Benefits of working at a zoo

Today ended on an exciting note for me. I was leaving the zoo to go home and heard the tigers growling. I was invited in to see them eat their evening meal. Let me tell you - it was so exciting. Ever had a 650 pound (yes, 650 pounds!!) male tiger snarl threateningly at you while he was crouching over a piece of meat? It was enough to make me back up a couple steps. He is HUGE and didn't like my looking at his meal one bit. Visit this website and see some spectacular pictures of the tiger preserve of Dr. Marcan who provides the tigers to the zoo.

It was quite an experience that I will not soon forget. I told CD that he would just have to come over one night to see this. Words are just so inadequate at times.

Here is a picture of one of the benefits of working at a zoo.

Lily of the Nile

I was going through my pictures this evening and came across this unusual lily that I have planted in the back yard. It is called a Lily of the Nile or the proper name is a Agapanthus umbellatus. It is a beautiful plant and the flower is on stalks 2-3 feet high. It is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds and the flowers are fragrant. Just plant and ignore.

Blue and Gold Macaw babies

Blue and Gold Macaw babies born at the zoo.






Meet Shiloh and Skylar. They are enjoying their morning meal.



Shiloh was hatched a week before his sibling, Skylar. He loves to take care of her and is always trying to feed her.

It's a jungle in here

Thought I'd add a few photos I have taken of the gift shop. It keeps me busy and I don't have much time to work on this. But I have said to myself "Self, show them what you are doing" so here we go.















This is the lion section. It looks pretty good but I still want to add details to it. For an example, a small descriptive sign telling about our lion, Clarence.

I am learning about retailing and merchandising and more. Being the gift shop manager is a challenge - deciding what to order, when to order it, what to price it and then moving it about about every two weeks to keep it fresh.

This gift shop is different from other small gift shops in that most of the customers are coming to see the animals. I rarely have customers that come in just for the gift shop unless they are looking for that exotic animal gift.

One item that sells very well are rubber snakes. Green, black, blue, red. Doesn't matter - the kids love them, the moms hate them. After they make the purchase, I tell the mothers that after the rubber snake has frightened them for the umpteenth time that they are great for gardens, flower beds, etc... where you may have trouble with birds and the local wildlife. Then yesterday I had a captain from one of the local fishing boats come in looking for the 52" blacksnake we sold last year. It appears that they are great to scare off the gulls. So I guess I will order more of those and give him a call when they come in.

If you are ever in the area, drop in.