You and me and rain in the woods

Some days out on the trail are a bit soggy.  The rain doesn't seem to affect the critters too much, sometimes they even seem to like being out in a light rain. When early spring sneaks up on us, it always amazes me how quickly the trees green up and start getting their tender leaves, seeking the warmth of the earth and the sun.  Nature is almost magical in its transformation each year as we transition through the seasons, spring to summer, summer to fall, and fall to winter, winter to spring and so on.  Each season seems to have its own particular natural magic.  That being said, on one of the earliest days of the start of spring, I was able to catch the mood of the trail in the rain as I went about my early morning routine. For those of you who are familiar with the woods around the VLM, there is a small stream that runs through the forest in the middle section of the outdoor trail.  Here, I've taken a photo of the creek as it makes its way down to the lake:

Graceful leaves frame the rainy creek

When one of the more intense bands of rain was making its way through, I paused underneath the boardwalk beside the bobcat's exhibit to observe:

Boardwalk support crosses underneath the walkway

Here, the bobcat crouches underneath the trees to avoid the rain.  Can you see her?

 She's in there somewhere!

In the deer pasture, one of the does is staying under the gazebo. She's right beside one of the posts underneath the structure.

This is a nice place to rest

As the rain splashes down onto the trees, the bright green leaves start peeking out on the ends of their branches and frame the boardwalk and trail.

bright green and gray

A little bit later, as I was cleaning in the coyote building, another heavy downpour tumbled down from the sky! The golf cart I use to help with my routine is getting soaked.  Can you see the little robin that's hopping around looking for breakfast?

It's wet out there!

And finally, while inside the exhibit cleaning and picking up before the animals go out, I found a gorgeous little violet, one of the earliest flowers that is seen in springtime, that was kissed by the rain:

violet beauty

So even if it's raining outside, we are still here to take care of the animals and sometimes, even though it's very wet, it's really not all that bad, on occasion. 

It's Enriching!

This weekend, the VLM is hosting an Earth Day Celebration that includes an animal enrichment day.  There will be several chances to see the animals play and enjoy interactions with their keepers.  There will be many different critters out exercising in the new and improved animal playground.  Come see the critters climb over a gigantic animal friendly see-saw, or roll and dig in a sandbox and get covered with sand.  There's even a large wooden carved bear that an opossum enjoyed climbing up onto recently in the playground. Watch the otter interact with a plastic slide and sandbox on the shores of his swimming pond. Come out and see the animals play.

The raccoons have learned to paint with the assistance of our keepers

A pause to regroup for the next paw print

While at the festivities on animal enrichment day, you may see:

A bobcat in a box! Photo by Sarah Van Bavel

A Jolly Ball that the coyotes play with

The newly renovated animal playground

An opossum exploring the playground. Photo by Sarah Van Bavel

In addition to enjoying watching the animals, come and take a look at our local wildflowers and plants and take some home for your very own garden at home from the wild flower sale.  Kids! come check out the new playground that's just opened and climb onto a giant rope spider web, or explore the hobbit house. There will be various activities all around the museum's grounds so come and support your local Museums and learn about how to take care of mother earth. For more information check out the VLM website.

'Ello, mate!

Today, at the gray fox exhibit, there was a little visitor who was exploring the top of the fox's den. The pollen didn't seem to bother him one bit! Check him out:

Spring has sprung and it's a time for new beginnings.  Since Easter is coming up this weekend, I though ya'll might enjoy some pictures of one of our program bunnies enjoying some love and attention from one of our keepers. This bunny is actually a domestic rabbit that has the coloring of a wild cottontail rabbit.  Wild cottontails do not do very well in captivity as they are high stress individuals.  Because of this, they aren't typically used in programs or kept in exhibits, so we have their domestic cousins who are willing to act as animal ambassadors for their wild cousins.

This bunny 's enjoying his beauty treatment

 

 

After he's been brushed, he enjoys basking on the blanket that's been provided.

oh my, this feels quite nice!

As keepers, we try to enrich our animals' lives as much as possible. After being around the keepers, the animals get used to seeing us and having us take care of them.  However, they are still wild critters so that has to be respected as much as possible.  Although they may seem rather "tame", they can still have wild instincts that cause them to be stressed out.  So, as part of our job, we have to think about that on a daily basis and consider it when we are interacting with our critters.  Fortunately, most of the time, the animals don't mind us taking care of them.

After a grooming session, the bunny enjoys a treat of an oat bran biscuit back in his home.

So, Happy Springtime!

Take care of the little critters who need us:

Time to get supplies! Taking care of a large group of native Virginia critters takes lots of shopping and cleaning. Each day we need to clean and feed and take care of the critters. This involves many activities, including trips to wholesale warehouses, grocery stores, or local feed stores.  In addition to gathering all those food supplies and goods, many hours are spent cleaning the areas where the animals stay. One of my favorite quotes from a keeper at a another facility : " Our quality of care is their quality of life" ( Meryle Nelson, keeper, Brookfield Zoo)

Tools of the trade for cleaning the wolf building

All loaded up and ready to go!

A trip to a local wholesale warehouse yields much needed supplies for cleaning and feeding the critters

Happy opossum on exhibit after housecleaning and breakfast

Fun in the sun!

Yesterday was such a lovely day out on the trail.  It was nice to feel that spring may finally be on its way after all of these cold and damp days recently.  Because it was so nice out, Mr. Red Fox was in a very playful mood.  He found one of the fuzzy dog toys that we have placed out in the exhibit for him to play with whenever he wants to have a bit of fun.  It's part of the enrichment program that we have established for our animals on display.  Enrichment is an activity that encourages natural behavior within our collection's animals.  It can be anything from rearranging the exhibit, adding extra substrate into the exhibit, placing a new toy in the exhibit for the animals to interact with, or placing an unusual scent for them to sniff while on display.  Most animals need activities that would encourage their natural behavior since they have everything provided for them here at the Museum. Here, they have regular meals, a den to sleep in, and plenty of attention and love from the keepers.  Since they don't have the stresses of having to fend for themselves in the wild for various reasons, it's important that we provide activities for them to enjoy.

 

As you can see, Mr. Red Fox is enjoying some playtime with one of his doggy toys in the nice spring-like weather

From Whence in the Woods did that Whinny Come?

Did you know the the VLM is home to a few non-releasable Eastern Screech Owls (Otus Asio)? This adorable little bird can be heard amongst the trees in the evening. The screech owl was given it's name because when it calls, amongst it's many vocalizations, it has a high pitched squeal, a tiny little whistle, and even a whinny like a horse.

various screech owl calls

Each morning when I come into work, I have the pleasure of hearing one of this little pint-sized birds "say hello" as I'm getting ready for my day.  The bird in a non-releasable red phase screech owl. Eastern Screech owls come in two color phases, one red and one gray, both of beautiful plumage.

The gray phase owl is on the left, and the red phase owl is on the right.