Week 1 - Jennifer L.

My very first day at the reserve, I was already allowed to pet one of the Siberian lynxes and go in the cage with the White Nosed Coati. The work is very hard, I can tell already. It's extremely hot and I'm always in direct sunlight. There is only a porta potty to use as a rest room. Most of my work is very physical and requires a lot of energy. I am also making the diets for the animals, which means sorting through a lot of produce as well as working with hundreds of pounds of raw meat with my bare hands. This is not a job for a princess. All the hard work is well worth it though. Although I am not allowed to pet any of the larger animals yet, I am allowed to get right up to their cages and interact with them. The animals are amazing. They have a lot of tigers, leopards (black as well), wolves, two lions, foxes, a coati, two cappybaras, Indonesian squirrels, chickens, goats, a deer, three lynxes, four cougars, and a cockatiel. The animals are amazing and they are so sweet! Most of them especially the tigers and one of the lions, will come right up to me and lay their bodies against the fence for me to pet them. I can't wait until I can touch them. I feel bad not petting them when they want me to. I understand the importance of getting the animal accustomed to before I touch them because they can be dangerous to people they don't know. I love the reserve already! I can't wait until next week.