Tasmanian Tiger alive!

An interesting read that indicates the Thylacine, (Tasmanian Tiger), may actually still exist. If it's true then I for one would be ecstatic. Such a wonderful, strange beast. It even has a pouch!
Please be alive!!

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/06/18/879154.htm

Crow life.

Here's a short video of a friendly Crow enjoying a spot of lunch. She is very cool. Gotta love Corvids eh. She started by tearing off pieces and burying them then going back to eat the rest. A very interesting close study of Corvid behaviour.

Earth, Cyprus, and.....

So i'm off to Cyprus.
Binoculars at the ready I will be doing a bit of bird watching. An opportunity to see some new firsts for me. Looking forward to that. Not so keen on 100' temperatures though! It will be a great break away from the hassles at work. Look out for my new bird sightings list.

On a trip to Stover country park recently I saw a Hawfinch for the first time. Very cool. And I saw a host of Nightjars and many Glowworms. So good to see these. Finding them is tricky but if you know what your doing then they never disappoint. So far, every trip I have made I have seen and heard them all. So lucky.

In other news. Planet Earth 2.0 discovered. A new planet has been found with Earth like qualities. I have got my ticket. Bag's already packed. Where do I queue?

Spam. Love it. Discuss.

Catch up.

Not written anything for a while. Been very busy now spring has sprung.
New animals to sort out, idiots to deal with and garden to spruce up. Had help with all to make life easier.

The Swallows and Martins are back!! Brilliant.

Grass is growing fast now so need to try and keep on top of it. Had some great sunshine to help it on its way and now a little rain to motivate it. Planted some wild flowers and trimmed back the trees so gardens looking good. Thanks to the help on this too. :-)

Taking a day off is proving more difficult lately so looking forward to a good long break in July. Although not so keen on the apparent temperature in Cyprus in July being around 100+! I like warm weather but that's a bit hot for me.

There's been some good astronomical events lately. Another Dragon supply craft went over UK chasing down the ISS which made interesting live viewing and the Lyrid meteor shower gave a good show too. Venus and Jupiter been showing really well and the thinnest crescent moon a few evenings ago was spectacular.

My 4x4 training is all booked in so looking forward to that. A trip away is also coming which i am also really looking forward to. Get my car serviced and raring to go.

Stay well folks and i'll try and keep you updated more often. 

Solar Eclipse

So today i was lucky enough to have clear skies to see the Solar Eclipse. What a wonderful sight. Not 100% but around 85%. That'll do me. Had some great viewing options that worked really well. Even got some cool pictures which you can see below.

No dark skies but it went a little dusky. Nothing happened with the animals either. It didn't get dark enough. Hope you all had a great view if you had the opportunity. If you didn't, i hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks all.

Tapir swimming

Just for fun and interest. I filmed our Tapir having fun in their pool. Chana, (the dark faced one), and Mani, (paler face). Mother and son loving an evening swim. 

Our pool is shared by the Capybara and Tapir, (and a few Ducks and Geese). The pool is deep enough for them all to be able to dive and swim at full speed. Excellent exercise and important for natural behaviour. They do also poop in it but the pool is constantly refreshed with natural spring water flowing through it. A great feature of this large mixed exhibit enclosure.

We love to see them playing so i thought i'd share it with you.

Enjoy.

Click on the link below to see the video.

Tapir swimming fun.

Animal antics!

Wow. What a busy week!

Had important meetings and animal movements. Big news is i collected four Common Marmosets from Longleat Safari Park. They are being released in to their new enclosure today so come and see them. They are awesome. 

We have been re-vamping a few enclosures this week too. One of our animal staff has been teaching college students the art of enclosure management. The enclosure in question was the European Eagle Owl. To do this safely we had to remove the birds so they would not be stressed and workers would not get hurt. I filmed the capture which, although is stressful at the time, only took a few seconds and ultimately was better for the birds to be away from the commotion. An hour or so later they were safely returned to their re-vamped home. Good job by all involved. See video at the link below.

Some more enclosure sprucing is planned for the spring including a sand pit for our Ostrich which we hope will encourage breeding and sand bathing. 

Spring is definitely in the air as all the birds are busy nest building and mating. Exciting times.

Lots more to do but if i told you all of it you wouldn't need to come and see it. See for yourself and make a visit.

Catching a Europan Eagle Owl

Show time

Just went and got myself some tickets to see Reeve's and Mortimer 25 year anniversary show. Can't wait. When I started my career with animals 'The smell of Reeves and Mortimer' was new to our telly boxes. Very surreal comedy and definitely marmite telly. For me and my friends and colleagues we loved it. We would spend our days quoting and messing around in a Reeves and Mortimer fashion. Getting these tickets is rekindling memories of my early Safari Park days with some of the greatest people around. Some of whom I am still in contact with. Love you guys. The show is going to be amazing!

