Zoo Trip Re-cap
So, after a week of calming down from the outrageously livid situation I was in, I can finally re-cap my zoo rip without hitting the roof.
So after a morning full of "pleasant surprises" that left me red in the face, and swelling from rage, I had to get to the Zoo- regardless that I was going alone.
I had made a meeting with a friend of mine at the zoo who is a local conservationist so that I could give her some things I wanted to pass along, but most importantly: She was going to treat whoever came that day to a very special and unique day at the zoo.
And well, it only ended up being myself, but originally she had planned to get me and another 6 people in for free, and taken behind-the-scenes to get closer looks and contact with the animals. She knows very well that I am an artist, and I told her my artist buddies were coming along- so she thought that getting closer to some of the animals would be great for our sketching capacities. I also told her that some of us were avid conservationists as well- so she figured a hands on approach was going to be welcome.
Well, I got to the zoo, and no fooling, they called her to the gate (For the sake of the rest of the post, I’ll call her “K”). In a small "Zoo golf cart" she came to pick me up. I got in for free and she said that she had arranged some time-specific meetings... but other than that, I could ask to see and do anything.
First meeting was going to the African pavilion. The vet on call that day had to do some dentistry on a Cheetah... and I was invited to come in and see him- not only work on the animal- but I actually got to TOUCH the cheetah! It was sedated of course, but still. I touched a LIVE CHEETAH! Holy crap is their fur so soft! Unlike the lions who have a rougher, coarser type of hair, these guys are really silky on the top, and fluffy down on the under chest. I was NOT expecting that!
So then, K took me to the “aviary” at the zoo- the area made for handling some of the birds. Last time I had been at the zoo, we were there for National Bird Watching/Migratory day, and while promised to see the Eagle, it had been raining so the handler brought a Peregrine Falcon instead. So she thought we can go in and see if any of the Eagles were being handled or not.
Turned out, they were doing a check up on one of the African Storks, and those things are SO BIG.
Didn’t get to touch that one- and didn’t want to. It wasn’t sedated, and those things actually do bite…so I didn’t want to risk it. XD
I wanted to get shots of the animals when being handled, but K asked- for certain obvious reasons- I do not. I totally understood that, and was too busy sketching or touching anyways. Or asking a ZILLION questions about the animals.
So then we went puttering about in the golf cart here and there. We get so much more accomplished when you are driving from one pavilion to the next, but in a certain point of time, we wanted to walk in order to take in the wonderful forest scenery that the so has.
Our last stop is a “touch and learn” station that the zoo actually sets up on certain days (if they get a volunteer to do it). This place welcomed photos and all, so I was taking a bunch of skulls and bones. The Volunteer there was SO nice... and when people cleared out and it was just me and her, we got to talking and all. She even let me touch the Ostrich egg shells! I noted how it totally felt like ceramic tile... and she said that on her spar time, she actually tried to take one of the fragments and break it.. but she couldn’t! The egg shell is incredibly hard.
You can tell which skull was what animal as they are tagged appropriately. :)
During the course of the day K, some of the vets/trainers/volunteers and I were discussing about different aboriginal cultures and their regard to, and preservation of animals, environment, and other cultural things. Like myths and legends. We were exchanging a bunch of thing we learned and know, and little things in regard to spirituality.
It was then that we had brought up our own individual practices, and if some of us actually had Manitous, Tunghat, Helpers, Na[g]huals and the lot. K and I got to talking, and she offered that before she had to go, she’s drop me off at one of my “families”. I asked if we could go to the Jaguars. I wanted to got to the Wolves, but they were a long ways off, and I figured if they are anything like me, the heat of the day would render them “out of commission” and they wouldn’t be up and active at all. K laughed that I was “on the ball” with that one, so we went to see my Nahual.
When we got there, me and K parted ways. I thanked her a ZILLIONG times for the great tour and “behind-the-scenes” she set up.
After she left, I was left with my babies.
