So I work at a zoo (yes, there are pics) updated 8-14

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Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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That has to be the longest post in the history of the intarweb.

Cool pics though! Looks like you really like your job.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: Descartes
That has to be the longest post in the history of the intarweb.

Cool pics though! Looks like you really like your job.

A big part of whether or not I have a good day is who I end up working with :p

Overall I'm very glad I tried the zoo as a summer job over more standard options (retail / fast food / etc.)

It's kind of ruined "going to the zoo" for me, but I know it's a lot more fun than other jobs I've had.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

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Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: MBrown
Bah!!! I hate cicadas!!! :thumbsdown: The bat was cool.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of them either. I kind of felt bad for that guy though.

I was kind of scared at the bat. It wasn't trying to fly away, so I figured it was either hurt or there was something wrong with it (rabies?) :p

 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
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There are no Koalas anymore at the MKE Zoo... in fact I just went through the Australian building today as I figured thats the most overlooked area which would = the least people... and I was right. It's just pointless to go on the busy days I learned. You have to fight for a spot to see any animal, and I think most of the animals tend to stay indoors, likley to hide from the huge crowds trying to see them.

Ironically YOyoYOhowsDAjello, when I was there a few weeks ago, I made a comment to my wife, that while the animals are great and everything, the gardening at the Zoo was out of control. It seems like they paid MUCH more attention to it this year.... flowers EVERYWHERE and beautifully planned. Good work keeping them up. They REALLY do add a TRMENDOUS touch to the Zoo over all.

And WTH is with that sky-glider? Watching them put it in I thought "oh well that will be cool".
Now that it's done, it goes like 100yrds and cost like $5 to ride? There were lines a mile long for everything today... Sky Glider? You could walk right up and get on. What a freakign joke. Needless to say, we hit the train, as we always do. Still the most fun at the Zoo next to that kick-ass new Big Cat house (having the Tigers walk right in front of you is amazing).
 

dawnbug

Golden Member
Oct 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Thanks guys.

Last time I went into the Australian building, there was a Koala or two... that was quite a while ago though (like last year I think). I don't really go into the buildings a whole lot.

Sorry, no koalas. (Grounds crew slacks off more than the gardening crew, which may be the reason I know the answer to that question.) They shipped them out a few summers ago, because their eucalyptus (sp?) was getting too expensive. I'm not sure which zoo they went to.

Whenever I spend time around Australia, I get approximately 3-5 people an hour who will ask what happened to the koalas.
 

Mrvile

Lifer
Oct 16, 2004
14,066
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Poll: Yup I read the whole thing, and as soon as you originally posted it too :)
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Guess this shows how often I get into the Australian building :eek:

Here, I found some pics for you secretanchitman :p

Thanks for the gardening comment Homerboy. My boss seems to add more and more flower beds each year. It's getting harder for us to keep up with it all :p

Yeah, I'm not too happy about the sky-glider. It's actually USED if you can believe that. I don't know where they found a used sky-glider, but I hope they got a good deal on it. That might have contributed to the reason it's so short.

When they were building it, our crew constantly made comments about how dumb it was going to be. Even some of the people in charge of it thought it was a joke. I was told that if anyone visiting the zoo asked about it, to pretend I liked the idea.

After it was completed, I took a ride on it. Honestly it's not so bad. It goes slow enough that by the end I was glad it was over. $5 is way too much though. If it was ~$2 or so, then I think it would be a lot more popular. Apparently they played around with a lot of different ride lengths and pricing plans, and decided this was the best option.
 

dawnbug

Golden Member
Oct 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Guess this shows how often I get into the Australian building :eek:

Here, I found some pics for you secretanchitman :p

Thanks for the gardening comment Homerboy. My boss seems to add more and more flower beds each year. It's getting harder for us to keep up with it all :p

Yeah, I'm not too happy about the sky-glider. It's actually USED if you can believe that. I don't know where they found a used sky-glider, but I hope they got a good deal on it. That might have contributed to the reason it's so short.

When they were building it, our crew constantly made comments about how dumb it was going to be. Even some of the people in charge of it thought it was a joke. I was told that if anyone visiting the zoo asked about it, to pretend I liked the idea.

