Animal Diaries Archive

Cooling down

26 May 2006

Well, the weather is certainly cooling down now - some of our overnight temperatures are getting down to single figures! Most of the birds really don’t seem to mind it all that much, but they do tend to eat more food as they require more energy to keep them warm overnight (just like people).

You will be pleased to hear that both Amelio the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Nuebi the Barking Owl are doing very well in their new show routines. It has gotten to a stage now where we can expand both their confidence and their flying ability. To do this for Amelio, we load him into a transport box and take him for a short drive to another part of the Zoo; an old turf farm. It provides a great deal of open space to fly, which is great for our larger species. Amelio then gets to chase his lure from greater distances, which helps his fitness and also hones his skill level at actually catching the lure. The different scenery for him also makes it enjoyable. For Nuebi the Owl, we take him for a short walk to near our bird photo area and let him do a couple of flights out amongst the patrons, who are most of the time having their lunch. In doing this we hope to improve Nuebi’s self confidence and his ability to focus in different environments.

 Anyway, I must get back to it! Until next time, take it easy.