Hatred, ISIS and whatnot

When I started writing my blog almost two weeks ago, I didn't even realize what was coming. These past days have been overwhelming and crazy. I had already written down a few things I would shed light on that have already happened during my first year at the zoo but so many things happened that the list just goes on. I am alive and well, nothing serious but something worth sharing with the world.

To start of with positive things, Tallinn zoo is looking amazing! Not only because animal babies are roaming around, but the nature is alive, finally! I'm a huge summer fan even though winter is a beautiful time of the year, especially in the zoo. For those who wonder, March thru May are in my opinion one of the best months to visit the zoo if you wish to see how nature comes to life. Some animals, such as the Siberian tiger though spend the sunny days under shades, but some animals are more than active during spring.

The picture on the left is a familiar view for many local visitors as the sculpture "Zoo" has been in its current place for quite some time now. There are generations of families that have taken their zoo picture right in front of this sculpture. Some day I would like to see all (well, not all but at least some) these historical pictures taken at this exact spot. Different storks are also enjoying the sun that we finally have. Did you know, that the Black stork you see in the picture is one of the most endangered storks in the world and even photographing it in the nature is prohibited as you might disturb it? To photograph it, you would have to get a permission to do so.

Most of my hours I am busy booking tours and organizing other things such as events. In addition to that I sometimes have visitors from other zoo and animal parks in Europe. This week we had visitors from Finland and while I showed them around the zoo, a random visitor started yelling at me for lying to these people - that our zoo animals are not well taken care of and they should be sent away. Of course I was the reason the Zoo is the worst place in the world. Now I did not get to respond to her as she ran away from us pretty quickly but my guests were not surprised. They started sharing their stories how their animal park receives negative responses all the time and just so make sure everyone understands: these visitors have cows, goats, horses and other "household" animals in their park. I do see why some people are against zoos and I understand it completely. On the other hand, zoo employees are the ones trying to save this world from its sad destiny and this is why we need zoos. Amur leopards are an excellent example. People have almost destroyed this beautiful cat from nature as there are less than 50 Amur leopards in the wild, while more than 150 are living the Zoos. A lot of things could be done better, but to remind you - I am here to go some good too. 

Look at this beautiful cat! Help save these animals: http://www.altaconservation.org/

Next topic: ISIS alias International Species Information System. Just to be sure: NO, Tallinn Zoo or any other zoo that we know is not a member of the terrorist group but are members of the animal species related organisation. Apparently this has been confusing to some people as well as to some higher organisational parties in the world. More information about the organisation: http://www.isis.org. These guys are the good guys, please don't be confused!

In addition to the busy work life, I sometimes get to pause my work and rest for 10 minutes. One day I decided to spend my lunch with the animals from the Children's Zoo. Here's the result: 

 Just a normal day at the office during lunch I guess. My suggestion: always share your lunch with a chipmunk if possible! Best job ever!

Until next time,

C.

Follow me on instagram @cmyv

P.S. Is there something you'd definitely like to know? Comment below and let's see if it's a dream come true.

Zoomagination - how it all started

In spring 2014 I was busy writing my final thesis and just like everyone else, pretty much unemployed. My dreams were big and I had thought of many different possibilities on what to do after school. I've always been a huge animal fan, worked with animals in a very small scale but I never thought I would work as a animal caretaker. At that point I lived in Tallinn, Estonia and used to be a golden client at the Zoo. Then I stumbled across a job opening - to the Zoo itself.

You got a job WHERE? Was probably the most asked question my boyfriend, friends, parents, relatives and apparently the cat we took care of asked too. I studied to be a cultural producer, event manager to be exact and everyone thought I was going to clean elephant poop. I can't blame them, it wasn't quite clear what was going to be my position and job description. After a while all those question marks turned into "Yes, I can see you working at the Zoo".

Today I have worked for exactly one year. I started on 14th of May 2014 and yes, I have looked back a few times. Not to blame anyone, but the job here is pretty hectic. Maybe not in a same way as somewhere else, bankers, schools or big-ass corporations but you know, different kind of hectic. In case you have a pet, you can imagine what it's like to work in the same area with 10 000 pets, some of them are just a bit more wild than others. My luck, won't tell if it's good or bad, is that I work with people and try to manage them.

Shortly put: I work in the environmental education and PR department as an administrator. Trailer Park Boys fans can now smile and giggle, yes, administrator at a zoo. My main job is to organize and coordinate events for visitors and private parties, book tours and guides and help whenever I am needed. I have helped to move alpacas from one place to another, scrubbed floors and also did a customer survey. All of these fill my day from pretty much dusk till dawn and I'm pretty sure my boyfriend Tommi is soon going to do an intervention.

My decision to create this blog was influenced by many people. I have thought of keeping a personal diary but then I realized that maybe these happenings and stories might be of interest to other people as well. I'd like to sit back one day and read all the funny and crazy things that happened in Tallinn Zoo, with people and animals. I hope my thoughts and my imagination are something to keep people happy and smiling. Just in case - this blog is my personal and my writings are not official opinions of Tallinn Zoo. There, now I'm free to tell you everything I want!

Want to find out what happens when a Finnish girl is working in an old 75-year-old municipal organisation where are more than 10 000 animals from over 500 different species and more than 200 employees? That's what I'm here to tell you.

Please enjoy some pictures from Tallinn Zoo while I'll tell you some pretty amazing news,

Last Sunday, on 10th of May our snow leopard family grew! These are some fresh screenshots from the webcam that our keepers use to monitor them. Our female snow leopard Deli is taking excellent care of its two cubs that both seem to be doing well. Although I do not work with animals, all births of these amazing (my favorite) felines are extremely important. If all goes well, visitors will be able to see them in a few months when the cubs will be let out to explore the world.

I'll definitely write down if something really exciting happens - if our keepers are willing to share any news with me after I post everything online. Let's see what happens...

Oh and no, my goal is definitely not share all the zoo secrets but to describe what it's like to work in such large and interesting place.



Here are some more pictures from the Zoo, just for fun!

European bison
(Bison bonasus)

Siberian tiger
(Panthera tigris altaica)



Name: Pootsman
Age: 4
Male

Amur leopard cub
(Panthera pardus orientalis)

Born 3rd of April 2014
















I will now end my official first blog post and thank you for reading! More information about the zoo itself: www.tallinnzoo.ee. Until next time,

C.

Follow me on instagram @cmyv