A moving story

When it comes to domestic animals, most of us just treat them as well... PETS. However, some of us may not cherish them as much as others as many find it bothersome to train them, clean them, and feed them. Many of us would prefer to throw them/disown them and even send them away, to be euthanized because you simply can't understand them.

But did you know that you mean the world to them?


Pets are one of a kind, because of their undying love and affection, protection and comfort. So would you bear to leave your pet behind?

When the blames should be the other way round.

It all started when a cleaner at the Singapore zoo, jumped into the enclosure of the white tigers.






It was indeed an unfortunate event for his family for he did not survive the ordeal. He had passed away even before the police arrived.

You can read the entire story Here.


And even though many did not want to bring up this issue, for it serves as a disrespect to his family, many from the papers have brought up past issues/ incidents in the Singapore Zoo, even to the extend of locating the emergency buttons in the zoo.


I don't think this is fair...



Then not long after, about a week later, another article came about in the papers. But this time, it was not set in Singapore, but in China.

Apparently a 20 year old guy, thought that pandas were so cute and cuddly, and decided to climb into the pandas' pen to cuddle up to Yang Yang, ignoring the signs that were clearly stating to not go beyond the fences for their own safety.


Scared by the sudden intrusion of the stranger, Yang Yang bit him on his arms and legs. But fortunately for this chap, he managed to survive with having to stay a couple of days in the hospital.


You can read the entire story Here.


Now as humans, all we do is push the blame to other people, or in this case, to the animals. But let's just bring on the Panda case, shall we?


Now, who in the right mind would want to climb into a panda's pen, a wild animal's pen, to go and hug it?

Obviously, the animal would be startled and scared. And the first instinct (after all, it is a wild animal) is to protect their territory and defend itself, in this case, to attack the man.

So how can we blame the animals when it's the stupidity of humans, that cause them to attack these people? Had you not gone in to hug the panda, this case would not have even surfaced at all, would it?

Why should the animal involved in these cases, be euthanized just because we were the ones who invaded their territory?


And just when we all thought that this issue was over, there comes another incident. But unlike the first two, the settings is in Berlin.





You can read the entire story Here.


Now what is going on? I think that the animals are the ones who need to be protected from their psychotic fans. Don't you think so?


I won't be surprised if more and more people attempt to enter enclosures/pens of the animals, because after all, we are the "monkey see, monkey do" type of species, are we not?


Just look at the trends of the suicide attempts at the MRT stations. It's as hot as the craze for Bubble Tea back then.

Animals

One word to describe the pictures above? That's right. Cute.

They're so adorable, that you feel like going up to one of them, pinch them on the cheeks, or tickle them on the nose and behind the ear, or even give them a great big hug, don't you?

No one can not smile at a cute kitten that is playing with a ball of yarn, or a puppy trying to climb up the stairs. Admit it, if you saw a puppy pee on your door and then run away, you wouldn't beat the hell out of him. Instead, you would go "Aww, so cute!".


If you still don't get it, let me break the news to you. We are at the mercy of these animals. Especially the cute ones. They have us in their palms, or rather, paws. Make a mistake, it's okay, just flash an innocent face to them, the humans will fall for it.


Well, I was one of the victims. My dog, Junior, is cute. Come on, who has the heart to discipline a dog that has feet shorter than your forefinger, a body longer than your lower arm, and a face so CUTE?!? Junior has the "What am I supposed to do? I'm lost!!" face. In other words, a very 'goondu' face.



My family and I adore him very much, and we pamper him a lot too. He loves to eat Chicken, even though he's allergic to it. We tried substituting chicken for sardine, and he seems to be fine with it. He doesn't eat sausages unless it's fried. And he doesn't eat soup with rice, there has to be meat in there! And if the rice isn't stirred properly and covered with gravy, he'll leave the rice alone. And he loves sun tanning. He would find a spot at home that has the hot sun shining on the floor, and lay there till the sun is gone. He perspires alot, but he hates bathes And he loves the hair dryer ALOT. I made pillows for him, and it has been his chew toy. Other than that, he spends his day hunting for lizards and cockroaches. When he's in the living room, he sleeps with his head leaned against the leg of the chair. And the irritating bit is that, once he's there, he'll never move. And so, we have to move instead. It's the same when he's on the bed. He'll stretch out covering the bottom part of the bed. Tapping him or calling him wouldn't work, and so we have to curl our feet.


Junior has his own spot in the kitchen, near the toilet, where he pees. Since the day we got him, he never pees properly. It's always out of the newspaper. And he knows. Because whenever he pees, and it's out of the paper, he'll dash out of the kitchen.

Now, if I'm not mistaken, what he's trying to do is to "stealthily run away as quick as possible so that no one knows he was the culprit". It was cute at first, but over the years, it's becoming real irritating, having to pick up the papers and then mop it. My mum threatens to tie his "whistle" and would always scold him, literally asking him why he can't pee right.


