Dude, this was one of the best weeks ever! Who knew getting dirty and seeing our work go to shreds could be so amazing!

Lion--This was the biggest day of the week for us. All week long we had been preparing for Friday, Lion Day. As the oldest group of campers at Safari Day Camp, we were chosen to make a paper mache zebra to be used as lion enrichment. Monday afternoon the work started as we attempted to make a stable body for the zebra. We ended up going through a few designs, but finally we got one. The kids started to add paper mache to the body, tail, and legs. By Thursday form had taken place and the zebra was ready to paint. Friday morning, we loaded up into the van, and the rest of the 80 plus campers got on buses and we headed out on the preserve. Other LCS employees and the media joined us. The Lions were released and it was awesome. All of our hard work was well worth it. The press though so too with coverage on the local news and front-page photo of the Palm Beach Post! Check out this page for photos of the Lion Hunt Event! Afterwards we joined Brian, a lion keeper, at the Lion Den to get a closer look at the amazing animals. We first saw three of the baby cubs, which was really cool. They are absolutely adorable and rambunctious. Then we met some of the male lions. Seeing these animals up close makes you wonder if you are in a dream, but it was all real. Definitely an experience of a lifetime!

Pelican--We met Andrew, a keeper at Lion Country Safari, at Pelican Island. At LCS we have a safe haven for injured pelicans that can no long fly. They are brought here by fisherman and other concerned citizens, in a hope that they can have a better life. The natural habitat of the pelican is an empty beachfront; however, humans have taken over their habitat and are hurting and killing these animals. We learned how to tell the difference between juveniles and adults. The young have brown heads and the adults have white ones. We all got a fish and threw them out to feed the pelicans. Inserted was salt to get them the sodium they would regularly get in the wild. Some of the fish were caught, and others weren't...but over all it was a lot of fun!

Python--Kelly, an education assistant, met us in the Animal Theater with a Ball Python. She told us lots of neat facts about this constrictor. She talked to how the snakes are built with scales, and on the bottom they are much larger and box like. About 4 times a year, the snake will shed the skin, and this is because it is growing. If it didn't shed the skin, it would be cramped inside a body that is too small. Snakes don't blink, but to protect the eye, their skin actually grows transparent right over the eye. When looking at shed skin, you can see where the eye was. Then we all met up with Rhonda and had our photo taken with the Ball Python.

Produce Keeper--We met Teddy, a produce keeper, at the wildlife complex. He showed us the diets eaten by different animals. Then we went over to some of the primate keepers, who were filling plastic trashcans full of monkey crunch, veggies and fruit. We were all curious about the monkey crunch. What was in it? What does it taste like? So after one of the keepers said that it was fine for human consumption, and she had tried it, we all dug in. Kinda. I took one bite and I had my fill, but others ate the whole thing. Maybe it is an acquired taste!:)

Tracks--We started our week out with Tracks Day. After reading about the different types of tracts that are local to the area, we went on a nature walk in the KOA woods. We didn't see a whole lot of tracts, but there were some rabbit and horse prints in the sand. Then we came to a little rainwater pond, with tadpoles swimming in it. We all had fun looking at the different stages of development. Some were tiny as could be; others had already grown their legs, but still had their tail. We took some back to our area to observe for the rest of the day. Just before the parents arrived, we hiked back to return the frogs to their natural habitat. For craft we created sand prints of different animals. Some chose to do human footprints, while others were adventurous with bird, dog, and rabbit prints.