Animal Travels

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Animal Travels

An animal behavior major's travels interning, volunteering and working with and for animals

I’m a student at Franklin & Marshall College studying Biological Foundations of Behavior (Animal Behavior). I’ve known for as long as I can remember that I wanted to work with animals, and in elementary school, gave the quintessential answer to what I wanted to be when I grew up: a veterinarian, despite my aversion to the thought of cutting animals open (or even watching it on Animal Planet). In m

iddle school, I changed that to marine biologist, despite the fact that I can effectively get motion sickness from a boat in a river. Finally, at the beginning of high school, I decided one morning to engage in the rare activity of reading the newspaper. There was an article about Jeff Corwin, and he was described as an “Animal Conservationist”. Despite the confusion that this title caused my school counselor, teachers, and any adult that asked what I would do when I grew up, I clung to it. Movies like Born Free and just about any animal show on National Geographic Wild served as a foundation for what I wanted to do, and the experiences I’ve had, and will have, serve to cement my initial ideas. There’s just something about knowing that what you’re telling someone is something they’ve never heard before, and can help conservation efforts in the long run. About knowing that what you’re doing is helping to preserve the biodiversity on this planet, even if it means by just a few spider monkeys. I was always told I’d end up changing my major when I got to school, but as I took the typical liberal arts requirements, none of them were as interesting as my Animal Behavior class the fall of my sophomore year. Because college offers the perfect time for travel—whether it’s the four months of summer break, or the ability to study in another country and still not fall behind—I’m trying to get in as much travel as I can in the four years. It’s really one of the only times that I can get funding to go to Panama for an internship, or pay the same amount to study in Tanzania as I would in Lancaster, PA. So the idea of this website came to mind: a place where I could keep friends and family updates on what was going on, and also a place where others thinking of majoring in Animal Behavior (or a similar major) can read about the places I’ve been, and find a place to start getting some experience with animals. When I volunteered at Mystic Aquarium in high school, one thing the workers kept telling me was to be sure that I got as much experience as possible. But when I was looking for internships, or volunteering opportunities, many didn’t offer housing, and those that did were for students that had already gotten a lot of experience, and/or were at least juniors in high school. When I did find places to volunteer out of the country, the amount of money charged by the agency that “paired you up” with the sanctuaries was often more than I paid in tuition. And then I found some places that had some pretty bad reviews, and some that had no reviews for volunteering/interning. So I decided this website could be a good place to write down my experiences, so other potential volunteers can get an idea themselves, and find places they might want to spend a couple of months.

23/07/2016

Baby elephants have to drink gallons of milk each day. Born at just about 200-250 pounds, they have many many more to reach full size (5,000-14,000 pounds)

20/07/2016

Like cats, monkeys know exactly what you're going for--and then claim a stake on it

19/07/2016

Best friends

18/07/2016

Howler monkeys will eat while hanging by their tail to help with digestion. Their tails are so strong, they can support their weight for hours!

17/07/2016

Hyraxes are one of the closest living relatives of the elephant, along with the manatee and duong. Hyraxes share similar toes, teeth, and skull structures to elephants, despite their Guinea-pig-like appearance

16/07/2016

The Ngorongoro Crater is a great place to catch sight of lions--within our first 20 minutes in the crater, we spotted three lions, hyenas, and jackals right by a buffalo carcass

15/07/2016

Both male and female African elephants grow tusks, while only male Asian elephants have them. The size of tusks in elephant populations around the world is going down, despite the many uses for them (such as digging up roots, fighting, churning soil to get to the minerals, etc.) due to poaching. Elephants with the largest tusks are targeted, meaning they don't have the opportunity to pass their genes on to as many offspring as those that escape the poachers' radars 🐘

14/07/2016

A wild male spider monkey visits a sanctuary's female free-roaming ones. While several of the females are aggressive toward him, the youngest will run up the trees to greet him with a hug, as per spider monkey behavior.

