Sad Day at the Zoo

The worst thing that happens at zoos happened today. An animal died. Not just an animal - an ambassador, friend, companion, father, inspiration and icon. Yukon the polar bear died today.


As polar bears face threats to their survival in the wild he was a reminder of why they must be saved. He was at the zoo when I was a docent so many years ago. For years he delighted visitors with his antics in the polar bear pool. Swimming close to the glass he would push off from it with his massive back feet, giving everyone a truer sense of his size and a second's chance to press a hand against the glass where his paw met it on the other side. He forged real and true connections with visitors that were more powerful than any we could create.

Yukon and Aurora have been together for as long as I can remember. Together they have produced several cubs which are now living in zoos all over the country. It is a comfort to know that Yukon goes on even if we must learn to do without him here at home.

Through all of our sorrow shines a small beacon of hope - there is a good chance that Aurora may be pregnant again. We won't know for a few months but, if she is, I hope she gives birth to a male cub which can be named Yukon, after his father.

I'm pretty sure this is Yukon: YouTube Yukon Here are some more videos: Aurora and Yukon , Pool Fun

Below are some pictures I took of him this summer.

Moving Forward?

I've recently come to the realization that I want to stay here. The truth is, I love western New York. It's beautiful. Having moved back to Livingston County at the beginning of the summer I have been rediscovering all of the beauty that I grew up around. I can't believe I ever wanted to leave.

Part of what had made me see what I have been missing is the fact that I am constantly on the lookout for something positive and inspiring. My job has been half a job now for going on eight months. I'm working at the zoo for the summer but that will be ending in only a few short weeks and I will be back to the schedule I started the year with - three days at a place that makes me miserable followed by four days of self flagellation because I'm a failure at life. So, the places I am finding my joy are in the natural world. Nature doesn't judge me or make me feel like a failure - it's just there, everywhere, reminding me how much world and wonder there is out there to experience and be a part of.

I really am an ooshy gushy sort of person but I hate exposing that to anyone. Gad.

Despite my situation I have been working to improve my lot, so to speak. Especially now that I am in my "must stay in western New York with family" phase I have been working hard to make do with what I have. I finally created a brochure for my bat talks and have a whole list of different bat-related topics to choose from instead of just the one. I printed the brochure and came up with a sort of logo; I made professional looking mailing labels and letterhead; and I mailed brochures and my new business cards (all sporting the logo) to libraries covering at least five counties. I've also created two new blogs - batphile.wordpress.com and bigbeautifulworld.wordpress.com. Wordpress has some advantages over this medium in that it looks more professional to me and offers more creative options.

Two days after I mailed the library brochures, one called. I now have two bookings for October and one for March 2008 already. Hopefully, more will come. My next target is senior living centers. I have spoken at a few over the years and hope to generate a sizable list - they have more money for programs and are open to pretty much anything.

I am also planning to expand my program offerings to include topics other than bats. My first target topic is spiders. Besides increasing my appeal I am hoping to generate repeat business. Especially the senior living communities always ask "do you do any other talks?" I would love to be able to say "yes!"

The challenge of adding a spider talk is getting slides or taking photos and creating a power point presentation. I have been madly taking pictures of spiders when I find them (and when my camera feels like cooperating - I don't think it likes spiders). What are the odds that there is a spider organization out there that is the spider-equivalent of BCI? Doubtful but, you never know until you look. I haven't found one yet.

So, I guess I have been doing something constructive with my time. School will also be starting up again very soon - ugh. I really need to settle and start working on a project. I have been thinking recently that I would like to do an interpretive website for my project. Of course, weirdo that I am, the topic I want to do at the moment is rabies. Rabies - the website. How did I get this way? Anyway, to do it I still need to find out how to make a website in the first place. Blogs don't count. Yammer, yammer, yammer...

I feel that no blog entry is truly complete without a picture so, here goes...