Cheetahs have personality, too!

Exciting Labs as a Zoo Academy Student

Guest blogger: Jaelynn Wright, Zoo Academy Senior

Hi, my name is Jaelynn Wright and I’m a student it the Zoo Academy.

 

Cheetahs have personality, too!
Cheetahs have personality, too!

My time in the Zoo is really awesome and I just love it. Every day I am ready for a new day in my lab.  Since I am a senior, it’s much different from being a junior. I remember when I started the Zoo Academy one day and it was my last day working in with the cheetahs. Well, me and my classmate were cleaning the cages and the keepers came in and told us that some kids were here on a field trip and that they were putting on a show for them, so we were allowed to watch the show. Now I’ve really never been up close and personal to a cheetah, so I was all happy outside and scared inside. The keepers let Tommy (one of the cheetahs) into the yard and he ran like he had never been outside. Afterwards, he came up and sat right next to me. I even touched his head and I couldn’t help but grin like a little kid on their birthday.

 

 

Now I’m in the Education lab in the afternoon. I get to socialize with animals, give my advice in the meetings and just have fun. I meet new people. The latest animals I have socialized with were the opossums and the baby screaming hairy armadillos. They’re so small and so cute, and the way they moved in my arms was really cute. I have to pay really close attention to their behavior because we want them to feel safe around people they don’t know. They really like me and they have grown to trust me to take them to people who won’t hurt them.

Here I am with a Brazilian opposum.
Here I am with a Brazilian opposum.

I’m so glad I get to be a student at the Zoo Academy!

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