Tis the Season

Gilly, aka the sweetest moose ever, was posing very well a few days ago so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.  The calves are getting huge!  Gilly must weight over 300 pounds!  I remember when we first got him this past summer, and he weighed 40 pounds.  We have to now start being careful around them because of their size.  Even though we bottle raised them they still have natural instincts when they are scared or feel threatened.  I suspect Nelson will be the dominant of the 2.  He has learned that he can kick now.  It is amazing how a wild animal can still develop their own unique personalities.  Nelson is the boss and straight to business.  Gilly is the lovable and playful calf. 

On wednesday I had a day off.  I didn't really have any plans and didn't want to waste a day laying around indoors.  Mike, our executive director, was going to an event wednesday with a reindeer.  I asked if I could tag along if he needed any help.  I am very glad I went.  On the way to the event Mike decided that he wanted to buy a reindeer from the reindeer farm in Palmer,Alaska.  At the center we have all male reindeer.  This means that they have all dropped their antlers already.    The reindeer farm had a 4 year old steer that still has his antlers.  So here is a little bit of reindeer knowledge:  A steer means that the animal has been castrated.  In reindeer this means that they will retain their antlers much longer than the typical male reindeer because of the difference in hormone levels.  This picture above is our newest addition to our herd.  This is Bert the reindeer.  He is very lovable and is fitting in well at the center.  After picking him up we went to an aviation museum at the Anchorage airport.  They were having an event celebrating a certain type of retired airplane.  There was lots of food, music, games, and Bert the reindeer.  So we hung out for about 3 hours letting people meet Bert and talking about him.  I have to say this was  the first time I have ever felt like it could not have felt anymore like Christmas time.  I was standing outside in Alaska while it was snowing holding a reindeer, and listening to christmas music. 

This previous photo was taken by Clark Mishler, a photographer that emailed me this photo from the wednesday night event.   

 This picture was taking by Doug Lindstrand.  Mike and I had just gotten Bert ready for the event. 

Mike posing with Bert.  We now have about 11 reindeer at the center.  Bert will be making more appearances since he has been trained very well to be comfortable with people taking pictures with him. 

Photo again by Doug Lindstrand.














On Friday I gave a behind the scenes to tour to some returning friends who also brought 2 friends from Michigan.  I always love giving these tours.  It not only adds some variety to my day, but I always get to meet cool people.  We actually ended the tours in August;however, if we get requests for specific days and we have a guide available we would love to give a tour.  The tours are also a way to not only get to meet the animals up close, see how a day in the life of an intern is, but it also contributes directly to the animals 100% since we are a non-profit organization.   Here I am introducing Snickers to my tour.  Doug Lindstrand also got this snapshot. 

Well fellow readers I am sad to say that I will be leaving Alaska in 4 days to return to Texas for the holidays.  But fear not!  I will be returning the the wildlife center in Portage,Alaska.  I will still be updating my blog during my vacation.  Who knows...I may even get to meet some animals from a previous internship...bearcats, sloth, hyenas, camels....and many more!  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!!!!
Goodnight Lower 48...and Hawaii
ErIn