Over the weekend the zoo had VIP guests – the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushenko and his family. He spent a whole day in the zoo having a tour with the Zoo Director. He is apparently very pleased with the progress of the zoo and the plans to modernize. He particularly enjoyed meeting the rhinoceros. I think his visit has really spurred on the Zoo Director with our redevelopment programme.
On Monday we had a huge meeting with the Zoo Director and all the heads of departments. There are new plans underway to split the departments into smaller sections, which will allow for each section head to work closely with the keepers and the animals on their section. This will also facilitate better husbandry and enrichment which is a great development for the zoo. We then are able to define where specific skills lie and focus our conservation efforts in suitable directions. Along with this, we will start to “thin-out” the animal collection by sending animals to other zoos, giving space for more intensive management of our conservation and education based species. This is a really good decision for the future of the zoo.
Over the weekend when we were at Larissa’s dacha, I was attacked by an angry mob of mosquitoes and other nasty bitey bugs. On Monday I counted at least 47 itchy bites on my legs, most of which were having allergic reactions and making my ankles and feet swell. My current tactic, as this is a recurring problem with the local wildlife, is to take lots of anti-histamines which usually does the trick. This week I had run out of anti-histamines and needed to get some more. We have found a small pharmacy at the metro station and went there to try to buy the tablets. They sold me a small packet of Claritin for approximately £5.00. On our way back to the zoo that evening we saw a different pharmacist and thought it would be wise to have a second pack of anti-histamines. We bought a generic pack and it only cost 60p. I’m amazed at the difference in cost for what is the same tablet, but in different packaging. Anyway, the insect bites are slowing subsiding, almost to the point where I can put shoes on again!
This week the baby skunks had a much needed meeting with the vets. They had little operations to have their scent glands removed. This is good news for the visitors as up till now, the area around the skunk enclosure has been a no-go zone. The babies can’t control their glands and are like little stink-bombs that go off randomly! They are still quite smelly, but nowhere near as bad.
It’s super hot here again this week, by 9am it’s almost unbearable. We are still having trouble sleeping at night because the flat gets so hot. Someone brought a fan into the office this week, which is just lovely, so we have taken to borrowing it at night now to cool the apartment down. Hopefully sleep will be occurring now. On Wednesday we thought that there would be a big thunderstorm to cool everything down. Unfortunately we only had a few spots of rain at midday and tremendously loud thunder which just didn’t help.
The armadillos that I mentioned a few weeks ago have just moved into their new enclosure. It’s an enclosure that Steve and I didn’t build, just advised on and we are so pleased with what the keepers have done. The enclosure is where the porcupines used to live, inside the main carnivore building. The enclosure has been modified to a reverse lighting schedule, as a nocturnal exhibit as armadillos are mostly night active. They have been given a deep layer of soil and woodchips for digging and foraging and some little shelters and ramps have been made from slices of tree trunk. It looks great and should work well for these animals. I apologise for the poor photo quality and particularly for the T-shirt being worn by one of our visitors in the background. Many people wear t-shirts with slogans in English and I honestly believe that most of the time they have absolutely no idea what the slogan says. There are many extremely rude slogans, which I shall not repeat as my grandmother reads this blog!
On Monday we had a huge meeting with the Zoo Director and all the heads of departments. There are new plans underway to split the departments into smaller sections, which will allow for each section head to work closely with the keepers and the animals on their section. This will also facilitate better husbandry and enrichment which is a great development for the zoo. We then are able to define where specific skills lie and focus our conservation efforts in suitable directions. Along with this, we will start to “thin-out” the animal collection by sending animals to other zoos, giving space for more intensive management of our conservation and education based species. This is a really good decision for the future of the zoo.
Over the weekend when we were at Larissa’s dacha, I was attacked by an angry mob of mosquitoes and other nasty bitey bugs. On Monday I counted at least 47 itchy bites on my legs, most of which were having allergic reactions and making my ankles and feet swell. My current tactic, as this is a recurring problem with the local wildlife, is to take lots of anti-histamines which usually does the trick. This week I had run out of anti-histamines and needed to get some more. We have found a small pharmacy at the metro station and went there to try to buy the tablets. They sold me a small packet of Claritin for approximately £5.00. On our way back to the zoo that evening we saw a different pharmacist and thought it would be wise to have a second pack of anti-histamines. We bought a generic pack and it only cost 60p. I’m amazed at the difference in cost for what is the same tablet, but in different packaging. Anyway, the insect bites are slowing subsiding, almost to the point where I can put shoes on again!
This week the baby skunks had a much needed meeting with the vets. They had little operations to have their scent glands removed. This is good news for the visitors as up till now, the area around the skunk enclosure has been a no-go zone. The babies can’t control their glands and are like little stink-bombs that go off randomly! They are still quite smelly, but nowhere near as bad.
It’s super hot here again this week, by 9am it’s almost unbearable. We are still having trouble sleeping at night because the flat gets so hot. Someone brought a fan into the office this week, which is just lovely, so we have taken to borrowing it at night now to cool the apartment down. Hopefully sleep will be occurring now. On Wednesday we thought that there would be a big thunderstorm to cool everything down. Unfortunately we only had a few spots of rain at midday and tremendously loud thunder which just didn’t help.
The armadillos that I mentioned a few weeks ago have just moved into their new enclosure. It’s an enclosure that Steve and I didn’t build, just advised on and we are so pleased with what the keepers have done. The enclosure is where the porcupines used to live, inside the main carnivore building. The enclosure has been modified to a reverse lighting schedule, as a nocturnal exhibit as armadillos are mostly night active. They have been given a deep layer of soil and woodchips for digging and foraging and some little shelters and ramps have been made from slices of tree trunk. It looks great and should work well for these animals. I apologise for the poor photo quality and particularly for the T-shirt being worn by one of our visitors in the background. Many people wear t-shirts with slogans in English and I honestly believe that most of the time they have absolutely no idea what the slogan says. There are many extremely rude slogans, which I shall not repeat as my grandmother reads this blog!
Zoo Director and the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine and Rhino
Baby Skunk 1
Baby Skunk 2
Armadillo
Armadillo (and visitor wearing rude t-shirt)
There is an elephant hiding in this photo
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