Sphenisciformes

Sphenisciformes-(n) the order to which all penguins belong

Here is a list of what I have learned how to do this week:

-clean up after penguins

-do penguins’ laundry

-hold penguins for tube-feeding

-carry penguins without being defecated on or bitten in the face

-corral penguins

-stick medicine for penguins in the opercular chamber of fish

-inject fish with de-worming agent for penguins

-tube-feed dehydrated penguins

-feed penguins fish (it’s actually really hard!)

-record penguin health records

-pull apart chicken feet (yuck).

            I am a SAMREC volunteer! I went to SAMREC (South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre) on Tuesday and I couldn’t stop thinking about the birds all week. I’ve never been particularly fond of birds, but these creatures and this place are amazing. Each bird has a unique personality, traits to watch out for and special handling procedures. What’s more, every volunteer knows each bird personally. Sammy steals other birds’ fish, Inge doesn’t eat well, Trigger likes to bite, Vicky eats beautifully, Rambo helps himself to the tray of fish, Puck and Rufus gang up on the feeder, Derek has a lame foot so you have to carry him to the feeding spot, Quentin never bites, and Agro is mentally challenged so you have to take the fish to him. Agro is quite sweet. He doesn’t like to swim but he stands on the rocks and looks around, rarely interacting with the other birds. Hero is kind bitchy. I handed one guy a bird saying, “Here’s Poncho,” and he replied with “Oh, shit.” She promptly bit my hand and made me bleed. I sort of hope I’ll have scars. 

                Everyone, save two, who works there is volunteer- some for two weeks, two months, two years, or ten years. The older people help in reception and the café while the teenagers predominantly work with the animal director, Jared. I was taken along to the vet’s office and watched examinations of birds take place as well as difficult decision making processes. Xenia was put down because he was infected with aspergillus mold in his air sacs and could hardly manage to breathe. The poor thing was wheezing, gasping, and hyperventilating for days straight, apparently. It was a hard decision for the vet and Jared, but it wasn’t really a sad one because it was obviously the right decision. The bird was suffering, plus birds have a bony keel of a sternum and it’s nearly impossible to access the lungs or splanchnic organs. 

                I really, really like it there. I come every time thoroughly worn out, covered in fish blood, fish guts, penguin scat, bites, scratches and entirely happy. It’s almost frustrating to have to go to school and work in a classroom just so I can do exactly this, what I’ve learned in only three days or so. Actually, I understood everything the vet said about the condition of the birds he examined, save medicine names, and I was able to explain it to some of the volunteers without scientific backgrounds. The zoo I love but I’m still bitterly resentful towards my biochem professor’s demands for memorization. 

SAMREC's general ward, with the penguins all tucked in for the night

SAMREC's outside facilities for the general ward birds: they get to swim and play all day

                For zoo, we have to take apart a chicken, clean all the bones, and put the skeleton back together, mounted and everything. I’ve never prepared a chicken for eating before so this is a completely novel experience. It was hard to go from wild penguins in need of rehabilitation yesterday to a dead chicken today. A simultaneously enlightening and disgusting project, this is. I have a newfound appreciation for animal bodies, including ours. So many ligaments, tendons, muscles, everything in its own little place. This is how I know zoology is my intellectual niche: the more I learn about animals, the more excited I am to learn more. It’s a positive feedback loop of curiosity and discovery, not to mention knowledge. I never imagined myself saying this, but boiled spinal cord smells terrible. I cleaned the vertebrae today, one by one, and had to pull the cord plus any blood vessels out from each arch. The feet are a nightmare. All tiny bones and cartilage.

I actually love hanging out with other zoo majors and the volunteers at SAMREC because they all have such passion for wildlife. That little place is making a huge difference: penguins are saved, future wildlife managers are given hands-on experience with wild animals, and people are taught to appreciate animals. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!

I’m exhausted and rather lonesome, but altogether happy. Sala kakuhle, sobonana Melika.