What a Treat.

Oh, yes it was. The day after I posted that there was a new baby giraffe born at the zoo (click here to read) I got to go in and say hello up close. Really, how lucky can a Naturegirrrl get?

At the start of the little vid below you can see him standing in his little pen, part from the adults, who you can clearly see a are quite a bit larger than he is. His dad is 17 feet tall, and the baby is only 5'9 (STILL, that's a few inches taller than me!).  The giraffes you see behind him are not the tallest ones in the group.

Keep in mind, that I was able to get this close by virtue of what I do with the zoo.  They are very careful to protect these animals as well as the people that visit them. 

I had an amazing day today at the Wildlife Rehab Center feeding the tiniest baby .... well, I don't want to spoil it. Please stop back tomorrow and see.

If you could visit up close with a baby animal, which would it be?

Update

Now that my schedule has a lull, I am very much looking forward to getting in some regular hours at the Wildlife Rehab Center and at the Zoo.

I don't work at these places, I'm a volunteer, and the hours are left up to me. When I go, I could stay all day. Time flies. I'm completely present and fully absorbed in whatever I'm doing. There is always something new going on, something to learn, something I haven't seen, or if something is becoming familiar, I'm pleased -- as means I'm gaining real knowledge and useful skills.

At the Wildlife Center they'd told us to rest up over the holidays because once spring comes, they take in up to 1000 critters each month and need us to come in as much as we can. Many are babies.... spring is the time for all things to be born, and so it is in the animal world. We'll get lots of baby birds in, which I've never worked with before. Various species of birds have their young at different times, so you can almost tell what month it is by what comes in when ie: raptors or finches or songbirds. Some species have only one brood, and a few have several over the spring and summer. I look forward to seeing the procession to learn more about birds in general, and their mating habits, and how their babies need to be fed, and grow. I learned that about squirrels after Hurricane Ike had us trying to feed 1200 darling, squiggling, sleepy, vulnerable little ones. CLICK HERE to read about that.

There will be baby squirrels but of course a more manageble amount. We have about 10 we've been nursing the last few weeks. They are my favorite (along with baby ducklings and geese). I'm told we'll get as many opossums as birds (I'll post on opossums a little later).

WRC occasionally gets a baby deer or GOAT or sheep, or chickens too. There were at least 5 tanks with a dozen chicks in each when I went in on Saturday, with god knows how many roosters crowing from the large warehouse attached to our building. Since the wildlife center is part of the SPCA (yes, the one you see on Animal Planet) I guess this was a confiscation, and we always get the babies, who need the most care.

The Wildlife Center is really a hospital/nursery, and we take care to keep everything clean and organized. Various vets also volunteer their time to come by and give us their much valued talents, in addition to the ones at the SPCA. In April, I'm looking forward to an all day training on how to clean birds up after an oil spill. Apparently there is a season for that too, and the women who run the Wildlife Rehab Center go wherever they are needed -- mainly along the Gulf coast -- to set up and work tireless days and nights rescuing birds from tragic and hard deaths. They can be there for weeks, stumbling back to meager accommodations to get some sleep. I am always amazed and inspired by the patience of these three women, their focus on the well being of the whatever animal that is put in their care, no matter what the conditions are for themselves. They set a great example.

I'm going this morning, as I have been every Thursday morning recently, but will begin to fill in for afternoon feedings during the week as needed. I will bring my camera and return to my desk, with lots of stories to tell!

For now, a familiar scene: Can't wait to get there to these little ones. I just love their furry forearms!