13/07/2016

Taken exactly one year ago, this photo captures the "gangly" nature of spider monkeys: their long and strong arms, legs, and prehensile tail mean they need plenty of space to roam, brachiate, play, and explore

12/07/2016

Deeply saddened to hear of the loss of a monkey that should have already been released back into the wild, and would have done a wonderful job out there. Unfortunately, not all sanctuaries fulfill what they are meant to--protect, rehabilitate, and release--animals, and instead opt to use unqualified vets because finding an appropriate one would mean a bit more work. There are some aspects of sanctuary work that are unpredictable, but there are others that can be controlled, and the death of this monkey, and several others, was preventable. At least Rugby will be raising hell up there, rest in peace girl.

11/07/2016

Baby elephants aren't born knowing what to do with their trunks. Often, they can be seen tripping over them in their first few days! Once they get the hang of it, they use their trunk for playing, drinking, and a wide range of communications, many tactile (looking for assurance, receiving assurance from their mothers, etc.) 🐘

10/07/2016

The lilac-breasted roller is easily distinguishable by its flashy coloring. They prefer woodland and savanna habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian peninsula

09/07/2016

Anyone want to take a guess at what East African ungulate these two guys are? Hint: this picture was taken in the Serengeti

08/07/2016

The mantled howler monkey, or golden-mantled howlers, get their name from the long fur on their sides (a mantle) that are often golden in color

07/07/2016

Geoffroy's tamarins also enjoy a good read every now and then. This one was confiscated from a home where she was living as a pet, and is now living out her days in a much more naturalistic--and enriched--setting

06/07/2016

A photo for one of my favorite kinds of monkey--howlers 😊🐒

05/07/2016

Zebra foals are born with their stripes--although they look more brown and white than black and white! As they get older they begin to become more black, just like this little one!

04/07/2016

Can you spot the lion cubs? Even though they're predators, lions face many dangers, so they may hide their cubs to protect them. Other predators, such as hyenas, pose as threats, as do buffalo, who have been known to ambush and stampede a pride to kill the young

03/07/2016

Elephants are able to draw up to 15 liters (almost 4 gallons) of water with their trunks in just a single pull!

02/07/2016

Capuchin monkeys travel in troops with an average of 20 individuals, mostly females, as male capuchins leave the troop at sexual maturity to help maintain genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding

01/07/2016

I wanted to save the 100th post for a picture of a very special monkey that really catalyzed my love for primates (especially new world monkeys) and was almost impossible to take a picture of because all she wanted to do was play . .

30/06/2016

There are plenty of natural swings in the wild if you just look hard enough 😊🐒

29/06/2016

Changuu Island, also known as Prison Island, is located just off the coast of Zanzibar. While originally intended as a prison, the island only homed victims of the yellow fever as a quarantine. Nowadays, it's home to a collection of endangered Aldabra giant tortoises where they are protected and cared for with room to roam and interact with each other (no cages here! Except for the smallest babies, so they stay safe, but they're kept together). A number of the tortoises are over 100 years old, like this one here, and while it's not for certain (as they outlive their human observers), it's believed that some can live to be over 200 years old

28/06/2016

Hippos have extremely powerful jaws, with females at 1821 pounds per square inch of jaw strength. Due to their high levels of aggression, males have not been tested. To put that in perspective, it means that only Nile crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, American alligators, and jaguars have a higher psi (pound per square inch) bite. Animals with less jaw strength include gorillas, grizzly bears, tigers, spotted hyenas, and lions.

27/06/2016

Sorry bout that glare 🙈

26/06/2016

Spider monkeys have unique hands: instead of five fingers, they lack a thumb (which is actually vestigial), allowing them to better swing through the trees and grab onto branches as they go. Their back feet have five toes though!

25/06/2016

What's that you've got there? 📸

24/06/2016

Oh hey there 😉

23/06/2016

While given the title as scavengers by Hollywood and media, it is estimated that over 70% of the meat eaten by hyenas comes from their own kill. What's more, their success rate ranges from 75-80%, while lions are only successful 17-19%

22/06/2016

After 22 months of gestation, a female elephant gives birth a calf that weighs in at about 200 pounds (91kg)! 🐘

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