Collages
Looking through my old scrap books last weekend, I stumbled upon some treasures- namely snaps of my days as a geeky teenager, interning in the zoo. The stint was 6 months long...and I was assigned to the public relations dept. As you will later find out, I was I 'PRing' more with the four/no legged than the two-leggeds.
The snaps are not very clear- these are 'secondary photos' if you know what I mean. But my memories are still clear. So allow me take you through this very memorable journey in 2002. I love to re-live those days!
The scrap book starts off with a postcard I got while serving time in the zoo...(One of the best things about working in the zoo is the amount of cutsy freebies you get. Until today, I still keep loads of animal-theme postcards, stationery, post-it pads..)
Orang Utans are some of the most people-friendly animals...so alot of my animal encounters were with these primates. Suria (below left) was a very popular 4-year-old orang utan when I first met her. She was still a baby then, so I could carry her but I always remember how strong she was. Once we took her out of the zoo for some conservation event, and she was almost ripping the metal bars inside the van apart. Scary. But she's still a lot milder than Chomel (below right), know for her temperamental mood swings.
Here Suria is with her Mum whom I think was very curious about the bracelet I was wearing. We were preparing to take a shot but she was fiddling with that bracelet the whole time. Our closest kin, they are incredibly human-like. Really intelligent.
Then then there was Town, who I believe must be one of the oldest resident of the Singapore Zoo. Very handsome and gentle. Whenever I arrive for work early, I would go to the petting zoo corner to feed him some carrots and sugar cubes.
Probably the craziest thing I did during the internship was entering the cheetah's cage. Some thought I had a death wish but they are really like your dosmetic cats. At least this one was. It helped that I was on good terms with the cheetah keeper. I literally had to beg him to let me in. but he did cave in eventually and even took this shot for me. He must have taken at least 20 other shots but this is one of my favourite. Cheetahs are truly spectacular animals. They are so sleek and so agile and truly truly great looking. They also have huge, fearsome looking yellow- green eyes.
The cheetah is so at ease with her keeper.
There are plenty of new births in the zoo. And it's big news everytime a new baby comes along, especially endangered species. This time round, it's a new baby goat.
And there's the huge Burmese Rock python which was nearly as heavy as me. They really coil around you and make themselves cosy. Snakes are not all that bad, even if the movies make them all to be scary, slimy creatures. The truth is, they are not at all slimy. And these are extremely cool, calm and collected animals. And really, they can't be less bothered about humans- in fact, i think their attitude towards humans sums up how things work in the animal kingdom. Leave them and their habitats alone and they are more than happy to leave you alone.
There are still loads of other snaps from the zoo, but these are amongst some of my favourites. Besides all these fond memories, I've also met some of the greatest people in the zoo- the keepers. I really admire all those keepers who take care of these animals. Their jobs must be some of the toughest, most important jobs in the world!
The snaps are not very clear- these are 'secondary photos' if you know what I mean. But my memories are still clear. So allow me take you through this very memorable journey in 2002. I love to re-live those days!
The scrap book starts off with a postcard I got while serving time in the zoo...(One of the best things about working in the zoo is the amount of cutsy freebies you get. Until today, I still keep loads of animal-theme postcards, stationery, post-it pads..)
Orang Utans are some of the most people-friendly animals...so alot of my animal encounters were with these primates. Suria (below left) was a very popular 4-year-old orang utan when I first met her. She was still a baby then, so I could carry her but I always remember how strong she was. Once we took her out of the zoo for some conservation event, and she was almost ripping the metal bars inside the van apart. Scary. But she's still a lot milder than Chomel (below right), know for her temperamental mood swings.
Here Suria is with her Mum whom I think was very curious about the bracelet I was wearing. We were preparing to take a shot but she was fiddling with that bracelet the whole time. Our closest kin, they are incredibly human-like. Really intelligent.
