Day 4 - Joy and Bliss

::Day 4 Theme is Bliss/Joy...what gives you joy and what makes you feel "blissful":: 

 

Well aside from the usual, my husband, dogs, family and friends, one of the few things here in El Paso that gives me joy is volunteering at the El Paso Zoo  I've been volunteering there since March and love it.  Recently I just completed my Animal Handlers training and exam so I am now able to work with only the education animals.  The education collection is fairly big with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.  Aside from helping the keepers with daily chores in the area I also enjoy assisting with Education programs on and off zoo grounds.  I love the way kids faces light up when you bring an animal out and then a bunch of questions come your way.  "What is it? Will it bite?"  Educating the public, especially kids, is such an important part that zoo 's play.  For example, most people wouldn't know that the Sumatran Orangutan is threaten because of palm tree plantations and that even though we are thousands of miles away we can still help them.  The easiest thing that people can do is not purchase products that contain Palm Oil.  Or if you must buy that product, email the company and ask them to remove palm oil from their product as it is hurting the Orangutan's.  

Yes I would love a job at the zoo and hopefully the things I'm learning will help me however the zoo is city owned so therefore job postings have been very limited.  But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that maybe it will happen.   

 **As I leave zoo grounds I try to walk our Africa section to see the zebras and giraffes.  Here mom watches over her baby (born in late June)in the sun as she cools off in the shade.  (I don't blame her as the temp was 104 degrees when I left) When we got the zebras the keepers were unaware that she was pregnant until doing routine exams during the quarantine process.  Needless to say it was a happy surprise.