I also have tickets to see Bill Bailey. Different kind of comedy but still as funny. Saw him live last year and he was brilliant. We had the privilege of meeting him after the show and he was so nice and friendly. He has an open invite to visit us at the zoo and he is keen to do so when his schedule allows. Can't wait.

More exciting news very soon. This week in fact. Keep viewing the blogs. 

A quick thanks for viewing and to those who have shared. Please feel free to share my blogs. 

Cheers an that.

Till next blog. LLAP

Chortle.

International stuff.

Items noticed from around the world. 
In Canada, Star Trek fans have been defacing five dollar notes by drawing on the head and making it look like 'Spock' in tribute to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. The resemblance is brilliant, and a lovely tribute. LLAP.

My Zazu story has been seen all over the world. It was seen in USA and Malaysia. Very cool. Did another interview yesterday for another paper. That should be out on 11th or 18th March. Watch this space.

The incredible Woodpecker with a Weasel on it's back picture has also gone global. What a stunning picture.

So everything is very international this week,....... which is nice.

Just got dark and Venus, Mars and Jupiter are all up shining brightly, as is the Moon looking resplendent in the early evening sky. Orion is as stunning as ever. Making the most of it while we still have it in our winter sky. Don't forget the Solar eclipse coming to your sky very soon.  

Saw some Cock soup in the shop today. Not for me thanks!!

Tribbles.

Press story

Sorry for the absence recently.

Remember i told you about the press coming to do a story about Zazu the Rhea. Well, it finally came about and here it is. Hope you enjoy it. It was great fun doing it. Please feel free to comment and share it too. Click on the link below.

Enjoy.

Bringing up the Rhea.

A tribute to 'Spock'

It was with sadness to hear the news that Leonard Nimoy, who immortalized the Star Trek character 'Spock' died today. I grew up watching Star Trek and have been a big fan since it's first airing. He created the role brilliantly and he will be very hard to top. Although his singing left something to be desired! Kids and adults around the world will be saluting him with his famous hand gesture. He may be gone in body but his spirit will 'live long and prosper' Goodbye Leonard Nimoy. 

Ironically i was given a 'Spock' collectors figure just a few days ago.

Not much more to be said today. Was very busy at work, and as usual, ran out of time to get everything done. Have a good evening and be cool. 

LLAP  \\//,

Time.

Basically there is never enough of it! Trying to relax at home and have some time off yet i am constantly checking work emails and doing things work related. 
Damn you technology. For this means you are never too far away from work and able to relax and unwind. One day i will learn to turn computers off and chill out!

Took the dog to get a hair cut today. She looks so odd with short silver hair. A different dog! Or maybe i came home with a different dog! She looks cool anyway.

Watched 'The Equalizer' this afternoon. Very good. Very different to the original starring Edward Woodward. Now about to watch 'Alien'. Retro telly today then.

Egg and Bacon rolls....... They do if you push them hard enough!

Are you looking out for the Solar Eclipse. I definitely will be. Let me know what you think. Scopes at the ready and eclipse filters on stand-by. Cant wait :-)

New Avatar looks good doesn't it. 

Ripley.

Lechwe tagging video.

The other day we had a Lechwe calf born at the zoo. Just like agricultural animals, all zoo animals need to identifiable, especially from a distance. One method of identifier is a brightly coloured ear tag. Like wearing earrings, this does not hurt the animal. It is a very quick and painless procedure and also gives us an opportunity to give the calf a health check during the process. 

In the video you will see that the calf makes no attempt to avoid capture. This is because they have an in build sense to lay very low and not move so as not to draw attention to itself in the hope that any potential predator will not spot it and move on. They are often left for many hours by the parent lying in undergrowth hidden from predators. If they were out in the open following their mother they would be extremely vulnerable. It is not until they are around 10 days old when they will start to stay with the herd in the open.

The tagging procedure itself is relatively simple. It consists of a two sided soft disc with a unique number on it that can be read from a distance. It has a pin on one piece and a catch hole on the other designed to click shut when the two come together and will not fall out. The tag looks quite large on the calf but as it grows older it will be less out of proportion for the animal. The ear itself has three main veins running the full length of it. Being careful to avoid the veins you then squeeze the applicator together quickly and firmly so as to push the pin through the skin and into the opposite connector, clamping it tightly together. As the animal is so young it does not feel this. We place two tags, one in each ear, as a back up in case, during it's life, the animal loses one.

