Behind the Scenes Tour at the Sealife Center

  Today was a day off for me.  As an intern trip they were sending us to the Sealife Center in Seward.  Yesterday, 2 interns from the rehabilitation branch at the sealife center came to spend a day with us. 
We first took a behind the scenes tour about the history of the sealife center.  Next, we met up with the interns from yesterday to help them with a few chores.  They also introduced us to the harbor seals that are currently in rehabilitation.  This year's theme for names is wines and cheeses.  The first seal that we met was named "Port". 

Port was not feeling very well today. They had him separated from the normal group, and put in quarantine.  We had to take his temperature, feed him, and try to get his temperature up by adding water to his tank.  By the end of the day his temperature had risen to almost a normal temperature.  They will be watching him closely for a while. 

We went outside and met the other seals.  They called this big pool the graduation pool.  Once, the seals are big enough and they are eating fish on their own; they are moved to the graduation pool.  










I think  this seal is Brie.  There were 3 seals in the graduation pool so it made it hard to tell them apart.  The other names for all the seals in rehabilitation are:  Parmesean, Gouda, Merlot, Pepper Jack, and Bleu. 

After we met the seals we needed to take their measurements.  One of us would hold the seal while the other measured their nose to flipper, around their upper torso, mid torso, and back torso.  We did this for 4 seals.  We also had to wear gloves and overalls.  This was for the quarantine part.  They are so young and vulnerable to illness; they take special precautions when handling.  Also, because the seals need to be released they must not have ANY human contact.  These measurements are the ONLY time a seal is handled.  Even when feeding they try not to let the seals associate feeding with humans. 

We helped with the cleaning of the condos.  They call them condos since each has their own pool and resting area in front.

It was lunch time! 

 We were each handed a container with fish for a specified seal.  We would throw the fish in each enclosure and make sure they were all eaten.  Don't worry.....it wasn't lunch time for me..... yet.

Sarah and Scott are 2 other interns at the AWCC that went to the sealife center with me. 

I also got to help weigh a duck!  They have 2 ducklings in rehabilitation right now.  Both were brought in from 2 seperate people that found them and couldn't raise them. 

On the way home I wanted to stop and take some pictures in the Fireweed.  Every time I would pass by the fireweed it reminded me of back home in the Texas bluebonnets.  This fireweed is only going to last a few more weeks.  Once the fireweed starts dying it means winter is only 6 weeks away!

It was about 9 pm when we finally made it home.  I suppose I should get some sleep now.  I have a long day at work tomorrow and have a list of things to do. 

Goodnight lower 48,

ErIn

 Yesterday morning I was walking the bear enclosure for the 9AM shift.  It was a cloudy morning.  I love the way the mountains look with the clouds covering them.

 These Mountains looked beautiful with the Wood bison in front of them.

 The bears were already awake for me!  I didn't have to do any hoot and hollering to get them up.  Joe Boxer is on the left and his sister, patron, is on the right.  We got a new pallet of fruit donated a few days ago so I giving them strawberries.  They also had peaches, and grapefruits.

 Again, I just couldn't get enough of the mountains!

 Patron was picking at some left over watermelon from the previous day.

Since I was going to Cooper landing for a presentation later that night; I only had to work half a day.  As I was laying in bed, and being lazy, a friend came and dragged me out of bed to go walk to Byron Glacier.  It is just a quick .8 mile walk.   

http://www.ktuu.com/videobeta/c6767319-1a53-4001-b26a-0756d9f4c1f5/News/Day-Trippin-The-Alaska-Wildlife-Conservation-Center-

This link should send you to the news video clip that was filmed when they came to visit us.....

Today, I started my day again with the best 2 moose calves ever!  Gilly and Nelson probably weigh around 60 pounds or so now!  I cannot wait to see how big they are by september. 

Next, I cut up some hamburger meat and headed over to wake up the big bears.  I was stationed at the bears for 3 hours, then I headed in for a quick lunch break. 

I recieved a few more pictures from Doug Lindstrand of me training the cubs...

Shaggy is my favorite animal at the center....but don't tell any of the other animals.....

Taquka was doing his "up" command very well as usual. 

We also cleaned the moose calve enclosure, and then replaced their straw.  Since it has been raining the past couple of days their bedding gets gross really fast.  Later, I ran down to the ticket booth to cover for someone's lunch break.  I definitely like working outdoors much better....even in the rain. 

