Onward

When I came in to the hallway of the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater today, my last day as an employee there, Maureen said, "You get to do whatever you want today!" I thought, "Great, I can make the perfect day! I'm going to--hold on..." It struck me then that if I were to create the perfect day, it would look mostly like every other day at Wild Wonders.



First I spent an hour cleaning the bird of prey mews, and broke the news to the raptors that I wasn't coming back. Then I spent another hour dicing produce and preparing the bizarre culinary concoctions that the animals eat. After a lively break with my coworkers, I asked Quito the green-winged macaw to participate in a training session with me. He responded by raising one foot in the air toward me, asking me to pick him up. Quito is learning to extend his wings on command, and considering he started out just shrugging, I think full wing extentions like he offered me today are impressive.



Next I took Jumbo Jet, a radiated tortoise, out for a snack of clover in the grass, and then helped set up for one of the theater's big presentations. Mostly this consisted of asking animals to go into their crates and strategically placing treats and props. During the show I stayed behind the scenes to release animals from their kennels at their cues and direct them back when their routines were through. After show clean-up, I harnessed Buckley the beaver and took him for a short jaunt around the zoo while I talked to visitors about him. I then had just enough time to bring Canberra the tawny frogmouth out into the sunshine for a quick sunbathe before lunch.



My coworker Sara and I jogged through scenic Point Defiance park on our lunch break, with the sun dappling the paths through the thick trees. By the time I cooled down and ate, it was time to set up for the next show. This time my role was to present to the audience. Our show is really an entire play, scripts, costumes, sound effects and all; the difference is that we have a lot more animals doing cameos than any play I've ever heard of. Performing in these shows is one of my favorite parts of working at Wild Wonders. I love hearing the "oohs" and "ahhs" of people who have never seen an aardvark dig, a fishing cat go fishing, or a hawk dive after prey.



By the time we cleaned up after the second show, there were less than two hours left of our ten hour day. I squeezed in one last training session with Quito, who again proved that parrots are very intelligent birds by holding his wings extended for slightly longer when I gave him the hand signal cue for slightly longer. Twiggy the red-legged seriema was next in line for attention. She needed a refresher course in her "hold" behavior, which means she should stand fairly still and focused on a target when the trainer cues her.

The last animal I accompanied onto zoo grounds was Phoenix the Harris' hawk. He said, "cheep cheep" when I asked him to step onto my glove while I untied his leash from the perch. I chose a shady spot near the path, but it was late in the day so mostly Phoenix and I had the place to ourselves. I fed him a few bits of chick and explained that I wouldn't be there to take care of him anymore, and that he should be sure to fly well in shows, but that I didn't mind if he wanted to foot some people now and then or yell his impatient "caaaaawww" at them. He said, "cheep cheep."

Before I left, I cleaned out my locker, turned in my uniforms and keys and walked once past each of the enclosures to look at the animals one last time as one of their keepers. I did feel sad, but the feeling that overshadowed my sorrow was the realization that I was extremely lucky. I had constructed my perfect day, just like Mo said, and it was exactly like any other day for me at the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater. Not many people can say that most days at their job are nearly perfect.

Needless to say, I will miss the theater. But I am optimistic about building my own new role in Germany at the Magdeburg Zoo and school. As must as I loved Wild Wonders, I am ready for more than I could get there.