Once tagging is complete we sex it and give it a quick check over to see it is OK and then release it. During this process you will hear the calf calling for it's mum. For the safety of the staff the parent is shut outside the pen. The whole process lasts around three minutes and the calf is released immediately afterwards where he joined his mum. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAYspAbq23Q 

Thank you for watching.

Saving babies

A very mixed day for our latest addition to the Lechwe herd. We had a new calf born and so I went to see it was fit and healthy. Turns out it's a male. Gave him a health check and all is good. One hour later I take a call saying that there is a commotion in the corner of the field. I race down there to discover our little Lechwe calf tangled up in some branches and lying in deep slurry mud caused by the recent rain. Mum was desperately trying to help it but unable to get to it for the branches. I pushed my way through and pulled him from the mud and took him up to the shelter. I dried him off. Covered him in straw and made him warm and comfy. Mum close to hand watching intently. A few hours later I went back to see if he was OK and I am pleased to say he was walking around the enclosure with his mum looking fit and well. A good outcome for a rocky start.

In other news. Top Gear is frickin awesome. Maltesers are frickin yummy. Camels are things. Chairs are things too. Things are good, as are good things, although some things are bad. If you haven't guessed i have nothing else to update you with today so sorry to have wasted the last one minute of your life! 

Eiffel Tower.

Weather, or not!

So how did that come about?

Today we had a hail storm, rain, another hail storm, sunshine, then more hail, that turned to snow which then stopped and became sunshine again. Then it hailed, and paused for a bit and hailed again, oh, then it hailed again which turned to snow. Then sunshine. then rain and sun and rain and... you get the idea!

So the weather didn't know what to do today. Funny that. In the middle of it all we had a great rainbow showing. Not as windy as predicted so that was a bonus.

Had a second chinese meal today too. That is all.

Watching a show where they are flinging people from the tops of trees 21 metres up! Nice work if you can get it! 

417kg in 40 minutes. New PB. Job done for CN & TS.

Veloceraptor

Wet Wet Wet!

How wet was it today then? Bloody wet i'd say. Had some major flooding through the zoo today. Drains got blocked by leaves. Flow of water was pretty fast. Faster than the drains could cope with. Local village was flooded too, as were my pants! Got totally soaked right through to my kecks. Not pleasant.

Wallaby was safely boxed and sent to his new home. He left behind him a room full of carnage! And poo. Gratefully cleaned up by two of our lovely volunteers. Thanks guys.

Finally home and drying out. Time for a chinese me thinks.

Telly, takeaway, friends over, warm and dry makes for a good evening. Have one yourself.

Bloke walks in to pub with a Giraffe. On the way in the Giraffe smacks his head on the door and falls to the floor.
The barman says "Oi, you can't leave that lying there!"
Bloke says "It's not a Lion, it's a Giraffe"

Particulates.

Wallaby days

Today we caught a Wallaby to go to a new home. That was fun! In the process we discovered we have four Joeys on the go, just in time for the easter holidays. 

The large male we caught put up a good fight. Giving me a good set of bruises on my leg as a parting gift. Which was nice. A very strong, healthy animal. He's produced a few good Joeys.

Thanks to those who helped me if your reading this.

Won't bang on about the stars again but you have to take a look at the night sky tonight. Planets showing beautifully again. Through a telescope they are incredible. Go look see.

Had some amazing response to these blogs. Thanks to everyone reading. Please feel free to share them. 

Tomorrow is another day. Enjoy it. Although by all accounts the weather is going to do it's damnedest to ruin it for you! Sod it. Enjoy it anyway.

Is 50 shades of grey an orgy on a saga holiday? 

Tumble dryers

Bonus Cat blog!

So, i just made myself some lovely fruit loaf toast and butter. Carefully placed it on the arm of the sofa and sat my arse down in readiness for a fruity feast..... Until the Cat showed up!!

Said Cat decides to jump on to the arm of the sofa that contained my toast. Landing directly on to the plate, scattering my toast to the four corners! Some landing on my lap. Some landing on the sofa, some landing on the Cat. All landing butter side down.... Of course! This also resulted in the Cat jumping on to the back of the sofa spreading butter with every step!

I leap up to get a cloth and start wiping down the fruit loaf 'cat'astrophe. I clean my trousers. I clean the sofa. And yes, i cleaned the fecking Cat too! Bleeding knobber!

He's now licking his buttery legs while i sit on a damp chair!

Moral......... Don't eat toast in front of Cats!

Not a lot.... but space.

Not a lot happened today really. Fairly quiet, get on with it, kinda day with no interruptions! Amazing really. That never happens. Had plenty of emails to trawl through so it was still busy. 

A few interesting developments occurred so they will become obvious at a later date. Weather was favourable too so it was nice and busy. Good to see.

