasionally use the barn for laying. Butterbutt can often be found laying her egg right next to the radio – she is a very tame bird and was raised in the barn when she was just a chick. Gotta love her!
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/ButterButt1.jpg

The other parrot living in the barn is Pele, a female Eclectus parrot. Eclectus parrots are interesting in that they are one of only two animals in which the males are more colorful than the males. Ann stumped me with this question and now I plan to stump you – so can you think of the other animal? Anyway, Pele is a plucker, as you can see. We actually refer to her as psycho because she is and it’s not her fault. Her owner passed away of old age (parrots live a long time, people!) and she was left grieving and confused. She would scream and scream and the deceased’s wife didn’t know what to do. Well, eventually she started to bang on Pele’s cage with her hands whenever she would scream. Pele was very scared by this but also very confused because this woman was the one who fed her and cared for her. Were these hands good or bad? Eventually this drove her insane. She cannot ever be trusted with women, especially women’s hands. She has come a long long way with Ann but she is still psycho. She has bitten Ann a few times and all required stitches. But a man can pick her up and cuddle her and she will be in ecstasy. Pele says funny things and even scolds Kalani when she is being a brat. She is a lot of fun and can be trusted in certain ways. For instance I can hand her nuts through the cage bars if I do so very slowly and talk to her the whole time. I can even kiss the top of her bill if she is relaxed and listening to my voice – she will lean forward and ask for kisses. She is still quite psycho as I have said but she’s got a lot of love to give.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Pele1.jpg

Psychooooo…
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Pele2PosterEdges.jpg

http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Pele3.jpg

[Kater]

David and Goliath are African Spur Thigh Tortoises also known as Sulcata tortoises. Goliath weighs in at over 200 pounds and David isn’t far behind at 100-something pounds. These guys are monsters and were created by some idiot who wanted to make "giant tortoises." They were mostly fed a high protein animal based diet when they were younger and this caused a very fast rate of growth that is completely unhealthy. These tortoises are herbivores that require a high fiber, low protein diet. At least now they are getting the proper nutrition and care but they were in bad shape when they arrived.
Goliath.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Goliath1.jpg

Goliath again.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Goliath2.jpg

There are three endangered Hawaiian hawks residing at the Three Ring Ranch. Two of them are definitely permanent residents, but there is a chance that the third can be rehabilitated. So Isis is fed everyday from our gloved hands to work on strengthening her feet. It is a magical thing to be that close to a bird of prey and I feel very privileged to have participated in her training. Pictures of Isis can be seen here:
http://threeringranch.org/Isis.htm
http://threeringranch.org/hawk.htm (bottom of the page)
http://threeringranch.org/ (bottom of the page)

Sam is a partial wing amputee and of the normal ‘Io (Hawaiian Hawk) coloration.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Sam.jpg

Medusa is another partial wing amputee and of the "dark phase" coloration.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Medusa.jpg

There are a total of 5 chickens and 4 muscovy ducks on the property. They pretty much have the run of the place and follow us around during feedings to beg for scraps.
Here are three of the ducks and a chicken taking shelter under the tall grass during a light sprinkle:
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Ducks_Chicken_Rain.jpg

Fraiser Crane (ha!) is an African Crowned Crane that was rescued from the same animal park as the zebras. He’s a stunning bird and can be kind of a goof. Whenever we get turkey hens running around the property he’s always trying to dance for them and impress them – it’s quite a sight!
Frasier hanging out by the wetlands.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Frasier1.jpg

Tyson is a feral goat who got separated from his mother somehow and was brought in by a good Samaritan. He’s a very cute goat and he gets lots of cuddles from me. However, we had a rough couple of first days because he would constantly try to butt me with his fully intact horns – silly boy.
In this picture you can see that the low tree branch to his left is completely bare of leaves. I tried to get a picture of him eating the leaves -- he hangs from that branch and munches down on the leaves and it’s the funniest thing!
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Tyson.jpg

