Working on my grin and 'bear' it face
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2005
1
42
55
Trip End
Sep 01, 2006
Thailand,
Thailand
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Yesterday (and I'm guessing every day I'm going to be here) I was rudely awoken by the extremely loud and incredibly strange sounds of gibbons, macaques, langurs and various other wild animals - could have easily gone back to sleep (I have discovered my extraordinary talent for sleeping through whatever conditions - got great training in Willoughby!) but moments later my alarm went off. Certain it couldn't possibly be time to get up I begrudgingly stumbled out of bed to turn my light on (cos it was still bloody dark!) to check my alarm clock, only to find I did indeed need to get up. After a sneaky extra ten minutes lying there I forced myself to wander to the showers psyching myself up for the cold water that was awaiting me. Endured a goose-bumping ten minutes to wake me up, enjoyed a round of toast with peanut butter and jam (missed this treat so much!) and was pretty much ready to go.
First job - sweeping bear shit (was going to use better language for the sake of my parents but there really is no better way of describing this glamorous task - sorry mum and dad!) With black, soggy bananas we had to tempt ten baby (although that doesn't mean small) bears into one side of their enclosure so that we could lock them in there and clean out the other half. This took quite some time, but eventually we managed it. Then the cleaning began - after we had gagged and swept our way through the job, we made our way to the food house to prepare their meals.
01 Bears
They eat healthier than me! Placed their food in the clean half, coaxed the bears back in (although they were much more willing now they had their meals) and got going on the other half.Next job was filling the primates' water bowls. Getting to know the primates is interesting, often scary and often fun. Some of them, especially the langurs and most of the gibbons, are really friendly (apart from Madge who hates women), but some of them are just plain mean, especially the macaques - I feel they are going to be the bane of my life here - grrr! The bowls are on the outside of the cage, but you have to get pretty close and get ready to move back if they look like they fancy a swipe at your arm, hair or the watering can. Getting to know some of their histories is really heartbreaking - many were chained up, kept as pets, or orphaned by poachers. Most of them won't be able to be returned to the wild, because of having been humanised when they were kept as pets or because they were injured to the point where they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves. The friendly ones like to get their backs scratched and often stick their hands out so that you can hold it - so cute - but you've got to be careful, because the cunning ones like to trick you by acting all cute and then trying to pull you in. Have already heard various hair grabbing and heads banging against cage stories!
Later on, I had to collect the empty food bowls - sounds like an easy job - it's not. Seriously, if I return with all digits attached I will be very grateful! Genuinely scared of most of the macaques - and they know it, damn it! Hoping I will overcome my fear quickly or working with them is going to tough...
02 Bears
Will let you know how it goes...In the afternoon, we fed the bears again (luckily no cleaning this time) and collected the food bowls again. It's pretty hard work - and so hot - two showers a day minimum. Also had housekeeping duties after dinner, which basically means washing up and making sure the communal areas are clean and tidy.
So that was my first day of work. Realising pretty quick that I'm going to have to discard all of my 'girly' qualities - the time has come to get down and dirty in a very literal sense, sans the squeals and the make up! Gonna be spending the next month covered in mud, mosquito bites, ants, rain and scrapes- it'll be great! The project is really amazing - such worthwhile work. Edwin is the man who started it all and he is constantly in other areas of the world saving animals; he's been arrested three times for various campaigns and has really devoted his life to the programme. It's incredible. If you're interested in the work that the programme is doing check out the website www.wfft.org.
On a general note, the other volunteers all seem like fun people, everyone is friendly and seems to get along. There's about 25 of us altogether and you seldom do jobs alone. We do six days a week, always starting at 6.30 am and generally finishing at 5, but there are breaks during the day - sometimes you'll even manage to grab a siesta. Have a room to myself although not too sure how long it will stay that way as apparently more volunteers will be arriving.
03 Langur posing
It's really basic - a wonky bed and a rail, three geckos, a couple of small beetles and a few flimsy spiders. The toilets aren't squatters (hooray!) although no flush system, but that's not too bad. The showers are cold - but after a day's work you wouldn't want it any other way. There is a big communal area where we all eat (make our own breakfast and then have a buffet lunch and dinner - good food so far), chat and watch films etc. The town has shops where you can pick up whatever bits n' bobs you need and use the internet, as well as a karaoke bar that I went to with the other volunteers (gonna have to be hardcore here - nights out drinking and 6 o' clock starts won't be pretty!). The wildlife centre is set in gorgeous surroundings; a huge lake, mountainous backdrop, many trees and plants growing. The animals are extremely well cared for and are undoubtedly everyone's main priority. Their enclosures are decent sizes and imitate their natural surroundings as much as possible; it's just such a shame that such cruelty exists that they have to be in enclosures, as even though they seem content at the centre they should be wild and free - where possible they will be released. The animals include loads of primates, bears, elephants, a tiger called Miaow, a crocodile called Dundee, two otters (Ollie and Olivia), an iguana, pigs, rabbits, mouse deer, civets, a horse called Sam who Edwin drunkenly bought one night, lots of dogs, hens, birds, and roosters (cock a doodle doers)! Currently have particular soft spots for a gibbon called Mel (Mel Gibbon, get it?), Gilbert, Bong and a few other gentle monkeys whose names I'm not sure of yet, but one of them always looks so sad - his growth was stunted because his owner basically treated him like a baby and kept him in nappies etc. There is also a blue eyed bear I find so adorable (nicknamed him "old Blue Eyes' or 'Frank') and I'm in love with the tiger. The tiger's story is possibly the saddest - he was kept chained outside a petrol station for most of his life for tourists to have their pictures taken with him for money, but wasn't fed anything but sweets and other rubbish, so now, due to the malnourishment, he has neurological problems which has affected his motor skills, he has particular difficulty walking. It's terrible to see such a magnificent creature stumbling around unable to do so much for himself - but at least he is being well looked after now.
Could go on for longer, but I'll go easy on you all and save it til next time. Last thing though - I told some of you about a kitten that had been attacked on my first night by the dogs - it survived and has been given a new home! On that happy ending I'm off xx