ISS is passing nightly this month. Good to see this event. The skies have been pretty clear and viewing chances have been good. The planets are out to play too. Venus, Mars, Neptune and Jupiter showing well. Early morning Saturn too. The Moon in various stages also awesome. Love to see the winter skies. Orion dominating. So get out and do some star gazing before the summer night sky returns. (Although that's really cool too!).

Two peas in a pod........ Yuk!

Chipboard.

Tiger and Ice

Found this video from 2010. An interesting look at what we have to consider in harsh winters when working with dangerous animals. The ice lasted for weeks and got to 10 - 12 inches in places with the build up. We used a digger bucket to smash the ice until it became too thick even for that! Then very quickly it was gone. Luckily.

Click the link below.
Enjoy the video.

 Tiger and Ice!

Owls and Internet

Last night, on my way back from Torquay, i saw a Barn Owl hunting along the verges. Such a cool thing to see, and a rare treat. Although their numbers are rising they are still a rare sight in our countryside. So i was very excited when i saw it!. 

Today i finally bought a new wi-fi router. Been struggling with the old for ages and i found one on offer so i took the plunge. If your reading this blog then i have managed to set it up right! If not, then your not and i haven't. Obviously! 

Saw some Ducklings today but was unable to take a photo of me pointing at them for fear of being ridiculed in the shop!... Don't ask.

Also bought some bread rolls and a DVD. Just saying.

Two Cows in a pub. One says "Mooooo"...... The other said "I was going to say that!"

Incontinentia Buttocks.

Walks and stuff

Took the dogs for a lovely walk around Cockington today near Torquay.
Squirrel chasing for the dog. Tea cake and tea for us. Which was nice.
Now home for a lovely chicken supper to the dulcet tones of the dog snoring!

Nice time of year for the weather eh. 

Still getting used to the google + mallarky thing. Not got the hang of it yet. The blog still seems to be getting out there though. You have two blogs to read today, you lucky people! 

Something to mull over..... What's the last thing to go through a fly's mind as it hits your windscreen at 70 mph?.........    It's arse! 

Treacle.

Changes

Just changed the place where this blog is written and displayed. I hope it's working because i currently cannot see it! This blog is really a test to see if i get viewed. Please comment if you have seen this so i can be sure it is working correctly. Thank you.

Off to Torquay later for a jolly. I will post more musings about it if anything muse worthy happens!

Short blog for now but be sure to keep tuned in as i have some very interesting updates for you very soon. I need to know this is working first though.

Tra for now. Thanks for reading.

Tables.

Guns and stuff.

Did some early morning firearms practice today. The stars were amazing just before sunrise. A very different view from the evening sky. Shooting was interesting in the frost at twilght.

Then tonight. The ISS went directly overhead and as bright as a bright thing. Always great to see. 
Finished the evening off with a mahoosive plate of chips and curry sauce. Nice :-)

Looking forward to a nice lie in tomorrow. 

Keep your Duck pointing pictures coming and share with us all.

Big telly and full belly = lazy evening in :-)

Tangerine.

Surprises.

Today was a day of surprises. Some for me and some for others. 

Took an interesting phone call with some very interesting content that i can't tell you about, so i'm not going to. But it was interesting enough to mention that i took the call. On a similar note. An interesting conversation may lead to interesting developements. And tomorrow i hope to take another couple of interesting phone calls that will be the continuation of my soon to come surprise. :-)

Gave a surprise to someone else who left us today. A volunteer that had not been with us for too long but in that time had learned a lot and help us a great deal. We took her to meet Jasiri and the Tigers for a special close encounter as a parting gift. She loved it.

Proper cream tea for my tea tonight. Nice. Now watching dinosaurs beat each other up! Oh, and i took delivery of some Solar Sunglasses today in preparation for the upcoming Solar eclipse. That'll be a good one. I'll keep you posted.

Had some great Duck pointing pictures come in. Keep them coming folks. It's a good laugh. Thanks.

Live long and prosper people.

Tornado.

Explosions.

Took Zazu and Asbo out again today. Asbo was, once again, a star and everybody loved her. Very well behaved except for pooping on the gallery floor! Oops.

Zazu, on the other hand, was a bit naughty. He's getting a bit hormonal now as the Rhea breeding season kicks in. He's not mature enough just yet but the rest are and he is getting a bit feisty. He had a peck at my neck today and has given me a bruise! Little bugger!

Another nice warm day today. Lots of people around the zoo. Great to see. 

Been watching Gogglebox lately. It's so funny. Some of the characters are hilarious. Love this show. New series starts next week. Excellent.

New funny pictures starting to take off on Facebook. Duck pointing! Point at a Duck and take a photo then put it on facebook. Tell your friends and get it trending.

No joke tonight. Your turn to send me one so comment below with your jokes.