[Kater]

The zebras are what started it all at the Three Ring Ranch. When Ann heard that a certain wild animal park was shutting down and euthanizing the animals she asked what it would take for her to be able to adopt zebras. (She ended up taking in an African Crowned Crane and two Oryx as well.) They told her she had to be a USDA certified sanctuary so she took the steps to become certified. This certain wild animal park used her kindness as a publicity stunt to make it look like they were taking care of the animals they were responsible for when in fact nearly all of the animals were euthanized. Oreo is shown below at the previous facility pregnant with Zoe. Oreo was "wild caught" in Africa and so is very different from her two fillies who were raised around people.
(photo taken by someone else)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Pregnant_Oreo_Molokai.jpg

So Oreo and baby Zoe were brought over to Ann’s place on the Big Island. Oreo was extremely flighty at first and it took months for Ann to gain her trust. Unbeknownst to anyone, Oreo was pregnant again and a while later gave birth to Tootsie. Here is a baby picture of Tootsie – soooo cute!
(photo taken by someone else)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Tootsie_baby.png

To be honest, the zebras terrified me during my first week. These are very strong animals, they can break bones with a kick and paralyze you with a bite to the shoulder. The two fillies are the most dangerous because they are far less afraid of humans than Oreo. They are young and so they are constantly play biting each other and kicking each other. If they like you they might want to play bite you too – what a treat! So when I’m in the zebra pens I have to stand tall, be firm and use my "tough" voice. Eventually they responded to me and would back away when I asked them to, but those first couple times in the pen were pretty darn scary.
All 3 zebras. (photo taken by someone else)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/3_Zebras.jpg

Here is Zoe walking towards the horses in the next pasture. Zoe thinks Voodoo is part of her herd and whenever you take the horses out of the pasture she will make the strangest low barking noise to call her back.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Zoe1.jpg

Zoe looking at Voodoo…
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Zoe2Cutout.jpg

Oreo and Tootsie
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TootsieAndOreo2.jpg

Tootise in front and Oreo behind her.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TootsieAndOreo6.jpg

Tootsie in front and Oreo behind her.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TootsieAndOreo4Watercolor.jpg

Tootsie in front and Oreo behind her.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TootsieAndOreo1.jpg

Tootsie
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Tootsie1.jpg

Oreo
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Oreo1.jpg

A painting of some zebras by a local artist.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/ZebraPainting.jpg

There is also a stunning painting of Zoe by this same artist here : http://threeringranch.org/LARGE%20image%20pages/Zoe%20print%20by%20SMW.htm

[Kater]

The scenery in Kailua-Kona is amazing as Karen or anyone else who has been there can tell you. I was so lucky to be surrounded by such beauty everyday! :D

The view down the hill during my daily walk up to the sancutary:
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/NaniKailuaDrive1.jpg
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/NaniKailuaDrive2.jpg

The view from the top of Hualalai:
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TheView1.jpg
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TheView2.jpg

I only got to the beach once during my stay. I went to a private little beach near the Hilton (gigantic hotel) and just slept the day away.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/TheBeach.jpg

When I was walking through the Hilton grounds I noticed these feral kitties outsmarting whoever was trying to trap them….heehee…
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/SmartKitties.jpg

And last but not least are some sunset pictures…not the best but I thought I’d post them anyway.
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Sunset3.jpg

http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Sunset2.jpg

http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v84/kmillen/Three%20Ring%20Ranch/Sunset1.jpg

Ok, those are all of my pictures. I hope you enjoyed!!!

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Kater!!! :D Like I told you last night on AIM, I've missed you! I'm so glad you'll be able to post more often.

WOW! :eek: I hope I get the chance to do what you were able to do one day. It sounds like an awesome, once in a lifetime experience. All of the animals are beautiful, and it sure sounds like you had a blast.

