As we were going upstairs to the feeding area with Fernando, a keeper for the gorillas, the gorillas knew that he had food for them to eat. They started raising their hands and clapping them, trying to get Fernando’s attention so he could throw some food at them. He threw so many heads of lettuce and fruit for the gorillas to eat. It was really amazing that some of the gorillas could catch the food when Fernando threw it! I thought that it was hysterical that they would hold their lettuce in one hand and raise their other hand asking for more. After a while, some gorillas had a whole salad bar, which finally made them content enough to sit down and eat.

There are two troops of gorillas at the San Diego Zoo. I was wondering why there were two different troops, so I asked Fernando. He said that there are two alpha males and that they couldn’t be compatible since there could only be one alpha male per group. The group that was out currently had some young babies and they were very active. They were playing around with each other and the male broke them up. It was a little frightening to hear the male making these “hooting” sounds, but the keeper stated that it was a misconception about gorillas. Gorillas do make these sounds and beat their chest to look fierce, but it is mainly a bluff to scare whatever the male thinks is a threat.

Gorillas are endangered and they are getting affected by deforestation. Their loss of habitat is because we are cutting down trees for lumber and also to clear paths to mine for a material called coltan. This is a mineral that is found in a lot of technology, like cell phones. Fernando emphasized the importance of recycling our cell phones at local electronic stores or even at the Zoo! Recycling the cellular phones can reduce the amount of coltan mining because the coltan can be reused in new cell phones. Since there will be less mining, the gorillas will not have to deal with a loss of habitat as much.

I really enjoyed watching Fernando tossing the gorilla’s food into the exhibit while the gorillas stood there with their hands raised up high. Even for some gorillas, if the food was right next to their feet, they didn’t bother to pick it up, they wanted to catch the food and eat it. It’s interesting, but strange, that gorillas could act so much like us humans. They watch out for each other, they love to eat, and they like to play around. My favorite part was when a gorilla came up right next to the wall and asked for some food through its hand raising gestures. Gorillas are one of my favorite animals at the Zoo because there’s so many of them and they are really fun to watch!

Daniel Kim is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

Model of a California condor on display at the Zoo's Beckman Center for Conservation Research

Condors are one of the most endangered species on our earth. The main reasons they are endangered are from destruction of habitat, poaching, and lead poisoning. Poachers are killing these miraculous animals, and human beings are cutting down their habitats for their own benefits. Some hunters shoot with lead bullets due to the inexpensive prices, but the results of these inexpensive prices come with their own price: the increasing risk of California condor extinction. When some hunters kill game with a lead bullet, the carcass of the animal is often left behind for other animals such as the condor to feed off of. Condors eating the hunted carcass also consume the lead bullet left behind by the hunter. This lead bullet is very bad for the condor and causes lead poisoning, killing off the very few condors we have left in the wild.

Condor's wingspan

In 1983, we were down to 30 condors in the wild. The Zoological society of San Diego decided to take action right away and started the first captive propagation program in attempt to conserve these beautiful animals. The conservation breeding program paid of and in 20 years the population of condors grew from 30 to 200 birds! Bird keepers and scientist came up with very different ways to conserve these condors. The eggs from the nest were taken and put into a incubator to hatch. The female condors were teen more encouraged to lay more eggs to replace the previous ones. Condor puppets were used to make the hand raised babies feel like they were being raised by their parents. They used taped sounds of condors to make it seem more realistic to the condors.

Condor egg

Reintroduction into the wild was a huge thing that took place that in 1992. But this doesn’t mean that condors will be safe forever now. We have to protect this animal and appreciate it’s habitat if we want this gracious bird to keep living. This is not easy at all because new development is always happening, sometimes destroying condor’s homes. The hard work of the conservation of these animals has paid off, but we still need to watch and protect these birds for the sake of their existence.

I believe that condors are an important part of California’s past and, hopefully, the future. I think that what the Wild Animal Park is doing to help save these birds is a flight in the right direction.

Tyler is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

Kuna (which means “gray hair” in Aborigine) is one of the koalas at the San Diego Zoo. One of the koala keepers let us see Kuna up close as he was munching on some Eucalyptus leaves. He is four years old and is very friendly and doesn’t mind being held by the keepers.

When koala keeper Amy Alfrey brought out Kuna, he was clamped onto her shoulder. She put him on one of the tree branches that had his favorite two species of Eucalyptus leaves tied onto it. Right away, Kuna started munching contentedly.