Needless to say, the first pic I took just made me laugh with how well it personified my Nahual:
One sexy spotted ass there Mi Hermeno!
So I was hanging around the enclosure taking pics of the female (she’s the melanistic one, and was on the move), and just talking to them. I do this often with animals as I was taught by some Anishinabe Elders that you do this with animals. After all, they are the same as us. We can share our voices and our silence with them. When people came by, I just quieted down and watched for way to long, thinking about the day and everything that happened- both infuriating and amazing.
I also was thinking about the Aztec teaching of my Nahual, the Obsidian day that I was born on, and of course, the story of the Jaguar’s younger brother- Ocelotl.
It was then when I just looked down in thought that I noticed right in front of me- square on the green bush RIGHT in front of me- a GIANT black feather. It was in the “moat” area of the enclosure... only separated by a small fence and bar that I was leaning on. I squeezed my head and arm between the fence and bar, reached over and pulled the feather into my hand.
I was stunned. It is an eagle feather. A REAL eagle feather. A primary as well- it’s the length f my forearm, and the “stem” is the length of my palm. I even noticed the bit of tattered and missing feather at the base of it that was probably the reason for the discard.
I was a little bit stunned at the “find” when I looked back into the enclosure. The Female Jaguar was standing right in front of me (in the enclosure) and just looking. Not panting, not walking, not twitching. Just LOOKING at me. One lady mentioned to her spouse how “that girl found a big father... and that cat just keeps looking at her.”
After a bit, I just nodded my head in a half-bow of thanks, and the Jaguar just went back to pacing.
I got to meet the Lion Keeper as well, ad they were feeding some “empty” morsels to the Lions, so I got me some great shots of them. I needed them too because I need plenty of refs for Lions and Bears and Owls for an upcoming project of mine, so it was a WELCOME moment.
And while there, I took this picture of the Olive Baboon. I thought it was a perfect representation as to what I saw a lot at the zoo- the "animals" being the people on the OUTSIDE, but the actual animals on the inside were far more well mannered, affectionate, and intelligent then some of the monkeys behind the glass.
I carried on to the Canadian pavilion to find the wolves all fast asleep in the shade. I laughed. I would wanted to do the same for nearly the entire day - summer is NOT my season. XD
So I was there, went to look at the bears, lynx, owl, eagles, and then it was close to being 4:30 pm… so I headed home.
A few days later, I told Master George - who is the Master of the Okichitaw Martial arts in the NCC, and also an Eagle Clan member- about the scenario with the Eagle feather, he smiled and told me “You know what that means? What she was telling you? She was telling you that you and her were the same.”
The feather is going to be cleaned, blessed, and kept for work. I cannot express how immense this situation is. Eagle feathers cannot be bought as they are illegal for sale, and within the community, they are few and far between. Everyone keeps telling me how important and gifted I was with this scenario. I still cannot believe it.
I got a whole swack-load of pics, tons of lions, playful bear in its pond, tigers, butterflies, awesome birds that I need for another project… overall, around 88 pics. And LOTS of sketches.
The only down side was that for the rest of the week, I had to be on blood pressure meds due to my blood pleasure sky-rocketing high. So much so that I had dizzy spells and ringing in my ears. The doc advised I go on them immediately- only to tell me to get OFF them immediately because I started on my "moon cycle" and that would not be a good situation to pursue. So knowing myself very well, I figured I needed a week to calm down before I posted and I did.
The best news of this is, the zoo was just looking for artists to partake in a HUGE commission…. And wouldn’t you know it, because I was there on Tuesday and K saw my work, she offered e up for one of the positions. This Thursday we get called in for an info session on the specs of the project. It’s to be done for next spring. LOTS of funding as well. So I am just overjoyed that K kept me in mind.
What can I say, people have always let me down, but the animals and all their relations never did. And that day was proof of that!