Cat baskets.

No explosions were made in the making of this blog.

Valentines day

You all fell for it didn't you! Dictated by commercialism to woo your partner. If you love them then woo them whenever you like, not when the shops say so! The one day of the year it's expected of you. Where's the romance in that! If you want to be romantic then do something when your partner least expects it! Trust me. It has way more impact and meaning. Come on people, be individual......... Moan over.

On a lighter note. Took Zazu and Asbo out to meet the visitors today. They loved it. Asbo is very entertaining and Zazu is very good when he's out and about. Good job really, for a five foot bird!!

Weather was great today so everyone was in a good mood. Zoo was busy and all the animals had extra treats and showed off well. Spring is definitely in the air. My surprise took another step closer too. Had confirmation so barring any disasters it's going ahead. More to follow as i get it. Keep tuned in :-)

There's a few nights of clear skies over the next few evenings so the telescope will be coming out again. Awesome. Bring on the stars.

I keep farting Mike Oldfield tunes...... Doctor says i have Tubular Bowels!

Parsnips.

Today was a day

Unlucky for some. Today is Friday the 13th.

Not so bad for me. Had a good day of fact finding and eye opening discoveries. Trawling through legislation sounds pretty dull but the information i got, well, it never ends! As soon as you get to the red tape you realise there's a bit more of it just beyond! And then some!

Weather was pretty pants too. Heavy rain being a pain. Tomorrow looks brighter so i reckon i'll take Zazu out for a jolly around the zoo. Asbo too, so if your around come and say hi.

Watching a show about classic cars. They are doing a car that i used to own. Now i feel old! Thanks telly :-/ Good show though.

Not much else to report really so a short blog this time.

Fruit loaf and tea for tea.

My mate Sid has become a victim of ID theft...... He's now called S

Chest freezer.

Darwin

Today is Darwin day. Celebrating the birth of a genius. 

Not the only person to come up with evolutionary theories but widely seen as the discoverer of evolution of all living things and writer of 'The origin of species'. 

Most of my working life has been dedicated to animals and is inspired by great people such as Charles Darwin and Sir David Attenborough. I would have loved to have met Darwin but i have been lucky enough to have met Sir David Attenborough.

In other news..... 
My truck no longer creaks! and i had my hair cut. Neither events are related!

Was also recognised in the street today by a stranger who'd seen me in the paper relating to the zoo. Strange feeling being known by complete strangers. 

I was up a ladder putting a cinema poster up today. A lady said, 'Is King Kong Coming’, I said, ‘No it’s just the paste off the brush!'

Happy Darwin day people. 

Pirate.

Day off.

Had a day off today so i was able to get a nice long lie in....... NOT!
Bloody Cats body clock gets me up at early o'clock as per usual! Oh well. Cats fed and telly on. Time to catch up on my weekly recorded television.

Work is never far away though so i did some correspondence and co-ordinating regarding our little surprise. You'll get an update on that soon.

Posted a pressie to a family member and got back to telly catch up. So nice to relax and get some housework done! Looks like we have some interest on the empty house next door. Hope they're nice people.

Been looking at my statistic for these blogs and my views are running into thousands, and from all over the world. Literally hundreds in USA, dozens in Aus and tens in other areas including places i've hardly heard of! So. A huge thank you to everyone who reads these and please share with everyone. 

Today's musing...... 
I tried to share a sandwich with a homeless guy today. He told me to bugger off and get my own!

:-) 

Parsec

Interesting developments

Hello all.

Had some very interesting developments today. Was told something and followed it up and looks like it's true. What? You may ask. Not telling you!............ At least, not yet. It'll spoil the surprise :-)

I will, of course, be telling you all as soon as it comes to fruition. Keep tuned in to my blog for further updates.

In other news. Other things happened and stuff was done. Good work. 

We also see a welcome return of the International Space Station to UK skies. Love seeing it travel across our sky at a leisurely 17.500mph! With a good set of binoculars or a lightweight moveable telescope you can make out the solar arrays. Love it. 

One more thing..... I was scouring the town in search of a Brillo pad today..... Turns out i had one in my hand all the time!!

Pigeons

Superstar.

Today i did an interview and film all about Zazu the Rhea. He was fantastic. He didn't get twitchy or panicky and went everywhere i wanted him to go. He stood still when we needed it and walked when needed too. He is a very cool bird......... He's also a little shit when he wants to be!!! His over familiarization of people means he will sometimes peck you when he's being inquisitive, and that can hurt! But today, he was a superstar. As soon as it is published i will post the links. It's going national! 

