Our work at the zoo covers a whole range of activities. Steve is the Lead Zoologist (Curator) and I am the Lead Biologist (Animal Manager). We are able to implement new working systems, build enclosures, modify animal diets, make enrichment for the animals, organise record keeping and all sorts of other exciting animal related things! The zoo is enormous, we have an elephant, giraffes, lions, tigers and tiger cubs, bears, wolves, chimpanzees, a gorilla, loads of monkeys, a hippo, a rhino, flamingos, pelicans, owls, loads of reptiles and bugs, porcupines, buffalo, zebra. In fact, pretty much any animal that you would expect in a big zoo!
According to the Government Health and Safety legislation, working in a zoo is a dangerous profession! I agree wholeheartedly, but the closest we had come so far to any peril were paper cuts from the excessive paperwork and form filling in! Anyway, to satisfy the government that we were safe and healthy for zoo work we had to have a medical examination. This takes place at a Poly-clinic, a large medical centre full of doctors from every discipline imaginable. The first few were ok, standing in a very long queue, then being prodded and poked and asked if we felt well. After each doctor, we got our forms stamped to prove that we had been examined and passed as healthy. Next, the optician; I passed the examination, but Steve was of great concern to this doctor. She said that Steve had some brown spots in his eyes (which had clearly been missed by the UK opticians and their retinal scans two weeks earlier) and that if Steve lifted heavy objects, his eyes would pop out. Hmmmmmmm! She stamped our forms anyway and we went to the next queue. This doctor was only going to see me, and not Steve. Yes, the gynaecologist! We went in to her room and Steve was told to go away. Steve and I decided that it was best of he stayed. She asked me a few questions and then told me I needed an examination!!! This I refused. What on earth did it have to do with me working at the zoo! They hadn’t made me see a dentist, nor have my ears tested. Why on earth would I need this examination for zoo work? Our translator told this to the doctor who eventually stamped my form and sent us away. All of this took nearly two days! I swore that would be my first and only visit to the Poly-clinic, but I have already been back to the dreaded poly-clinic once since then.
Our apartment (like all buildings in Kyiv) is heated by the City Council. Heating comes on sometime in autumn, is on full over winter, and then is turned off in the late spring. Currently, Kyiv is experiencing beautiful warm weather and the apartment is unbearable unless all the windows are open all the time. I woke up about a week ago in a quite confused state. I couldn’t open one of my eyes. I tried rubbing it to see if it was just all “gunged” up, but to no avail. With my good eye, I groped around and found a small mirror to have a look. My eyelid was so swollen that it couldn’t open. I had no idea what had caused this, until we saw the very fat mosquito sitting on the wall digesting his last meal! There is now a mosquito shaped smear on the wall. The swelling wasn’t causing any pain or irritation, so I decided to go to work anyway (wearing a large pair of sunglasses). First thing that morning I was due at the elephant house to meet with the vets so we could give the elephant some medication. Elephants do not like to take medicine, especially as it has to be in extremely large quantities, so the vets were going to administer it by “flying syringe”. The vets and the head keeper of hoofstock took one look at me, phoned the translator and I was marched away, put in a taxi and sent to the dreaded Poly-clinic. This time it was much better, smaller queues and a minor eye examination by the opticians. They prescribed some anti-histamines and the swelling was gone in two days!
N.B. This whole incident was probably Karma. The day before the stealth mosquito attack we were at the local shops. Steve started flapping his hands around wildly and jumping up and down. A wasp or bee had flown down the back of his T-shirt and was buzzing away. Steve then yelped, threw his backpack on the floor and pulled his T-shirt off. The little beast had stung him! I couldn’t help but laugh, it was so comical – poor Steve.
According to the Government Health and Safety legislation, working in a zoo is a dangerous profession! I agree wholeheartedly, but the closest we had come so far to any peril were paper cuts from the excessive paperwork and form filling in! Anyway, to satisfy the government that we were safe and healthy for zoo work we had to have a medical examination. This takes place at a Poly-clinic, a large medical centre full of doctors from every discipline imaginable. The first few were ok, standing in a very long queue, then being prodded and poked and asked if we felt well. After each doctor, we got our forms stamped to prove that we had been examined and passed as healthy. Next, the optician; I passed the examination, but Steve was of great concern to this doctor. She said that Steve had some brown spots in his eyes (which had clearly been missed by the UK opticians and their retinal scans two weeks earlier) and that if Steve lifted heavy objects, his eyes would pop out. Hmmmmmmm! She stamped our forms anyway and we went to the next queue. This doctor was only going to see me, and not Steve. Yes, the gynaecologist! We went in to her room and Steve was told to go away. Steve and I decided that it was best of he stayed. She asked me a few questions and then told me I needed an examination!!! This I refused. What on earth did it have to do with me working at the zoo! They hadn’t made me see a dentist, nor have my ears tested. Why on earth would I need this examination for zoo work? Our translator told this to the doctor who eventually stamped my form and sent us away. All of this took nearly two days! I swore that would be my first and only visit to the Poly-clinic, but I have already been back to the dreaded poly-clinic once since then.
Our apartment (like all buildings in Kyiv) is heated by the City Council. Heating comes on sometime in autumn, is on full over winter, and then is turned off in the late spring. Currently, Kyiv is experiencing beautiful warm weather and the apartment is unbearable unless all the windows are open all the time. I woke up about a week ago in a quite confused state. I couldn’t open one of my eyes. I tried rubbing it to see if it was just all “gunged” up, but to no avail. With my good eye, I groped around and found a small mirror to have a look. My eyelid was so swollen that it couldn’t open. I had no idea what had caused this, until we saw the very fat mosquito sitting on the wall digesting his last meal! There is now a mosquito shaped smear on the wall. The swelling wasn’t causing any pain or irritation, so I decided to go to work anyway (wearing a large pair of sunglasses). First thing that morning I was due at the elephant house to meet with the vets so we could give the elephant some medication. Elephants do not like to take medicine, especially as it has to be in extremely large quantities, so the vets were going to administer it by “flying syringe”. The vets and the head keeper of hoofstock took one look at me, phoned the translator and I was marched away, put in a taxi and sent to the dreaded Poly-clinic. This time it was much better, smaller queues and a minor eye examination by the opticians. They prescribed some anti-histamines and the swelling was gone in two days!
N.B. This whole incident was probably Karma. The day before the stealth mosquito attack we were at the local shops. Steve started flapping his hands around wildly and jumping up and down. A wasp or bee had flown down the back of his T-shirt and was buzzing away. Steve then yelped, threw his backpack on the floor and pulled his T-shirt off. The little beast had stung him! I couldn’t help but laugh, it was so comical – poor Steve.
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