Then then there was Town, who I believe must be one of the oldest resident of the Singapore Zoo. Very handsome and gentle. Whenever I arrive for work early, I would go to the petting zoo corner to feed him some carrots and sugar cubes.
Probably the craziest thing I did during the internship was entering the cheetah's cage. Some thought I had a death wish but they are really like your dosmetic cats. At least this one was. It helped that I was on good terms with the cheetah keeper. I literally had to beg him to let me in. but he did cave in eventually and even took this shot for me. He must have taken at least 20 other shots but this is one of my favourite. Cheetahs are truly spectacular animals. They are so sleek and so agile and truly truly great looking. They also have huge, fearsome looking yellow- green eyes.
The cheetah is so at ease with her keeper.
There are plenty of new births in the zoo. And it's big news everytime a new baby comes along, especially endangered species. This time round, it's a new baby goat.
And there's the huge Burmese Rock python which was nearly as heavy as me. They really coil around you and make themselves cosy. Snakes are not all that bad, even if the movies make them all to be scary, slimy creatures. The truth is, they are not at all slimy. And these are extremely cool, calm and collected animals. And really, they can't be less bothered about humans- in fact, i think their attitude towards humans sums up how things work in the animal kingdom. Leave them and their habitats alone and they are more than happy to leave you alone.
There are still loads of other snaps from the zoo, but these are amongst some of my favourites. Besides all these fond memories, I've also met some of the greatest people in the zoo- the keepers. I really admire all those keepers who take care of these animals. Their jobs must be some of the toughest, most important jobs in the world!
posted by compassioNAT at 1:50 PM
9 Comments:
Great post!! Love the photos of you and the orangutan. Whenever I go to the zoo I always spend lost of time watching them. Sounds like a cool internship.
Scott
I envy you !!!
Animals are so nice. I dont know. I have always been lucky to get along with them well....Well, I havent tried out my luck with wild animals but domestic animals everywhere seem to get along well with me. Something to do with animal psychology, they say.
Anyways, your pic with suria remins me of the NGC program that we saw where Julia Roberts spent a whole of a month with the orungutans in their habitat. Nice show it was to catch up on a Sunday morning.
That cheetah snap was awesome. I know of people who would dare not go anywhere near even if you convince them the cheetah is dead !!! Their agility amazes me ..... and mine reminds me that I'm just human ;-)) a lazy bundle of bones at that !!!
It is always nice to look back and reminise with old pictures. I always wanted an internship in the zoo too. However, i just worked in veterinary hospitals. Lucky you!
Man, I wish i can have the same internship as you.
It would be great to hang around with animals all day as a job.
hey chris, you're the best. you know when i say 'secondary' photos, i actually meant that i took pictures of these photographs using my digital camera. (make sense?) That's why they're so blurred. Not because i was in secondary school when i served the internship ;)))
you're right, i've pretty much stayed the same physically all those years.not a good thing at all. need to put on the kgs..
scott, it was a really good internship in the sense that it's one of a kind! I even got to work for a while with Animal Planet! i miss working there so much!
TLW, seeing a dead cheetah would break my heart! i defintely believe that some people has chemistry with animals.
The funny thing about animals is that if you fear them, they can sense it- and that puts them more on an offensive mode i think. So fear not, and you should be fine. (this only work with certain animals. Don't try this in the zoo)
Good set of snaps, I really liked the one with Cheetah. You are brave gal, I wouldn't had the nerves to stand by it;).
I have had my share of experiences with snakes in the wilderness. They may not be slimy, but they are scary creatures.
>>The funny thing about animals is that if you fear them, they can sense it- and that puts them more on an offensive mode i think.
I totally agree with u on that.
animals are fascinating arent they! our family keeps a zoo membership. no matter how often we go, i swear i learn something new every single time!
i am soooooooo jealous of you!! wat fun it must've been to work at the Singapore zoo... man! i remember spending an entire day there... such a wonderful place! great pix Nat!
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