In the last few weeks at the Safari Park, a couple things have changed for the better for me. I am still conducting caravan tours into the large field exhibits multiple times per week, but now I am also being trained to lead
Behind-the-Scenes tours. On these tours, guests can take a two-hour behind-the-scenes look at various exhibits. The tours are centered around one carnivore exhibit: lions, tigers, or cheetahs. In addition to seeing a carnivore behind-the-scenes, guests also get to feed an animal (normally okapis or a rhino), they get an overview of the large field exhibits, and they get an animal ambassador presentation at the Wildlife Workshop. On the tiger tour, I will even get to take the guests behind-the-scenes to the elephant exhibit! I've taken both the lion and
tiger behind-the-scenes tours as a guest, so I am excited to start guiding these tours.
I am also currently doing a
Horticulture department loan. The Horticulture department at the Park cares for the Park's collection of 1,750,000 plant specimens spanning 1,800 acres. Not only is the Safari Park one of the top wildlife breeding and conservation facilities in the world, it is also a world-renowned botanical garden. And man, the Horticulture department works extremely hard to maintain that reputation! I've gotten to meet an extremely friendly staff, full of welcoming, encouraging people. I've gotten to shadow arborists and the pest control staff. I've even gotten to drive a dump truck all by myself! I had to lie down to reach the pedals and could barely see over the dashboard, but hey...I did it. The horticulture team arrives at the Park at 6am every day, and leaves by 2:30pm, so that has been a big adjustment to my schedule. Furthermore, the horticulturists face risks every day. In addition to working outdoors in 100+ degree temperatures most days, they operate heavy machinery and have to watch out for rattlesnakes. Two weeks ago, the horticulturist I was working with actually stepped on a rattlesnake! Luckily it was early in the morning and the snake was still cold, so it didn't strike. We called the Park Rangers to come move it for us using a snake hook. It gave us all the heebie-jeebies and I've been extremely cautious and noisy while weeding from then on.
So far these two extra jobs have been a great way for me to network with keepers, meet staff in other departments, see additional aspects of the Park, and gain more hours of experience.