The keepers also gave our new Lion Jasiri a huge lump of meat that he wouldn't normally get. An audience gathered to watch him devour his prize. He was released from his pen and he went straight for the treat.......... sniffed it, licked it, turned his nose up and walked away! He's not a fan of eating in public. I bet there's nothing left of it by tomorrow morning. No spectacle for us this time. At least Josie appreciated hers. 

Went house hunting last night...... Can't believe i forgot where i lived!

Chipolatas. 

Zazu

Jasiri

Birds!

Today was a day spent with the Birds. 

Took Asbo the Crow out for the first time since she lost her jessies. Put a new set on and took her for a walk around the zoo. People love to see her and she even got attention from some wild males. Sat on the picnic area with her hopping about. Great to get back to her training. She is in peak condition. Good to see.

Took Zazu the Rhea out today also. Walked him around the zoo and in to the restaurant for a quick jolly. Big day tomorrow as he gets a load of attention from the press. I'll update you on how that goes tomorrow.

It's very satisfying working with animals. They can sometimes be a pain in the butt but on the whole, they are great fun and very rewarding.

The wild Robins are getting friendlier too. Coming for food from the hand. Gotta love birds eh.

Had a go at water polo yesterday...... Didn't do very well, my horse drowned!

Trampolines.

Eaten by a Lion!

Ever wondered what it would be like to be eaten by a Lion. Well, take a look at the video's below and get up close and personal to a piece of meat while it's being eaten by a Lioness! 
Warning. Graphic sounds and vision. 
Listen to the crunching bones and watch Josie's pleasure at such a succulent morsel. 

We are so lucky to be able to witness such incredible things at such close proximity to our animals. It's also a great pleasure to share what we see and do. Hope you enjoy the video.

No underpants were soiled in the making of this video. :-)  


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZyYGiORbQY&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5TxtCD-IZw&feature=youtu.be

Show and tell.

Had another day of lecturing to a bunch of studes today. It's always rewarding when a room full of people actually sit and listen to what you have to say and are genuinely interested in the subject. Even if that subject can sometimes cause controversy. A good lesson. 

Also went through more pictures for more promotional stuff. Zazu the Rhea is about to become famous! Watch this space. And the Meerkats had a box of balls to play in. See video :-)

In other news. Somewhere, someone has done something! Sums that up really.

The Cats are going a bit bonkers tonight, racing about the place like it's a race track. Pinched my corned beef too, little buggers!

I decided to swap the bed for a trampoline.... The missus hit the roof!

Aardvarks.

Check this out for some Meerkat Mayhem! Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYapxg1XKeA

Past and present

Still working on archiving my photo's and videos collected over the past 30 years of working with animals. Found some great video of news stories and promotional stuff. So much done and so many changes. Great to see and some are very emotive. If your lucky i may post a few pictures! You need only ask.

Back to the present. The response to my blog has been great. Many well wishers and requests to keep it going. So many daily views from literally all over the world. USA, Australia, Indonesia and Cayman Islands! Plus many European countries. Never thought for one minute it would go that far. So if your reading this, i thank you, and the countless others, for taking the time to read. I hope i will continue to entertain you. Please feel free to share them also. Much appreciated.

Enough of the serious stuff. 

Watched 'RUSH' last night. A truly great film with great music. Totally recommend it. Rush out and buy it now. 
and..
My mate has been thrown out of a nudist camp because he wasn't jumping high enough during leapfrog!

Have a good day all :-)

Blast from the past

Today i have spent approximately 10 hours going through my photo library and putting it on to a hard drive for safe keeping.

To see what i have been up to over the past 30 years is so cool. Pictures of myself working with animals i had forgotten i worked with was an eye opener! 

I feel blessed to have done so much with so many people in so many different ways and with so many different animals. Elephant, Rhino, Giraffe, Lion, Tiger, Cheetah, Addax, Wildebeast, Zebra, Samba, Barasingha, Ostrich, African Hunting Dog, Bears, even Killer Whale, Sealion and Dolphin, to name a small proportion, have crossed my path during an epic life of animal care. 

Thank god for photographs!

Long may i be able to continue my work. Shame people get in the way! lol.

Todays joke. 'What's the difference between a Duck?.... One of it's legs are both the same.'

Enjoy your life, we only get one shot.

Thanks for reading.

Cats, Meerkats and hats!

Today was a good day. I did another talk to a group of students on capture and restraint, and not one of them needed restraining! So i guess they were captured by it. T'was a good talk.

Plenty of snow around today too. Took a bit of clearing to make it safe for the visitors and then the sun did the rest. Thanks sun. Where were you when i was shovelling!

Built a ball pit and filled it with plastic balls and mealworms and chucked it in with the Meerkats. They totally loved it. Searching for the mealworms in a box of balls turned out to be a bundle of fun that kept them going for ages. We filmed it too so we can share it with you all. The film will be out soon and i will post a link so you can see it.