How is everybody? When you get a chance, we really need to see updated pictures. ;)

WELCOME BACK! :D

[popcornbird]

OMG! Awesome pictures!!! I *really* enjoyed every one of them and enjoyed your explanation too. Thanks for sharing, and I'm SO glad you're back! You've been missed here! How's Mele? ;)

[RobiLee]

Loved all the pics. Thanks for sharing your internship with us. What an awesome experience.

Robin :)

[Doggirl]

Great Pictures!

Looks like you're Internship was fun, and Kailua-Kona looks beautiful I hope I get to go there someday.

[NoahsMommy]

Kate,

Oh my gosh! The whole time while I was reading your update/summary, was thinking of how this is going to help you with being a vet. What a truly amazing experience!! I'm so glad you got to do this, and with promise for next year too.

I'm glad you had such a neat time! Thanks so much for sharing it with us as well.

Hugs,
Kelly :)

[Kfamr]

I was waiting and waiting for this while we were talking on AIM... it's about time! :p

Hehehe.. It seems like you had a "hard" but very fun and educating time. All of the pictures are wonderful, and all of the animals are so beautiful.

Hawaii sure is one wonderful place. I hope to visit someday... and especially see that sunset! :eek:


Glad to have you back with us.....Missed you Kate! :)

[Uabassoon]

Great pictures! But I'm totally stumped as to what other animal has a more colorful female than male.

[Fallon]

Sounds awesome.. I wish I could have interned at such a neat place! I checked out the website, it's pretty informative too!
Best of Wishes!

[Lillycat]

i am speechless! what an awesome experience! i wish it was mine! thank you sooooo much for sharing!

[Tonya]

I am sooooo jealous! That sounds like a dream come true! Congratulations!

[lizbud]

Welcome back. What a totally fantastic experience. I loved
all the pictures. What a great place to live & work.:) I never
realized that zebras could be scary (close up):p

I really enjoyed your account of this Summer Internship and
reading the stories of Pele, the sad little crazy parrot & Kela
the Rottweiler. (Beautiful dog). The scenery and animal pictures
were great. :)

p.s. I hope the neglected horses's owner gets a "reminder" to
take better care of their horses.

[Kater]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies, everyone! I know I am so very lucky to have had this experience! Strangely enough I'm still having nightmares....last night I dreamed that I forgot to feed the animals for a day and some of the flamingos died. :( Hopefully this will be the last nightmare for a while.


Originally posted by Uabassoon
Great pictures! But I'm totally stumped as to what other animal has a more colorful female than male.

Hmmm....yes, it stumped me too! It's a bit of a generalization but the answer is...Wait, should I give others a chance to guess? :p I'll come back with the answer later. :p
You'll just want to KICK yourself once I tell you! ;)

[Uabassoon]

I really want to say humans since girls usually wear brighter colors than boys, but I'm not sure if that counts since it isn't natural.

[Kater]

Originally posted by Uabassoon
I really want to say humans since girls usually wear brighter colors than boys, but I'm not sure if that counts since it isn't natural.

Yes, that's the answer she gave! And she was even giving me hints....flipping her hair and batting her eyes while I was trying to guess! Doh!

But you will find that nowhere else in nature....interesting, huh?

However, I'm not so sure I agree that the female eclectus is "brighter" than the male. I mean, they are both colorful.

See for yourself... http://www.parrotsociety.org.au/articles/images/eclectus.jpg
(the females are mostly red and the males are mostly green)

YAY! Laura wins the nonexistent prize!!! :p Good job! :D

[anna_66]

Originally posted by Kater

Has anyone taken a look at Zoe (http://www.threeringranch.org/zoe.htm)? She has a very rare condition called "amelanosis" which results in striking gold stripes and pale blue eyes. I encourage you to take a look-see! :p
I have, and WOW, too cool!

I'm really excited for you. This sounds like a great experience!

CONGRATULATIONS!

[mruffruff]

What a wonderful experience! I'm sure it was work, but the memories are worth it.

You did an amazing job of explaining the pictures.

And welcome back.

Mary