After it was completed, I took a ride on it. Honestly it's not so bad. It goes slow enough that by the end I was glad it was over. $5 is way too much though. If it was ~$2 or so, then I think it would be a lot more popular. Apparently they played around with a lot of different ride lengths and pricing plans, and decided this was the best option.


It's only $2.50 now. And it does suck. I guess the zoo director made some comment once about how he didn't want to turn the zoo into a theme park and add a bunch of rides. I guess that sentiment fell by the wayside.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Looks like I fail at zoo knowledge again :p

I just looked at my "2006 Rates & Hours" card, and it even says $3 on there. They keep changing things too fast.
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
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nah I know it was $5 when it first opened. Even at $3 its stupid. If it was LONG that would rock. I mean if it was some leisurely trip from one end to the other. or like from the main gate to Lake Evinrude... no t literally like 2 city blocks. It's stupid. It takes me from the Zebras to the wolfs? and I go over concrete? Stupid. The sky glider at State Fair or summerfet is right. You can use it as a means to get from one end to the other or simply "survey" the entire grounds.

I was serious about the flower-beds YOyoYOhowsDAjello. It's insane how numerous, large and nice they are. I'm not trying to butter you up or anything, they are simply awesome this year no question.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

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Aug 6, 2001
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I agree that it would be pretty awesome if it was a long trip that took you across the whole park. Being able to see the end when you start is kind of sad.

I guess they just didn't have the budget to do something better. I guess I'm used to the whole idea of the really short sky-glider now. I know for months I thought it was the most idiotic thing I'd ever seen.

Thanks again about the flowers :eek:
It's mostly my boss that deserves the credit for it. She has really turned what used to be a pretty dumpy looking facility into something that looks pretty darn good.
 

wfbberzerker

Lifer
Apr 12, 2001
10,423
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hey, i love the milwaukee county zoo! i just went there for the first time in like 8 years like two weeks ago, although i wanna go back cuz i live close.
 

Coquito

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2003
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Don't knock on the peacocks. The family has a bunch of them on their property down in PR. They keep the beetles in check when it rains, & help clean up all the mangos that fall on the roads. They do have the habit of hanging outside the second story of the guest house at night(singing along). :)
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
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Dude, I can't believe you work at a zoo, you post that many pictures, and there are, like, 2 of them that involve zoo animals:p
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: wfbberzerker
hey, i love the milwaukee county zoo! i just went there for the first time in like 8 years like two weeks ago, although i wanna go back cuz i live close.

Are all the flowers dead yet? :p
I had my last day a bit over a week ago and I know a lot of our crew is leaving very soon to go to school too.

Originally posted by: Coquito
Don't knock on the peacocks. The family has a bunch of them on their property down in PR. They keep the beetles in check when it rains, & help clean up all the mangos that fall on the roads. They do have the habit of hanging outside the second story of the guest house at night(singing along). :)

I guess to even out the flower eating, they do actually eat the popcorn that falls on the ground. :D

Originally posted by: jagec
Dude, I can't believe you work at a zoo, you post that many pictures, and there are, like, 2 of them that involve zoo animals:p

Hey, anybody can get you pictures of live zoo animals standing around ;)
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: jagec
Dude, I can't believe you work at a zoo, you post that many pictures, and there are, like, 2 of them that involve zoo animals:p

Hey, anybody can get you pictures of live zoo animals standing around ;)

I was thinking more a picture of you pulling a tiger's tail and then running away:p
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: jagec
Dude, I can't believe you work at a zoo, you post that many pictures, and there are, like, 2 of them that involve zoo animals:p

Hey, anybody can get you pictures of live zoo animals standing around ;)

I was thinking more a picture of you pulling a tiger's tail and then running away:p

I might be able to get a pic of the first half of that.
 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
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Wow, that's awesome man. I'm gonna have to pick up from the first update later, but definately favorite'd
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

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Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: Adaman
Nice pics. i liked this one the best, that animal on the right is cool looking :p

I think her name is Helga. Some of my co-workers knew the names of like all the animals, but I only know about 10 or so of them. I guess I just don't seem to have the time at work to worry about such things and I have no desire to come in on my own time and talk to the zookeepers about it :p

Originally posted by: Injury
Wow, that's awesome man. I'm gonna have to pick up from the first update later, but definately favorite'd
Originally posted by: dabuddha
I went through every single pic and I just have to say awesome! :thumbsup:

Glad you liked it guys :)