A few days ago, I set off from the building around 9:00 am to go train the red ruffed lemurs in Explore The Wild (ETW). I decided to take a camera so that I could take pictures of some of our animals along the way. I first stopped off in the farmyard and was greeted by the two nigerian dwarf goats, Patches and Rocky. They are brothers and both like a good head and neck scratch from keepers and visitors alike, but thisRead more
Posts tagged: #donkey
Lightning training update
Well it looks like our newest keeper, Sarah, has officially become Lightning’s new primary trainer! The three of us (Sarah, Lightning and I) took several walks together over the last few weeks to get her transitioned and for Lightning to learn that she is now one of his trainers. Lightning has made great strides with his behaviors recently, including doing things that he would never do before. One of these things is walking over unfamiliar objects or substrates. For instance,Read more
What’s Lightning dreaming about?
Lightning Donkey is doing much better– his eye has cleared up and his hoof is getting better too, thanks to Dr. Cannedy and his much hated (by Lightning) Epsom salt soaks. So don’t let the picture below startle you! Look closer and you will just see a very sleepy donkey completely konked out in the sun! Lightning will often sleep in this bought-the-farm pose, and we get quite a few radio calls from the guest services desk letting us knowRead more
Lightning update: he’s sick
The Keepers noticed that Lightning was lame (limping) Sunday night. He was still limping Monday morning so we called Dr. Cannedy to come take a look. By the afternoon, lightning also had a runny eye. If you come by to visit, you’ll see him looking pitiful as he has a hoof abscess and an ulcer in his eye. He’s on medicine for both issues. Help us wish him a speedy recovery.Read more
Creature feature: Lightning the Sicilian donkey
Lightning is one of the most well known and popular animals we have amongst our visitors. I have had people tell me they have been coming to the museum for years and that Lightning is their favorite animal! And there is good reason for Lightning to have made such a good impression, because he interacts with the visitors in many different ways. Lightning seems to thrive off of human interaction, whether it be spending time with the visitors or givingRead more
Lightning plays fetch
We don’t usually have much time to play with the animals because we are busy cleaning their exhibits and feeding them. However, when the opportunity arises, we always try to take full advantage! Check out this video of me and Lightning playing fetch. Watch how Lightning actually does a lot more with the ball than just “fetch” it; he swings it around in his mouth, runs it down the fence railing, plays tug-of-war with me, and even picks up hisRead more