Volunteering at Wildlife 1

Today was an eventful day. We really got a taste of the monsoon season, it was rainy most the day. After breakfast we all crammed in the songtail (yellow bus thing) and headed up to wildlife 1 where we met Adam the owner. We all sat in a circle on the floor of the unfinished housing and went over all the work needed to be done (a lot!) the goals of wildlife 1, and go over safety procedures and avoiding venomous snakes.

We talked about the animals currently stored at wildlife 1. First there is Jack the stump tailed macaque. Poor Jack has had a rough life, Wildlife 1 is working to reduce his stress levels, he is moody and pulls his hair out. The other Macaque is Nung Tao a Rhesus Macaque, also very stressed. Tomorrow we are practicing animal enrichment to help them with their nerves. The last animal is Che buh (probably not spelled right), the most adorable 2 year old asiatic black bear. She was in the black market trade and would have been killed for her bile and her paws if she wasn't consficated. She's the is extremely lovable and playful and rubs up against the cage like a happy puppy when we see her. I look forward seeing her more.

Today was hard work, and we didn't even work a full day. Jake, a fellow volunteer, and I, spent most of the time using a pick axe and a crow bar breaking up the cement to create drainage holes. I'm still a little unclear why we did this but it has something to do with an area where saplings will be. I spent the rest of the day helping paint the kitchen. There still is so much work to do, like building the garden, building the kitchen, and relocating the monkey cages (we are getting two more macaques next week. I'm really excited about the potential Wildlife 1 has, with some time I definitely see this place being a fantastic area for volunteers to go to help with the animals (which there'll likely be much more in the future).

Wildlife 1 is right next to where a monk lives. He is a sweet person and helps us out with our volunteer work. After using the bathroom by the bear enclosure, he was walking by and I told him hello in Thai and we went over and played with the bear through the cage. I wish I had known/knew Thai so I could talk to him but it was a fun experience.

The monsoons were perfect for the hot sweaty work today, I hope it rains again tomorrow. After the good days work we headed back and had some delicious food and went to a little restaurant down the street and got a chocolate cake! I was happy to have it it's the first dessert I've had since I've been here, it was much needed.

Hope this makes up for the last, hurried post from yesterday! I apologize I can't label pictures or put them in order but it's the best I can do!