Amy let us go into the koala barn to see more koalas. All the koalas were in their own enclosures and had their own tree branches with Eucalyptus leaves tied to them. On each one of the enclosures it had the name of the koala and how old it was. All the male koalas have to be separated because if they were all together, they would end up fighting with one another. Most of them were either sleeping or eating. When I saw one of the koalas in the barn, it was very skinny and small compared to the other koalas. Amy told us that even though he was the smallest and skinniest koala there, he ate a lot of food! Instead of having four bunches of leaves, he got five bunches tied onto his tree branch.

Being able to be up close to the koala was a really cool experience. Kuna appeared very relaxed and didn’t seem to mind our presence. I didn’t know that a koala’s front claws have two thumbs instead of one. But after Amy explained to us that it helps them climb better, it just made sense. It was very interesting watching the koalas climb around the trees; I was amazed how well they could get around from one branch to another. Their fur looked very soft and their facial expressions when they are just hanging out was quite entertaining to watch.

Overall, it was a privilege to be so close to koalas and to learn more about them directly from one of their keepers.

Madalyn is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

The elephants have a lot of enrichment opportunities. Ron Ringer, the senior elephant keeper; mentioned that the elephants need enrichment to stay healthy. He said that without the enrichment, they ate the food too quickly. The enrichment helped them stay physically and mentally active. A lot of the food is stored in containers with small holes that the elephants’ trunks can fit in. One particular food container was shaped like a tube with a hole at a high place where the elephants couldn’t reach. In order to reach that hole, they flipped the tube over so their trunk could have access to it. Once an elephant flips that certain container over, she has to look for the small hole and stick her trunk inside of the hole to take out the food. The elephants looked really entertained and energetic the whole time I saw them eating. This is a good sign because it shows that they are staying fit.

A crushed pumpkin

I really liked watching the elephants looking around the exhibit for the food; it simulates a natural environment. My favorite part was watching the elephants eating the pumpkins because the pumpkins popped and the elephants chewed them like they were gum. One elephant even stomped on the pumpkins too! I also liked how they were able to use their trunks to sniff out and pick up food. Their trunks wander around and swing from one side to another, looking for something to grab. When I was looking at their eyes, they looked like they were not even looking for food visually. Sometimes I think that the elephants’ trunks have a mind of their own.

Daniel is an student at High Tech High in San Diego.

The logo of the San Diego Zoo's conservation research center features a California condor.

When we pulled into the Beckman Center for Conservation Research parking lot, one of the first things I noticed was how nicely maintained the building was. It truly shows how much money and maintenance is invested into conservation research. The San Diego Zoo feels that conservation research is extremely important, because without the awareness they raise and the effort they make, the risk of animal extinction would rise.

There is a wide variety of periodicals at the conservation research library.

The Frozen Zoo is way to preserve species DNA in the future.

A huge part of the Beckman Center is the Frozen Zoo, which is a room that stores viable cell cultures, semen, embryos, blood, tissue specimens, and DNA from endangered animals. The Frozen Zoo is going to be used as a tool for the future.The dedication of the employees working in the Zoo’s Conservation Research Center amazed me due to the time and energy they put into contributing to the success of this research.

The experience I got from the Beckman Center was quite unique because you never get an opportunity to see how these researchers find their information and the process it takes to get that information. If you ever get the opportunity to see or tour the Beckman Center I would recommend it.

Tyler is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

The bus tour starts from the loading dock, which is near the entrance of the Zoo. The bus is a double decker, and passengers can choose to sit either on the bottom or the top (with a nice view, I might add) and it can hold 104 passengers. The bus then goes through Tiger River, where you can see plants and animals from Southeast Asia, then goes through Ituri Forest, which is modeled after the central African rain forest (of the same name). From Ituri Forest, it goes through Panda Canyon (my favorite part of the tour), and then Bear Canyon. After looking at the bears in Bear Canyon, the bus goes up through Camel Road to the outskirts of Elephant Odyssey (which is under construction and is scheduled to be open in the Spring of 2009). After you see the construction site of Elephant Odyssey, the bus goes down into Cat Canyon where you can see nature’s big cats such as the Siberian lynx (which are featured on Animal Planet’s Growing Up Lynx). Last but not least, the bus goes to Elephant Mesa, where you can see three elephants and two Indian rhinos.

The bus was a great opportunity for me and the other interns to see about 70 percent of the Zoo in half the time it would have taken to see it on foot. During the bus tour we got to see everything from the giraffes to meerkats. The driver, Rachel Gould, (who also acted as the guide for the tour) was extremely helpful during the tour. She pointed out all of the animals that we saw on the tour (like the bears and the otters) and told us interesting facts about them. She also made sure that we got to stop at prime locations to see the Zoo’s most featured animals, like the tigers and the pandas.

