Today marked the last day of my internship here at the Caldwell Zoo and it was bittersweet. Yesterday I had the insane opportunity to paint with our three female African elephants, Rolinda, Tanya, and Binti, and today I spent the day running through my usual routine and saying my good-byes. The cheetahs were strangely adorable (trust me, usually they hiss and spit and carry on like they want to gut you), rolling around on the ground and cleaning each others' fac...

This morning I went to the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge with one of the Caldwell interns and one of the Caldwell keepers who used to be an intern there. The purpose of the refuge is "To provide rescue and rehabilitation of big cats that have been abused, neglected or displaced." We walked around and looked at the more than 40 cats that are currently housed at the refuge, many of whom were doing all they could to stay cool in the 104 degree Texas heat! We were fort...

At the Caldwell Zoo I am interning with the African Elephants, reticulated giraffes, black rhinoceroses, and cheetahs. Each intern is required to do an intern project, and for mine I have decided to work with our two juvenile female giraffes; Possum, 8 months old, and Cricket, 15 months old. I am in the process of training them to shift, or move from one location to another, to be by themselves, meaning I can shut each of them in their own stall and basically not...

Happy 4th of July from the state that thinks it's the most Amurrcan of all- Texas! Despite all of the burn-bans due to the intense lack of rain in the southern states, Smith County, Texas has decided to postpone their burn ban until after this magical holiday. Nearly everyone in the immediate area is launching fireworks or running around with sparklers, and the Caldwell Zoo interns were no exception! Well, we didn't actually launch fireworks...no need to sp...