Update from the zoo...and some sad news

[Shannon]

First off, here's the sad news: Harley, the male bontebok (aka Blesbok), had to be euthanized on Thursaday. Here's a picture of him:

It seemed so empty today with out him Here's the message we got from one of the keepers:

Hey all

Just a quick note to let everyone know that on
Thursday we put Harley the male bontebok down. He had
been fighting nerve damage that was making it harder
and harder for him to stand and walk. He was a
favorite not only of staff and volunteers, but of
those who toured the back area of the Veldt and got
the chance to see him up close. Harley always seem
willing to come running over to see people and often
would chase us back and forth along the fence. My two
favorite Harley memories are of him standing over
Andrew who had fallen down while playing with him, and
of him chasing Norma while she was throwing the
basketball up and down trying to get him to come into
his stall. He will be missed.

Luke

We'll all miss him so much. I knew his time was getting close when he wouldn't chase bags of hay anymore


On to other news...

For the past two days a photographer from National Geographic was at the zoo taking pictures for the archives. He took some amazing pictures. I wish I could show them to you! That meant we were quite busy. No so much in the veldt, but in farms it was a nightmare! Anyway, that's over with for now. Diesel, the Randall Lineback calf (he's huge now!) is leaving on or about the 1st of november, and the other calves will follow soon after, probably in December. As for Katie, still no word on when or where she's going. We're on the verge of breeding season (mostly sheep and goats) now. One of the rams has a loose horn, so that's getting removed tomorrow so it can heal before breeding season really gets going. We're getting another male malayan tapir soon. Last winter, the other male we had died of pneumonia. Other than that, there's really not much else for news...if I remember something, I'll post later

[Meghan]

R.I.P Harley!

[jack]

pore boy

by the way do u work at the zoo if so thats awsom .

[Shannon]

by the way do u work at the zoo if so thats awsom

I volunteer at the zoo.

Thanks Meghan, for some reason I couldn't get the picture itself to show up, only the link. (Edit: now it worked?)

[Meghan]

Bravo!!
You Got the pic to show up!

[manureslinger]

Cool. National Geographic. I've always wanted to be a photographer for them. My dad has every subscription from them you can think of! Are the pictures going to be published?

[Shannon]

The pictures are going to be in the archive, so whenever someone needs a picture of a certain kind of animal, they can pull one out. They were mostly interested in the rare breeds in farms, for example te American Cream Draft horse, scotch highland cow, randall lineback cow, dexter cow, brown swiss cow (they are considered rare, believe it or not!) and the mammoth jackstock.

[twnpnds]

Awww poor Harley. But at least he can run and play to his heart's content without any trouble. He'll be waiting for all of his beloved friends. I love the baby zebra. Does he have a name yet? I'd never have thought of Brown Swiss cattle being rare. They were very popular back home in Illinois and in Wisconsin. (I lived on the dairy state's border and knew folks who owned them) There's something like 7 million Brown Swiss worldwide. I know that they were ranked #2 at one time. Holsteins were #1 and I think they still are, as far as dairy breeds go. They are known for their good feet and legs and strong bodies. Also for their longevity. They are exellent milk producers. Their milk is high in protein and fat which is great for cheese. I knew someone that had a team of Brown Swiss oxen. Talk about HUGE! Thanks again for the zoo update, Shannon. I really enjoy them.

[Shannon]

Brown Swiss were really numerous, but their numbers started dropping, and they were considered rare. Now their numbers are starting to get back up there again, though. Probably getting popular again for all the reasons you mentioned! And they are HUGE! It's so funny to see the brown swiss standing next to the dexter...talk about a size difference

[twnpnds]

Awww, you got a Dexter. I love them. Brown Swiss are my favorite dairy cows. I just love their sweet faces and their gentle temperments. I have been around quite a few of them and always said if I got into cattle that would be my breed. I never did get cows though. I also love Jerseys. Nothing sweeter than a fawn-like jersey calf. Those big liquid brown eyes will melt anyones heart. You are so lucky Shannon to be able to share your life with all of these beautiful creatures. What do you want to be when you grow up? Yeah, it's an old question but I was just curious.

[Shannon]

Oh man, the jersey calf is adoreable! I need to get some pictures of him up here. He's growing up so fast, though. And the dexter is a sweetie:) She's older, s we don't use her for breeding, though. Having never been around cows before in my life, I thought she was a calf when I first started lol I was abosolutely sure I wanted to be a vet up until I started vounteering at the zoo. Then I thought about being a zookeeper. Either way, I think I'd be happy. I'll have to decide if I want to go to school for another 4 years once I get my bachelors' degree (still have 3 years to go on that...thankfully I got 35 hours of credit from high school ,so technically I'm a sophomore already ;D). I'm majoring in biology/pre-vet, so whichever one I choose it'll work out. I would LOVE to be a vet in a zoo I work in a small animal vet clinic now, and it's so much fun. I'm glad I finally have a job that I look forward to again, rather than the positively boring job I had before.