Around 3:30pm we had a Behind the Scenes Tour.  These tours are a new addition to the center.  Each person pays $100 a piece.  With this, they are able to meet our porcupine up close, feed the moose calves, and also see behind the scenes.  The behind the scenes includes seeing our kitchen where we prepare everything, our Sitka Black tailed deer (which is off exhibit), and even walk behind our bear enclosure.  And, of course, they get a guided walking tour from their very own intern.  Today, I was giving a tour.  The tours last anywhere from 1.5-2hours.  That was basically the last 2 hours of my work day.  Boy, does time really fly when your having fun...I mean working.

Around 9pm or so, when everyone was off of work and back at the center, we loaded up the yukon and went into Girdwood to play a friendly game of ultimate frisbee.  My new favorite sport!  Well I am exhausted.....

Goodnight Lower 48,
ErIn

Dinner for the Bears

 The past 2 days have been filled with  bear training, going to a concert, and rain, rain, and more rain.  The rain part was very much needed.  This was probably one of the first actual full days of rain.  The ground was getting really dusty with all the wind we have.  So this rain was a huge help.  2 days ago I started off my day by going across the street to pick some fresh fireweed for the moose calves.  This picture on the left is what you would call your neighbor's yard.  The dead trees that you see are from the 1964 earthquake.  The ground sank 10 ft. in portage.  That salt water came in and basically petrified the trees. 

I also gave Snickers some fireweed and an Alder branch.

The moose calves got their daily willow.  They buried their faces in the branches as soon as I put them in there.

 Gilly is on the right and Nelson on the left.












 At the end of the day we were asked to feed the big bears.  I have been here almost 6 months and never even thought to ask if I could feed the bears!  We loaded buckets up some donated Salmon that we got that day, and headed over to the enclosure.  Just as we got there a tour bus happened to be unloading.  The tourists really enjoyed watching the bears eat the salmon. 

 Joe Boxer was waiting very patiently for me to throw him some fish.

I had a huge chunk that I had a hard time getting apart.

 There was also a really big salmon head that I knew they would love.

Yep......they loved it.

 We also had a load full of Crabapple branches that were donated at the end.  We loaded up the truck and distributed the branches out.  First stop, the musk ox!

 Doug Lindstrand, the photographer for our center, sent me some photos that he took around the center.

He also wanted to get some photos of me training the bear cubs.  Shaggy and Taquka were doing very well in training.

The three biggest elk are just hanging out.  In a couple of weeks they will be in rut.  Which means they will be fighting all the time for dominance over the females. 

Taquka knows the command "up".  This helps us check out their stomach if we see anything unusual. 

number 100!

This is number 100 for the blog! 

So a lot has happened since my last blog.  For instance, I went to Hollywood....no big deal though ;)
A friend of mine is a grandson of Joe Simon, the creator of Captain America.  I was invited to tag along to the premier.  We left Sunday night at 11:45pm and arrived to our hotel around 8am on monday morning.  We were so exhausted that when we finally made it to the hotel room we crashed!  Later, we met up with my friends family for a dinner.  We capped the night off really early since we had to get our rest for the premier the next night! 

Tuesday morning we went to Madame Toussads Wax Museum. 

Charlie Chaplin and I posing....

Julia Roberts and I chatting it up.....

Alfred Hitchcock.....

So the night was finally here!  We got ready and this is us actually walking down the red carpet!  Or, I guess I should say the red, white, and blue carpet....

We saw a handfull of actors and actresses.  Here is the list:
Vanessa Hudgens
Samuel L. Jackson
Robert Downy Jr.-AKA Iron Man
Hayley Atwell- in Captain America
Neal McDonough
Dwight Howard-Orlando Magic
Oscar Nunez (plays Oscar from the television show "The Office")
Chris Evans-AKA Captain America
Chris Hemsworth-AKA Thor
Francia Reisa-Secret Life of the American Teenager
Zoe Saldana-she was in Avatar
Steven Broussard-Producer of Captain America
Derek Luke
Sebastian Stan-AKA "Bucky" in Captain America
Jamie Alexander-My new favorite Actress!

After the amazing movie was over we headed over to In and Out burger.

In and Out burger was delicious!  It was also really nice to get out of my high heels and throw on some converse.