We also got a large cat tree from a colleague and i put it together this evening. Within 30 seconds of placing it the Cats were on it. They are loving it. No video for this event. Sorry.

Now for the hats....... There aren't any. No hats were worn in the writing of this blog. No video of no hats are available either.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share these blogs. I'd like to beat my personal best for a days viewing of loads of views. Comment too if you like. I'd be interested to hear your views. :-)

Trilby.

More snow and a lecture.

So, after all the hard work on Sunday clearing snow, only for it to melt after a couple of hours. It came back tonight with a mini vengeance! It snowed for 40 minutes and managed to cover the entire zoo and surrounding area with around two to three inches. Yet just a few short miles away it is clear. Love the snow but it's a real pain to work and drive in. (unless you have a 4x4 hehe).

Today i talked to our students in a lesson about capture and restraint of wild animals. A very good lesson and enjoyable to do. They asked some very intelligent questions and we debated well. Show and tell was funny and cool also. It's great to share experiences with the newbies.

In other news..... My mate was telling me how he'd had sex with his missus on the freezer yesterday! Unfortunately they got caught, and now they've been banned from Iceland!

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to see it, does a Bear shit in the woods?

Parsley.

Snow time

So today the snow came today. We had a bit of cover across the zoo this morning. Enough to need to clear to allow safe passage for our visitors. Dartmoor had more. Staff scraped the ice and put down sand where needed. Job done with no effects to the zoo, except it's freezing out there! 

Just to make things interesting we had two tons of meat to cut, weigh and bag! Deep joy!..... Not. We did get a load of clearing up done by a load of useful volunteers. Thanks guys.

Now then, about my chips and curry sauce! Last night's epic munch was finally removed today! I won't go in to detail but it was gooood! No idea what tonight has in store. Cheese rolls no doubt.

On the look out for more snow over the next few days. If it gets too bad i'll be stopping at the zoo again! Glad I got a 4x4.

In the words of that great philosopher 'Feck, arse, drink, girls!'

Just been offered a chip butty. See ya.

Food baby

Today has been all about food. Had an awesome personalised over cooked shortbread biscuit made by the very capable JP. Star rating risen to 10! Nicely done.

Had a spiffing mash potato and sausage dinner, also made by JP. And then tonight I had a mahoosive portion of chips drowned in curry sauce with a battered sausage to compliment it. Ate the freeking lot bar an inch of sausage! 

As Mr Creasote would say.... 'Fuck off, i'm full up!'

And on the non food front. It snowed today :-)

Got to go now. I'm off for a poo! 

OMG! I can't believe this......

Sorry. Title was a ruse to see if you would view this blog! It worked didn't it. lol.

So. Now your here. I had a pretty good day today. Did some clever filming with our new Lion. He's such a star. Despite the camera failing the first time he was happy to be filmed twice. I'm sure the video will be available soon so watch this space.  Got a few extra jobs done and made plans for the next stage of joining our Lions together in one enclosure. Good times.

In space news. Comet Lovejoy is still visible with binoculars so get out there and find a break in the cloud and take a look. Also. Jupiter currently shines wickedly bright early in the morning. And, all those countless millions of other points of light in the sky are actually a swarm of Gerbils with tiny headlights on traveling towards us but very very slowly so you don't notice they are coming. True story.

Oh. And for your information. Chips and curry sauce rocks!

Armadillos!

Stuff, and cars!

Had an interesting day today. Important meeting with many good outcomes. Cold though! Walking around the Zoo was pretty fresh, and it snowed on my drive home. Good job i have a 4x4.

Talking of cars. 
Top Gear the other night was funny, as per usual. I watched a couple of older episodes and some of the cars were stunning! Works of art just standing still. The music was class too. Themes from Tron, Sherlock and Mass Effect all in one episode. Brilliant choices that really make a huge difference to the visuals. Emotive and awesome.

Discovered a new snack made from using up whats left of stuff in the cupboard. If i told what i used you'd think it disgusting, but i can tell you now. It was sooooo lush! I'm going to patent it and not give out my secret ingredients. If you want some you can ask me for it, but i aint gonna grass on ma stuff. (What happened there!?)

Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down.
Have a good day :-)

P.S. Aren't animals awesome!

Lazy day

Not done a lot today. Nothing exciting to report. Sat watching the telly has been the order of the day, although work is always a dodgy notification tone away! Can't remember a single day, since last July, when i haven't done something that's work related! 

Also been weather watching as they are forecasting colder weather, including snow, for Devon. Have to look out for that as it'll effect the animals and the way we work by quite a lot. Love the snow but it's a bugger to work in. I'm sure other zoobies can relate.