To me, the bus tour was the best way to see my favorite animals and find new favorites, thanks to the extensive knowledge of the tour guide. Since you can see so much of the Zoo with the bus tours, it’s easy to forget just how big the Zoo really is because you see so many animals. It’s nice though, because while you’re on the tour you can see all of your favorite animals and more and remember where they are so you can go back and spend more time with them later. For example, when the bus tour went through Ituri forest, I saw the spot-necked otters, the okapis, and the river hippos. Well, I just fell in love with the river hippos, and even though the tour had to move on, I remembered that I could go back to my beloved hippos but would still have the satisfaction of knowing that I had seen all of the other exciting animals at the Zoo.

The Tour is about 35 to 40 minutes long and is a great way to see the most of the animal collection that the Zoo has to offer. The Guided Bus Tour also offers seating for those who are disabled as well as a shuttle service. Your bus ticket also gives you the privilege of the Express Bus, where you get on and off at certain points of the Zoo and see your beloved hippos!

Laura is a high school intern at the San Diego Zoo.

When the vets had realized what they wanted in a hospital, they sent out the word to several different organizations that might contribute to the cause. One of the main contributors was Paul Harter, who donated $4 million out of a total of $20 million. Since he provided the biggest donation, the hospital was named after him.

Since the creation of the hospital, the skilled team of nutritionists and vets have treated a great number of animals. At the hospital, surgeries are performed and X rays are taken, as well as blood testing and diet revision for certain animals. Every time an animal is brought in, the vets make sure that they are comfortable as can be. Jess Thompson, an educational tour guide for the Wild Animal Park, says that the animals are kept in stalls with hay and dirt, which is very relaxing for them.

But of course getting an animal into the hospital is a little more work than taking a human into a hospital. Vets have to drug the animals with tranquilizer darts, because the animals aren’t used to being outside of their enclosure. The tranquilizers that the vets use are 10,000 more times powerful than morphine and can be fatal to humans. Different tranquilizers are used for different animals so that the vets can bring them in, but some animals are just too big and get treatment in their enclosures. It’s impossible to fit the adult giraffes, rhinos, and elephants in the building, so the vets do their very best to make sure that the larger animals are all right.

Overall, the animals at the Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center are treated extremely well. It was great to see how each individual animal is treated with special care, and especially how science has a key role in saving lives of animals. What really impressed me was the dedication of the staff to the animals. From the nutritionists to the surgeons they, all of them, love and care for the animals just as they would a human. Going to the animal hospital was a truly touching experience, as well as an informative one.

Laura is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

The Photo Caravan first started when the Wild Animal Park wanted to find a way that guests could experience the animals up close but still be safe. When guests go on the Caravan, they have the opportunity to feed giraffes acacia leaves and the rhinos apples, like I did (that’s me pictured above)!

When the other high school interns and I found out that we were going to go on the Caravan, we were very excited, but also didn’t know what to expect. None of us had ever been on a Photo Caravan or anything like it before, and I know that I was kind of nervous being close to animals that weigh as much as cars. It seems kind of scary being that close to rhinos and giraffes, but our Photo Caravan guide, Vicki, says that the Photo Caravan tour is “safe for everybody.” And she was right; it was safe, interesting, and a lot of fun!

We started the tour going through the gates of the African exhibit of the Wild Animal Park. Vicki started the tour by pointing out the bonobos in the Park. We didn’t get very close to them, but it was still very fascinating to see them. The Caravan then toured us around the field exhibit where Vicki told us facts about the animals we saw. I must say that I had never seen or heard of a Javan banteng before I went on the Photo Caravan. I never knew that there were so many different types of gazelle in the wild!

The animals are safe and comfortable as well. Vicki explains that all of the animals at the Wild Animal Park are used to seeing humans and trucks move through their field exhibits, so the Photo Caravan doesn’t bother them at all. It’s nice to see that the animals are doing what they would normally do in the wild. Vicki says “The rhinos and giraffes share a habitat in the wild, and they’re able to share a habitat in the Park.”

There were two parts of the Caravan that were really exciting to me, the first being feeding the giraffes. The giraffes seemed to recognize the Photo Caravan truck, because right when we got close enough in their exhibit, they came on over, and Vicki started to feed them leaves. Everyone on the Caravan got an opportunity to hand leaves to the giraffes and watch them grab the leaves with their tongues. I thought that it was fascinating that all of the giraffes had distinct patterns on their skin; by the end of the tour I could start to tell them apart.

