Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
Posted at 11:54 am January 14, 2008 by Tina Hunter
I'd like to introduce you to the Animal Care Center (ACC) kids at the Wild Animal Park. To some people they look similar"”little, brown, big ears"”but they couldn't be more different in their " animalalities." There is Nukie, the long-necked southern gerenuk (like the one pictured at right) who is popular and quirky and makes all of us keepers laugh! Then there is the bouncy clown of an addra gazelle who seems to always be the center of attention AND is the only boy. Third, we have the big-eared beauty Sammy the Malayan sambar deer (like the one pictured below), who doesn't seem to mind when the nyala chews on her ears (they are just so big and fun, I hear!). Last, but not least, is the lovely striped lowland nyala affectionately called Stripey. I know, I know. We are not very creative with names, but it works! (These nicknames are used by the ACC keepers and are NOT official). ALL in all, they have a great life here at the ACC.
Our day starts at 6 a.m. when we turn on the lights in the baby area we call " the pie" (because of its shape). We need to get the youngsters up from their nice warm beds. We open the doors and watch them blink to get their eyes into focus. As soon as they realize their bottles are here, they don't seem to mind the hour and all is forgiven. The long-legged princess Nukey is always the first up. She is always hungry and eats so much, and she is still so tall and thin. I wish that worked for humans! Stripey is shy and demure and she really doesn't like to be touched by humans. Our addra gazelle calf is kind of goofy, and he prances around a lot. Sammy is mellow and she and Stripey usually get up around the same time. The keepers usually have to wait for them. I wonder what they think when we keepers stand around the corner making all these funny noises, trying to get their attention. We try to sound like their moms would, but I am kind of bad at that. The little ones still respond, however, and innocently approach us, wide-eyed and confused. But we all know who is really in control here!
Tina Hunter is a keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
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January 14th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Thank you for the endearing descriptions of these animals you are raising. They are fortunate to have people mothers like you to care for them. I can read into your words and find the affection and respect you have for the creatures under your keep. But holy cow, if you have to wake them up at 6 a.m., what time do YOU have to wake up???
January 14th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Very sweet blog. Are these the babies we see when we visit the " nursery" at the WAP. It's sort of pie shaped - and they always have a lovely variety of babies - like the one's you are describing. Off the topic - but since you brought up their silly names - when I visited Alaska I went to visit Jeff King's home where he raises his dogsledding teams. They had a litter of new pups. The 2 young daughters got to name each new litter. As you could imagine, they would start to run out of names. Once, they named a litter after the characters from the TV show " Friends" . I suggested that the next litter be named after drinks at Starbucks - Latte, Mocha, Cappucinno, Espresso. Suppose if you ever got stuck - you could do the same.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Thanks, Tina, what a fun time you keepers must have with all these young-ins around.