My dad pampers him alot too, flooding him with hugs and kisses. My brother and I carry him around and whenever we do, he'll fall asleep on us. He's actually a pretty lazy dog. He doesn't bark, but instead makes friends with the Karang Guni Man. I wonder who will protect who when the burglar comes.


And as adorable as he is, he's actually getting pretty smart. He's becoming more and more picky on his food.


Since last month, I have been at home. And one day, my mum came into my room and said "Later when I call your name, don't have to come". I found it odd, but I nodded, and then resumed my game of Harvest Moon.

As predicted, my mum called my name. And sure enough, I didn't come to her. Now, this continued for a couple of days, weeks in fact. I was curious as to why she was always calling my name and one day, I decided to go to the kitchen, where she was calling my name.


I stood at the bar counter, and watched in amazement as Junior ran to the bowl whenever my name was called.

"Wah lao, use my name to ask Junior to eat?"

"See, it actually works. Junior's very naughty. Never call your name, he never eat. Besides, I've been using your name for a long time. And only your name works."

And true enough, as I observed, Junior dashes to his bowl whenever my name is called.



But sadly, this trick doesn't work anymore. I guess he realized that he too can play the game. And so whenever my name is called, he dashes to his bowl, and touched the food with his nose. Then he'll sit there and stare at my mum.


So now I have to be there to watch him as he eats, if not he'll skip his meal and start vomitting.



See how smart animals are?


I have to do my 'round' of spot-checking now.




And watch this!



Loves.

Off Day

Was called by my boss last night, and was informed that all four of us OJTs were getting offs! But it does not mean that it is all play and no work, because we have to present all 12 scripts to her by Monday! Luckily I am in token 3, because the token 1 feeders actually have 18 scripts. So that makes me pretty fortunate to be in token 3.

Well, the past few days on the zoo has been rather fruitful. I got to meet more colourful personalities. And also watch how the presentors worked under pressure when there was no soundman and when they slipped wrong information of the animals.

I don't know about the rest, but the shows have been making my days more and more sian. I'm not saying the shows are sian, but watching them over and over again, makes everything so... expected. But I must applaud the presentors who made the shows possible. I mean I've been working for less than two weeks, and I'm pretty bored by the usual routine already. And yet, they who have been working for many many years, always show up and present with so much magnificence, and twinkles in their eyes, never failing to grab the attention of the audience.




Well, I am sure that it's pretty boring for me to rattle on and on about my work in the Zoo right? So, I'll end this post with a short quiz that I got tagged. I love quizzes not only because they help to take up time, but also because they let you think of things that you often never question yourself about. So here goes:



Tagged by: MUS-FI-RAWR!

1) What's your 10 most Favourite Foods.
· Sushi
· Lasagne
· I know it sounds gross, but I love Escargots (Tried it at a French Restaurant in Malaysia. Hahah)
· Tacos (I do miss Taco Bell Alot)
· Takoyaki (I'm addicted to the ones sold near my home, at Admiratly MRT station)
· Terikyaki Chicken (I like the ones sold at TakaShimaya)
· Cream Puffs from Papa Beard
· Cheesecake from DeliFrance
· StingRay Sambal Goreng from Changi Village
· Are chocolates counted?


2) 10 things I love Doing.
· Carrying my dog around the house like a baby
· Nudging my brother's head (the one with the dread locks)
· Reading books by Mitch Albom and other famous people's autobiographies
· Making fun of my mum when she mispronounces words and does funny actions
· Laughing at the exaggerated Indian Films
· Watching the Noose and America's Funniest Home videos
· Laughing, ALOT
· Creating random conversations of people (Whom I do not know) who are talking
· Heading Outdoors
· Sitting in my school's canteen(back then) and do nothing but eat Apollo and crap with the staggerized people.

3) 5 things I love doing when I'm EMO.
· Being near the sea, watching and listening to the waves and breeze. It's really soothing.
· Sleeping
· Zoning Out
· Pull a long face
· Drawing


4) 5 things I love doing when I'm happy.
· Laughing a lot, and sometimes for no apparent reason
· Creating Lame jokes and stuff to do
· Smile to myself as I recall the stuff that made me happy
· Heading outdoors or engage in sports
·Sing to myself, in my room. Hahah

5) 5 things I wish to happen
· For my mum to stop worrying about us kids
· All 3 of us kids help in supporting the family, so that we enjoy and bond as one
· All the killings and cruel abuses of animals to stop. I want to start an Animal Home.
· I want to start an Orphanage for kids too
· Lastly, I want to have decent grades for my O'levels


6) 5 types of a person of another gender I adore

I don't adore anyone right now. So I'll just give the things I observe and like, in a guy whom I don't know yet. It's like a first impressions?

· I have this nasty habit of looking at three things when I look at a guy. The first is his hair.
· The second is his clothes
· And the last is his shoes
· But all that's not important because I'd prefer someone who can talk and listen, someone who is active.
· Someone who really knows how to impress a girl, and that's definitely not by the expensive treats.