I just realized what a massive write up THAT was… I got work to do! I’ll check you guys later. Hopefully, some of these “big projects” I have in mind will fall into place and before I know it, the snowballs will be rolling. XD
So after a morning full of "pleasant surprises" that left me red in the face, and swelling from rage, I had to get to the Zoo- regardless that I was going alone.
I had made a meeting with a friend of mine at the zoo who is a local conservationist so that I could give her some things I wanted to pass along, but most importantly: She was going to treat whoever came that day to a very special and unique day at the zoo.
And well, it only ended up being myself, but originally she had planned to get me and another 6 people in for free, and taken behind-the-scenes to get closer looks and contact with the animals. She knows very well that I am an artist, and I told her my artist buddies were coming along- so she thought that getting closer to some of the animals would be great for our sketching capacities. I also told her that some of us were avid conservationists as well- so she figured a hands on approach was going to be welcome.
Well, I got to the zoo, and no fooling, they called her to the gate (For the sake of the rest of the post, I’ll call her “K”). In a small "Zoo golf cart" she came to pick me up. I got in for free and she said that she had arranged some time-specific meetings... but other than that, I could ask to see and do anything.
First meeting was going to the African pavilion. The vet on call that day had to do some dentistry on a Cheetah... and I was invited to come in and see him- not only work on the animal- but I actually got to TOUCH the cheetah! It was sedated of course, but still. I touched a LIVE CHEETAH! Holy crap is their fur so soft! Unlike the lions who have a rougher, coarser type of hair, these guys are really silky on the top, and fluffy down on the under chest. I was NOT expecting that!
So then, K took me to the “aviary” at the zoo- the area made for handling some of the birds. Last time I had been at the zoo, we were there for National Bird Watching/Migratory day, and while promised to see the Eagle, it had been raining so the handler brought a Peregrine Falcon instead. So she thought we can go in and see if any of the Eagles were being handled or not.
Turned out, they were doing a check up on one of the African Storks, and those things are SO BIG.
Didn’t get to touch that one- and didn’t want to. It wasn’t sedated, and those things actually do bite…so I didn’t want to risk it. XD
I wanted to get shots of the animals when being handled, but K asked- for certain obvious reasons- I do not. I totally understood that, and was too busy sketching or touching anyways. Or asking a ZILLION questions about the animals.
So then we went puttering about in the golf cart here and there. We get so much more accomplished when you are driving from one pavilion to the next, but in a certain point of time, we wanted to walk in order to take in the wonderful forest scenery that the so has.
Our last stop is a “touch and learn” station that the zoo actually sets up on certain days (if they get a volunteer to do it). This place welcomed photos and all, so I was taking a bunch of skulls and bones. The Volunteer there was SO nice... and when people cleared out and it was just me and her, we got to talking and all. She even let me touch the Ostrich egg shells! I noted how it totally felt like ceramic tile... and she said that on her spar time, she actually tried to take one of the fragments and break it.. but she couldn’t! The egg shell is incredibly hard.
You can tell which skull was what animal as they are tagged appropriately. :)
During the course of the day K, some of the vets/trainers/volunteers and I were discussing about different aboriginal cultures and their regard to, and preservation of animals, environment, and other cultural things. Like myths and legends. We were exchanging a bunch of thing we learned and know, and little things in regard to spirituality.
It was then that we had brought up our own individual practices, and if some of us actually had Manitous, Tunghat, Helpers, Na[g]huals and the lot. K and I got to talking, and she offered that before she had to go, she’s drop me off at one of my “families”. I asked if we could go to the Jaguars. I wanted to got to the Wolves, but they were a long ways off, and I figured if they are anything like me, the heat of the day would render them “out of commission” and they wouldn’t be up and active at all. K laughed that I was “on the ball” with that one, so we went to see my Nahual.
When we got there, me and K parted ways. I thanked her a ZILLIONG times for the great tour and “behind-the-scenes” she set up.
After she left, I was left with my babies.
Needless to say, the first pic I took just made me laugh with how well it personified my Nahual:
One sexy spotted ass there Mi Hermeno!
