A Couple of Interesting Things

When I started out at the Animal House today, it was way too cold to spray out the pens, and since Joel had not come over from the other side of the property yet, I decided to say good morning to some of the animals. First I went in to Simba and talked to him. Then I said hi to the wolves. I looked in the capybara's pen and actually saw Capy (which has never happened before outside of feeding time). Then I walked over to Patty and Ocea's pen. Ocea was waiting on me and stalked me as I opened the perimeter gate. When he saw me coming in, he went and his behind Patty's water bucket. He thought I couldn't see him. Hehe. Then when I said "Ocea, I can see you." for about the third time, he pounced up and playfully rubbed against the fence. I talked to him and gave him a kiss, then went back to Simba (Simba LOVES attention). By then I was freezing, so I decided to sit in the sun to warm up. Mouse hopped into my lap, so I played with her. Simba did not like me sitting right outside his pen where he could see me and not come pet him. The video is of him whining and pacing the fence because I would not come pet and talk to him.

After Joel arrived, and we got the housework done, we fed the animals on that side. Well, since it is getting into deer season, Joel is getting deer meat and carcasses to feed the carnivores. Simba will tolerate chicken, but, besides attention, he LOVES red meat. When we fed him, I saw a side of him I have never seen before. To me Simba is one big baby. He whines, craves attention, and is terrified of thunderstorms. Today he was a lion. He got very possessive of his red meat, and as Joel was kicking it under the fence, Simba roared at him. I do not mean a whimpy roar like in the video, but a snarl as loud as any you see on nature shows. This just proves that no exotic animal should be completely trusted. They are wild animals that have to be care for with caution, because at any moment their natural instincts can kick in.
Feeding Hershey today was AWESOME! I got to hand feed him 2.5 gallons of apple slices. When I say hand feed, I mean hand feed. I picked up an apple slice, stuck it through the fence, and then Hershey ate it out of my hand!
Overall it was a great day, and I am ready to go back!