Anyway. Can't sit around here all day blogging to you lot. I got to get back to being lazy and watch more telly. If anything exciting happens i'll let you know.

Thanks for reading. 
Comments always welcome. 
Please be gentle! :-)

Passport

I had to re-new my passport today. That was an experience! 
I filled out the form. I got my photo's done. I dusted off my old passport and trundled off to the post office. 
First shock. They charge £9.95 just to look at the form for you!
Second shock. They rejected it because my signature had gone over the line by 2mm!
Third shock. I had to re-write the entire form again and return to the lengthy queue!
Fourth shock. I had to pay £72.50!
And on top of that, the assistant was actually quite rude and patronising at the start. Finished with a smile and enjoy your holidays though.... Once they got my money!
Glad i only have to do that once every ten years!

In other news. Housework done!

Space, and other stuff.

It's an interesting night in deep space tonight. Comet Lovejoy is still just about visible with a telescope as it disappears away from us for the next 8000 years, and Asteroid 2004 BL86 flies past us at 1.600.000 miles away. Also visible with a telescope. If you want to catch it again it'll be back in 200 years. The ISS will be gracing our skies again very soon too. Never tire of seeing it. Incredible to see in a telescope. You can make out the giant solar arrays as its trundles by at a leisurely 17,500mph! A must see for space fans.

In other news. Had a productive day today. Got lots of catching up done thanks to some very useful assistance. Always a good thing. Also, visitors from another Zoo were very complimentary about our charges, always welcomed. Jasiri showed really well as he came down for his treats. Found out his dad was the biggest Lion in Britain! No wonder Jasiri is so huge!

A good thumbs up day :-)

A week of natural events.

What a great week this has been. Started with a fantastic Starling show with over a million birds displaying above my head. Four sightings of a Great Grey Shrike, although i have personally yet to see it, but here's hoping. A pass of a large asteroid is coming close to Earth tomorrow night, (26/01/2015). The largest object to come close to us for a further 12 years. This object won't return for 200 years. I'll not wait up! 
Did some filming for the Zoo, which was fun and interesting, and made a booking for another magazine and TV interview. All involving Zazu the Rhea. It's great to take him for walks.
Plenty of spring flowers popping up everywhere too, making the Zoo look colourful again after a bit of a dull spell in winter. A fun filled interesting week.
Oh, and this blog thingy is taking off pretty well too. Hundreds of views of both my witterings and videos. Thanks to everyone who reads them.

Great Grey Shrike

A Great Grey Shrike, or Butcher Bird, has been spotted at Dartmoor Zoo over the last few days. Four people have reported the same bird. Excellent news as they are rare in the UK. I am also a tad annoyed that it is on my turf and i haven't seen it! I saw one in Kenya but to see one in Devon will be awesome. A pair is resident on north Dartmoor and are protected. To have a sighting at the Zoo is brilliant. I have reported it to the Rare Bird Network and the RSPB. Good news. This takes the species total spotted at the Zoo to 55!

Starlings.

Went to Shapwick Heath in Somerset yesterday to see the Starling roost. What can i say. I'm lost for words, except for the ones i'm writing here about it!
Arrived just in time to see the start of what must have been one million birds flying together! Incredible. Emotional experience. One of my bucket list must see events. They wheeled and strayed all around us. Directly over our heads with a thunderous flapping of wings and squeals of a million voices. Nature's wonder at it's best. You have got to see it for yourself. 
We followed the flock to its roost in Ham Wall, just across the reserve. We sat amongst the flock in a hide to hear a deafening crescendo of noise just 50 feet from where we were. The reeds turned black as they landed amongst them, then gold again as they flew away to land again nearby. 
A truly wonderful experience. One i shall never forget, and hope i can see again.

The video doesn't do it justice. Poor quality in poor light from an iphone. It does, however, give you an idea of the size of the flock, but bear in mind, it was impossible to get the entire flight in shot as it spanned over 180 degrees across the sky. A small proportion of the flock captured. Enjoy.

 

Comet Lovejoy

So, I've been out in the cold to look at Comet Lovejoy. Great to see, and so glad to have seen it. Missed so many due to weather. This one won't be back for 8000 years! Not sure I can wait that long, besides, my tea will go cold! 
Jupiter is cool tonight too. Four visible moons with the scope. Very cool.
Get out and take a look. It's awesome out there. 

It's been a while.

So. I totally forgot i had this blog thingy on the go. I guess it's time to update it. I'm still here and my nuts are functioning fine, just in case you were wondering. Two hernia's since last post mind! They're not so good!
Anyway.
I will endeavour to write a bit more often now i have remembered this is live! 
Cheers an that.
Laters scuttlers.