The absolute highlight of this week was getting into the primate enclosures to thoroughly audit the ape and monkey collection and to start getting new ropes into the enclosures for climbing. The Kyiv Fire Department donated a huge pile of fire-hoses to us and we decided that the primates were most in need of some new climbing structures. Enrichment and ropes is a concept that has been somewhat lacking in the Primate Department, but as there is now a new Head of Primates – Valentina, she is desperate to get things changed to benefit the animals. We spent a day in the department helping them to get two enclosures modified. Lots of people were there to help and learn, including the Curator from another Ukrainian Zoo who is also very interested in bringing her zoo up to Western European standards and wants us to visit and advise them on some changes. From the work we did in the two enclosures, the primate staff will now do the other enclosures on their own. Also, as soon as we can get drain covers in the enclosures we’ll start putting down natural substrates which will help the monkeys to forage for their food and will be really good for the babies to play in.
I’ve had a few weeks off from mosquito attacks, which has been very pleasant but this week I’ve been targeted again. We have insect screens on all the windows in the apartment but the little buggers are getting in somehow. Being bitten on the elbow is particularly annoying and I’m sitting here scratching as I type.
The lynx enclosure is developing well and there has been lots of progress this week. The fence mesh is going up and the overhangs are being prepared for Steve’s electric fence. The floor of the house has been put in and the drainage system has been installed. Apart from a few little problems, it’s actually being built very quickly which is great considering the Maintenance/Construction Departments have never built an enclosure like this one. We’re really pleased with it so far.
The weather here continues to be hot and sunny, but humid with storms in the evenings. I guess I’m actually surprised by how hot it is here; maybe I thought it would be like summer in the UK. If I moan about being too hot now, please remind me when I’m complaining about how cold it is in winter!
We have set up several working groups in the zoo over the past few weeks. These consist of department heads, zoo vets and other managers. The idea is to work together on new policies, working practices and problems within the zoo. This system allows ownership and investment into the plans from the staff that will have to carry out the decisions made by the groups. I think this will be a successful programme as people are more likely to do the work if they have made decisions in the planning stage and developed the system to suit their department.
On Saturday we took a course about living and working in Ukraine. It was run through a company called the British Business Club in Ukraine. We found out about the course through an expat website, and that it was free for users of that site, it normally costs about 200 Euro. It was a full day course at the company’s offices in the centre of Kyiv. The course covered a huge range of topics including; history, economics, politics, culture, religion, customs, business values, corruption and bribes, workplace attitudes, management and working styles and business communication and negotiation.
The course was really interesting; we learnt a lot of new things but also had a lot of confirmation of how we are finding the working practices, particularly the negotiations we make in meetings and how different levels of staff relate to each other. I recommend this course to anyone working in Ukraine; it will help a great deal.
Today we took a trip on the Metro to Petrivka market. It’s a huge market relatively near the zoo, but to get there you need to take the metro into the centre of Kyiv and out again on a different line. The market seems to be in three sections; household items, books and fake designer clothes/handbags. We had a good wander around in the sweltering heat before giving up and coming back home – just too hot today! The book section is huge and we have been told that it is the best place to get English books. I didn’t see any apart from English dictionaries. Perhaps we’ll go again on a less hot day so we can explore more thoroughly.
I’ve had a few weeks off from mosquito attacks, which has been very pleasant but this week I’ve been targeted again. We have insect screens on all the windows in the apartment but the little buggers are getting in somehow. Being bitten on the elbow is particularly annoying and I’m sitting here scratching as I type.
The lynx enclosure is developing well and there has been lots of progress this week. The fence mesh is going up and the overhangs are being prepared for Steve’s electric fence. The floor of the house has been put in and the drainage system has been installed. Apart from a few little problems, it’s actually being built very quickly which is great considering the Maintenance/Construction Departments have never built an enclosure like this one. We’re really pleased with it so far.
The weather here continues to be hot and sunny, but humid with storms in the evenings. I guess I’m actually surprised by how hot it is here; maybe I thought it would be like summer in the UK. If I moan about being too hot now, please remind me when I’m complaining about how cold it is in winter!
We have set up several working groups in the zoo over the past few weeks. These consist of department heads, zoo vets and other managers. The idea is to work together on new policies, working practices and problems within the zoo. This system allows ownership and investment into the plans from the staff that will have to carry out the decisions made by the groups. I think this will be a successful programme as people are more likely to do the work if they have made decisions in the planning stage and developed the system to suit their department.
On Saturday we took a course about living and working in Ukraine. It was run through a company called the British Business Club in Ukraine. We found out about the course through an expat website, and that it was free for users of that site, it normally costs about 200 Euro. It was a full day course at the company’s offices in the centre of Kyiv. The course covered a huge range of topics including; history, economics, politics, culture, religion, customs, business values, corruption and bribes, workplace attitudes, management and working styles and business communication and negotiation.
The course was really interesting; we learnt a lot of new things but also had a lot of confirmation of how we are finding the working practices, particularly the negotiations we make in meetings and how different levels of staff relate to each other. I recommend this course to anyone working in Ukraine; it will help a great deal.
Today we took a trip on the Metro to Petrivka market. It’s a huge market relatively near the zoo, but to get there you need to take the metro into the centre of Kyiv and out again on a different line. The market seems to be in three sections; household items, books and fake designer clothes/handbags. We had a good wander around in the sweltering heat before giving up and coming back home – just too hot today! The book section is huge and we have been told that it is the best place to get English books. I didn’t see any apart from English dictionaries. Perhaps we’ll go again on a less hot day so we can explore more thoroughly.
A Golden Bellied Mangabey
Putting up ropes
Steve climbing on the roof to put up ropes
Overhang at Lynx Enclosure
Lynx House floor
Lynx enclosure developing nicely
No comments:
Post a Comment