I just couldn't leave Hollywood with out getting a few pictures of the hollywood stars walk of fame.  I even stopped to get a picture with Mickey Mouse. 

  Captain America posters where everywhere!

We left on Wednesday afternoon.  I was ready to get back to good ole Alaska.  I missed the scenery and relaxed attitude of Alaska.   On the drive home to the center there was such a beauitul sunset!

The next day back to work I was ready to go!  We tried to walk Hershey.  This is his brother York that was getting in the way.  In the end, Hershey just didn't want to go on a walk.

Snickers was happy to get some orange slices for dinner...

Ok, well you know what time it is.....

Can't find My camera for the time being.....

Well, last night I mostly didn't blog since I could not seem to find my camera.  So, I thought that I would give it another night.  I still could not find it today.  Don't worry, I know it is somewhere in the house...it's just a matter of finding it.  Although, it did give me a good excuse to clean my room. 

Yesterday was a hectic day.  Jordan was in Anchorage for business so I was training the bears for the day. I loved it!  The bears are getting so big!  Taquka weighs around 175lbs, while Shaggy is about 150lbs.  Around 11 am was the first bear training demonstration.  I also received a call that there would be a national geographic representative for brazil!  So after the training for the public at 11 I also did an interview for the representative and camera man.  It was so cool!  I introduced them to the bears and did a private training session for them.  They also asked me some questions in front of the camera to get some better shots for the background.  Anyways, it was a lot of fun; but it was back to vacation...I mean work.  So I went to the bear enclosure for an hour or so to do a little talking.  I had to be at the moose calf enclosure for the 4 pm feeding.  I was also meeting two gentlemen to get a picture of the moose calves.  They had called ahead asking if they made a donation if they could get a picture of a moose calf wearing a hat.  Ok sounds weird I know.  However, these two guys travel around the world getting pictures with this same hat on a type of animal everywhere they go.  They also have a website where you can see everywhere the hat has been.  So they got their picture of Gilly wearing the hat.  I soon finished the day around 8pm when I fed the calves again. 

Today, tuesday, was another busy vacation day.... I mean sorry a work day.  I started my day by feeding the 2 cutest moose calves in all of Alaska.  Gilly and Nelson have doubled in size since we  got them 6 weeks ago.  I then moved on to work about 2 hours at the bear enclosure.  Around 11 I headed across the street to get some fresh fireweed, horsetail , and willow for the calves and our Sitka black tailed deer.  The calves were hungry and ready to go again for another bottle at noon.  It was back to the bear enclosure again at 1pm until 3pm.  The bears where out an about.  Joe Boxer was even playing in the water.  I did a trining session at 3 with the cubs and finally had to get myself to leave at 3:45 to prepare the bottles for the 4pm feeding. 

Right after the feeding was over with a family of 4 came in for a private tour.  The tour lasted about an hour and a half.  I finished the day by feeding the black bears (I didn't go in), the eagle, and 2 owls.  I did another feeding at 8pm and called it a day. 

Tomorrow will be the longest day of vacation, I mean work, yet.  I will be working from 8-6, and then we have the porcupine presentation in Cooper Landing at 8:15.  I think I better get some sleep to get ready for the long day ahead of me...

Good night lower 48,
ErIn

Bison Pies

 Yesterday I had the AM bear shift.  The bears were being very difficult to wake up.  I had to yell their names, and throw food in for about an hour and a half before they finally made an apperance.  Until then, our coyote was loving the hotdogs. 

Joe Boxer and Hugo decided to hang out on the logs.

Here is a closer pic....

Joe Boxer came up to the fence to try and show off for a treat.

For a while all three bears were hanging out right in the front.  Patron is in the back on the right.  The day ended with out any bears or other animals escaping so I guess it was a good day.  The weather in Portage could not be any better.  In fact, we have had so much sunlight that we actually need a little rain to help with all the dust. 

 After working another AM shift at the bears; I was able to feed the moose calves at 4pm.  I also gave them some fresh fireweed. 

After the calves had their afternoon bottle they were down for a food coma.  Gilly is on the right and Nelson on the left. 







The first thing I did this morning was help another intern scoop bison pies off of the road path. We have been opening their pens at night so they can get the grass growing around the center. This also helps their enclosure to grow the grass back faster.