The second exciting part for me was when I got to feed and touch the Indian rhinos. Everyone got a chance to feed them apple slices and touch them while on the truck. I had figured that the skin of the rhinos was like armor just by looking at them, but touching them had confirmed my beliefs. Their skin almost felt like concrete, except the rhinos seemed to enjoy the interaction as much as I did.

So how realistic is the Photo Caravan compared to a real safari? It turns out that it comes pretty close, in my opinion. During the Caravan, I was lucky enough to be able to touch the rhinos and get really close to the animals. It was very neat to have the unique experience of feeding a giraffe, not many people can say that they’ve done that (unless they have taken the Photo Caravan). The best part was knowing that I touched a rhino and fed a giraffe in my home town of San Diego. Who knew that all of those amazing animals could be in your own back yard?

The Photo Caravan also provides a complimentary snack and beverage. Just don’t forget to bring your camera!

Laura is a student at High Tech High in San Diego Zoo.

A zookeeper’s day starts bright and early by coming into the San Diego Zoo and checking on the animals to make sure they are doing fine. Each animal has a specific diet that they have, so the zookeepers have to make sure that the animals are given the right diet. During the day, animals are put on exhibit for the public to see. Another part of a zookeeper’s job is to record how the animals are doing. This is so they can make sure the animals are doing fine, growing, and staying healthy. A zookeeper’s day does not end until all tasks are complete and the animals are doing well.

“You really have to love animals,” said Clint Lusardi as he was holding Hari, a meerkat he had raised by hand since it was little, pictured at left. Clint is a graduate from Moorpark College in Moorpark, California, where he studied to become a zookeeper.

In school he learned all of the skills necessary to become a zookeeper, such as feeding the animals, training them, monitoring them, and recording important data about the animals that he looked after.

We high school interns were fortunate enough to touch Hari, the meerkat Clint was holding. Meerkats are pretty vicious animals, so being able to touch one was definitely something not everyone gets to do! During the time of the interview, Clint also brought out a tamandua named Tipu, pictured at right, which is similar to anteaters. I found it very funny when Tipu was licking a packet of honey, enjoying every drop! Whenever Clint would put Tipu onto a table, he would walk down and search for food on the ground, then Clint would carry him back onto the table, and the process would happen all over again.

Being a zookeeper can be very rewarding. Sometimes the Children’s Zoo keepers bring animals to hospitals for children that are not able to come to the Zoo; this lets the Zoo come to them.

Clint told us that one day he was at a shopping mall and a little boy recognized him as a zookeeper. The little boy came up to him and told him everything he learned about porcupines from a previous presentation that Clint did. This is one of the things that Clint really loves about his job: that he can teach and inspire kids to take action when it comes to conserving endangered animals and wildlife.

If you ever think about becoming a zookeeper, Clint says to get involved with animals as soon as possible, volunteer a lot, and do it for the love of the animals.

Madalyn is a student at High Tech High in San Diego Zoo.

The tour is about two hours long; it also includes a training session for beginners who do not know how to ride a Segway. During the training, everyone learns the basics. We learned how to move forward and backward, left and right, go over bumps, and play “Follow the Leader.” Learning how to follow behind someone else is an important part of the tour because of the narrow path that the Rolling Safari tour uses. The Rolling Safari Tour is only available at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and the pathway is very similar to that of the Journey into Africa tour, except that it also goes around the Asian field exhibit.

The tour allows a person to view a lot of animals, including some of the off-exhibit animals that are not available to the public unless you are on this tour. One animal in particular that was off exhibit was a male Indian rhino: he was described as being “retired.” It wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t breed, but that the Wild Animal Park wants a diversity of rhinos, and every baby having the same father would not be considered diverse.

You are free to look around and see the landscape of the Park and all of the animals on exhibit. Some animals that you can see are rhinos, giraffes, and antelope. You can experience their natural behaviors as if they were in the wild. The best part of the Rolling Safari tour was seeing the rhinos in the water, including a baby rhino. It was really scary seeing the rhino’s ear focused on us, because the mom is really protective. Just seeing a variety of animals in a short amount of time is really great!

I highly recommend going on this tour because you get to experience two things at one time. First, you get to learn how to ride a Segway and then you get to cruise around on it for two hours. Second, you get to look at all of the animals. You get to see a whole mini habitat of African and Asian animals in one day. It’s nice to see animals without a layer of glass or fence between you and the animals, and it seems much more realistic. The guides are very friendly and will answer any questions about the animals if you are curious. Overall, the tour was a very enjoyable and unique experience. I loved going on the tour because I learned how to maneuver a new vehicle and I was able to see animals at the same time!

If you would like to have this experience as well, check out the Rolling Safari Tours!

Daniel is a student at High Tech High in San Diego Zoo.