Monday, February 27, 2006
Fine Story To Tell...
Today started much like the previous two, with Nick, Vicky and I attending to the feeding and cleaning needs of Quarantine and Indoor Nursery. We are getting pretty good at the tasks now and the new ticklists are working well.
But then things started to develop (in a good way) beyond what I could ever have expected.
Today was the day that Bidai was due to move to the new Low Kowi zoo in KK. Elis the Head Ranger had already said we could take some photos of him leaving but then he totally surprised Nick and I by asking if we'd like to travel with him in the Landrover to KK to help with some of the lifting and the release. Of course we jumped at the task!
It meant a 7 hour drive and an overnight stay but for us to be able to be part of his transfer was a real privilege and not to be missed!
After that we were allowed to photograph all of the preparation stages. After he was sedated Bidai was transfered to the Clinic for his weigh-in (he was a shade under 60kg)
and then moved into a small transportation cage.
It had to be small as the plan was to move him fully awake, so the small cage would prevent him thrashing about too much and potentially injuring himself on the long journey. The three macaque monkeys from Quarantine were also going to be transferred at the same time, so they were caged up too.
Finally Yvonne was also squeezed into the Landrover to video some of the transfer on behalf of the Sepilok manager Sylvia.
After a quick spot of lunch we said goodbye to the others and set off for KK.
Along the way we made regular banana feeding and electrolyte drink stops (they were for all of us too of course!!) and by 8pm we pulled into the zoo and waited in the dark for our instructions to proceed. By now Bidai was quite restless (not surprising after that length of journey - i know my bum was aching so i can only imagine what his must have felt like!) but with a bit of effort we soon managed to get his cage off the Landrover and into position for release into a temporary (but thankfully much bigger) holding cage.
It was so good to see him shuffle out of the transport cage and into the holding area. Then he totally surprised us all by climbing one-handed and one-footed up the bars and proceed to hang off the roof of the cage despite his partial paralysis. The old eyes moistened up a bit at that moment i have to tell you.
He will have to stay in this temporary cage for about a week to check he is OK before he is then transferred to the real outdoor enclosure. We hope to be able to see that area in the morning.
Then it was time to leave Bidai to rest.
After watching the release of 10 very reluctant deer into another enclosure it was 10.30pm so we headed into KK city centre for some well earned dinner and check-in at the Ruby "Roach" Hotel.
On the plus side, the beds were very comfortable, but having checked into a single room Yvonne was surprised to find she was sharing her bathroom with a very handsome cockroach! I'm not sure if there were any in our room too - i was so tired they could have performed Riverdance on my face and i'd not have woken up...
But then things started to develop (in a good way) beyond what I could ever have expected.
Today was the day that Bidai was due to move to the new Low Kowi zoo in KK. Elis the Head Ranger had already said we could take some photos of him leaving but then he totally surprised Nick and I by asking if we'd like to travel with him in the Landrover to KK to help with some of the lifting and the release. Of course we jumped at the task!
It meant a 7 hour drive and an overnight stay but for us to be able to be part of his transfer was a real privilege and not to be missed!
After that we were allowed to photograph all of the preparation stages. After he was sedated Bidai was transfered to the Clinic for his weigh-in (he was a shade under 60kg)
and then moved into a small transportation cage.
It had to be small as the plan was to move him fully awake, so the small cage would prevent him thrashing about too much and potentially injuring himself on the long journey. The three macaque monkeys from Quarantine were also going to be transferred at the same time, so they were caged up too.
Finally Yvonne was also squeezed into the Landrover to video some of the transfer on behalf of the Sepilok manager Sylvia.
After a quick spot of lunch we said goodbye to the others and set off for KK.
Along the way we made regular banana feeding and electrolyte drink stops (they were for all of us too of course!!) and by 8pm we pulled into the zoo and waited in the dark for our instructions to proceed. By now Bidai was quite restless (not surprising after that length of journey - i know my bum was aching so i can only imagine what his must have felt like!) but with a bit of effort we soon managed to get his cage off the Landrover and into position for release into a temporary (but thankfully much bigger) holding cage.
It was so good to see him shuffle out of the transport cage and into the holding area. Then he totally surprised us all by climbing one-handed and one-footed up the bars and proceed to hang off the roof of the cage despite his partial paralysis. The old eyes moistened up a bit at that moment i have to tell you.
He will have to stay in this temporary cage for about a week to check he is OK before he is then transferred to the real outdoor enclosure. We hope to be able to see that area in the morning.
Then it was time to leave Bidai to rest.
After watching the release of 10 very reluctant deer into another enclosure it was 10.30pm so we headed into KK city centre for some well earned dinner and check-in at the Ruby "Roach" Hotel.
On the plus side, the beds were very comfortable, but having checked into a single room Yvonne was surprised to find she was sharing her bathroom with a very handsome cockroach! I'm not sure if there were any in our room too - i was so tired they could have performed Riverdance on my face and i'd not have woken up...
// posted by storri @ 11:17 pm 
