Hello everyone! I’m back!!!

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.


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!


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...


The crawfish farmer "did the honors" and released her into the water...


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/anser.../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...