Sunday, November 27, 2011

Getting Ready for New Interns!

We can't believe it but it's that time again! In just a few days, two more interns will be arriving at IEAS, ready to learn! Kevin and Whitney will be the only two additions to the IEAS interns, as the six interns from fall session (Betsy, Amber, Tara, Jennifer, Megan, and Alex) will ALL be staying to learn even more! During their second session, they will have the opportunity to learn more "keeper" aspects of animal care, and they all seem excited to start!

Winter session is always a challenging session for interns, as the cold makes a great deal of our
daily tasks significantly more difficult. Instead of just cleaning and filling waters, an extra step of breaking the ice that may have formed on the water is necessary during the coldest parts of winter. This can be a very strenuous task when it's cold enough! Then, if the houses are too frozen to work, water has to be transported from the Nutrition Center in buckets to each water trough at
every habitat. Also, morning feeding can be more challenging if snow stops us from using the vehicles that transport the food the animals. Instead, we walk the food from the Nutrition Center, one stack at a time! Once at the houses, locks usually need to be torched, as many of them freeze shut overnight. It slows us down a bit but the extra steps are well worth it when we see all of the animals full, warm, and happy in their cozy hay-filled houses after breakfast!

Well, we hope that doesn't scare any new interns too much! Like we said, every bit of work done at IEAS is well worth the effort when we see how it benefits the animals! We're excited for the new interns to arrive and we'll keep you all posted on their progress! We hope you will all be a part of welcoming Kevin and Whitney to the IEAS team!


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