So I was hanging around the enclosure taking pics of the female (she’s the melanistic one, and was on the move), and just talking to them. I do this often with animals as I was taught by some Anishinabe Elders that you do this with animals. After all, they are the same as us. We can share our voices and our silence with them. When people came by, I just quieted down and watched for way to long, thinking about the day and everything that happened- both infuriating and amazing.
I also was thinking about the Aztec teaching of my Nahual, the Obsidian day that I was born on, and of course, the story of the Jaguar’s younger brother- Ocelotl.
It was then when I just looked down in thought that I noticed right in front of me- square on the green bush RIGHT in front of me- a GIANT black feather. It was in the “moat” area of the enclosure... only separated by a small fence and bar that I was leaning on. I squeezed my head and arm between the fence and bar, reached over and pulled the feather into my hand.
I was stunned. It is an eagle feather. A REAL eagle feather. A primary as well- it’s the length f my forearm, and the “stem” is the length of my palm. I even noticed the bit of tattered and missing feather at the base of it that was probably the reason for the discard.
I was a little bit stunned at the “find” when I looked back into the enclosure. The Female Jaguar was standing right in front of me (in the enclosure) and just looking. Not panting, not walking, not twitching. Just LOOKING at me. One lady mentioned to her spouse how “that girl found a big father... and that cat just keeps looking at her.”
After a bit, I just nodded my head in a half-bow of thanks, and the Jaguar just went back to pacing.
I got to meet the Lion Keeper as well, ad they were feeding some “empty” morsels to the Lions, so I got me some great shots of them. I needed them too because I need plenty of refs for Lions and Bears and Owls for an upcoming project of mine, so it was a WELCOME moment.
And while there, I took this picture of the Olive Baboon. I thought it was a perfect representation as to what I saw a lot at the zoo- the "animals" being the people on the OUTSIDE, but the actual animals on the inside were far more well mannered, affectionate, and intelligent then some of the monkeys behind the glass.
I carried on to the Canadian pavilion to find the wolves all fast asleep in the shade. I laughed. I would wanted to do the same for nearly the entire day - summer is NOT my season. XD
So I was there, went to look at the bears, lynx, owl, eagles, and then it was close to being 4:30 pm… so I headed home.
A few days later, I told Master George - who is the Master of the Okichitaw Martial arts in the NCC, and also an Eagle Clan member- about the scenario with the Eagle feather, he smiled and told me “You know what that means? What she was telling you? She was telling you that you and her were the same.”
The feather is going to be cleaned, blessed, and kept for work. I cannot express how immense this situation is. Eagle feathers cannot be bought as they are illegal for sale, and within the community, they are few and far between. Everyone keeps telling me how important and gifted I was with this scenario. I still cannot believe it.
I got a whole swack-load of pics, tons of lions, playful bear in its pond, tigers, butterflies, awesome birds that I need for another project… overall, around 88 pics. And LOTS of sketches.
The only down side was that for the rest of the week, I had to be on blood pressure meds due to my blood pleasure sky-rocketing high. So much so that I had dizzy spells and ringing in my ears. The doc advised I go on them immediately- only to tell me to get OFF them immediately because I started on my "moon cycle" and that would not be a good situation to pursue. So knowing myself very well, I figured I needed a week to calm down before I posted and I did.
The best news of this is, the zoo was just looking for artists to partake in a HUGE commission…. And wouldn’t you know it, because I was there on Tuesday and K saw my work, she offered e up for one of the positions. This Thursday we get called in for an info session on the specs of the project. It’s to be done for next spring. LOTS of funding as well. So I am just overjoyed that K kept me in mind.
What can I say, people have always let me down, but the animals and all their relations never did. And that day was proof of that!
I just realized what a massive write up THAT was… I got work to do! I’ll check you guys later. Hopefully, some of these “big projects” I have in mind will fall into place and before I know it, the snowballs will be rolling. XD