7) My 5 most addicted playlist

· Nightwish
· Metallica
· Avenged Sevenfold
· Colbie Caillat
· Matisyahu


8) 5 Person I wish to tag.
· Yiling
· Lena
· Shera
· Syuh
· Raudah




Loves.

Day Off

Well, as the title pretty much suggests, today is my very first off day from working at the zoo for 7 days straight. Despite having the ups and downs, as I walked past the gates of the Zoo for the last time (maybe?) yesterday, many thoughts popped into my head. I was in a dilemma; relieved that after 7 days of work, I finally had a break. But at the same time, I was sad, because I may never be working here again. 7 days was just enough to make me want more and be part of the family in the zoo.



I was thankful that this job made it an eye-opener for me. Because it not only exposed me to the working world, but I also got a chance to see the many types of people around. I even made fantastic friends, not only with the staffs there, but also with the OJTs: Nicolas and Joanna who were property agents, Nicholas who is 20 plus, and has a passion for his percussion and church.

I also had a great time in husbandry, despite being the slowest. But I think I did manage to improve my speed over the couple of days. I realized that all it took was to set my mind to it.

The staffs in the zoo were an excellent bunch of people, who were always there for you, and willing to share information with you. They were very serious in their job, but they also joked around every once in a while. Because of them, I have a whole lot of greater respect for all the staffs in the zoo. I learned a lot about the animals through them, and also saw how they had so much respect for the animals, and vice versa.



But one thing I regret the most was, to set the impression that I was the quiet one. Back in school, I was titled the "Laughing Machine" in class. People had to shut me up, and stay clear of me whenever they had sweets. But as usual, I have the nasty habit of observing people more , and thus seldom open up to people unless I feel comfortable around them.


I did not have much confidence when I was an OJT in the zoo, so I seldom opened up to the people around me. Except for Nicolas, who was partnered with me then. Yesterday was the last day, and Joanna, Nicolas and I sat around to talk. Surprising enough, they brought up points that I did not know of. They had the impression that I was very quiet and dainty. But Nicolas actually said that after the few days that he was with me, he realized that I COULD REALLY TALK. Hahah.


But it was only him. The rest, especially the staffs, still think that I am quiet and stuff like that. So we'll see.



Yesterday's evaluation was a so called "Judgement Day" for us. It did not go really well for me. I had the entire scripts down, but when I presented, it was mere regurgitation, which was bad, because they'd rather put a tape recorder there. I was so engrossed in memorising the scripts that I seemed emotionless, which was again bad, because no one would want to listen to some boring person. Not only was I emotionless, but I was rattling away like a speeding train, which was again bad. Hahah. And last, I was loud and clear, which may also be bad, for they would hear every single thing I said, thus I had to be very careful in the choice of words.



Well, I am still waiting for them to call me. If I don't get the job, I would never be disheartened, because this job actually gave me an opportunity to realized how much of a passion these people had for the animals. And passion and experience was all that I was looking for in a job. Not money.


Oh, and while I was an OJT there, I actually got a chance to see a manatee give birth! The baby manatee is really cute. And if you happen to head to the zoo, go to the SPLASH! amphitheater to catch a glimpse of the baby manatee.


For that 7 days there, I got to see most of the animals there. I can't really remember some of them, but I'll try my best. Let me educate (Cheh.. hahah) you on some of the animals that I learned about. And so, here are some of the animals:

Aprilla the elephant. How to spot her? Well, she has pink pigmentation around her neck and ankles. And she's the youngest elephant there. She's really adorable.


Gambir the elephant. How to spot her? Her trunk has a whole stretch of pink pigmentation. She's the most playful elephant there, and her art work is seen as Chinese Calligraphy.


Janti the Elephant. How to spot her? She's the biggest and the oldest elephant there. Now what's unique about her is that she is seen as a future matriarch because she was seen running in to settle the disputes amongst the other elephants.

Smoky the dog. He can be found in the Animal Friendly Show. I think he is a Collie mix. He appears unique because one of his eyes is Grey, while the other in brown. But this dog was actually sold to the zoo because he had anxiety problems. He was afraid of thunder, and practically everything else. I got a chance to touch him, but he was pretty afraid. I did not know him well, but it was like love at first sight. Thankfully for him, he had a best friend there, who is a German Shepard. The reason why the German Shepard is here, is because he was born with genes of flaws.


There are definitely more animals that I am in love with, like the 6 months old White Rhino Baboo.

Did you know :

• That all 5 species (Sumatrans, Javans, Black, Indian and White) Rhinos are on the brink of extinction because their horns are used to treat illnesses? Their horns are actually made of Keratine, just like our fingernails and hair? Thus they contain no healing properties. So stop buying Rhino Horns to treat your illnesses!
• A group of Rhino is also known as a Crash of Rhinos
• Rhinos have poor eyesight but excellent sense of hearing and smell.
• Ears of Rhinos are able to rotate 180 degrees in the direction to where the sound is coming from
• Rhinos seem indestructible, but they actually have very sensitive skin, which is prone to sunburns and insect bites.
  

The orang utans who actually share 97% of our human DNA (the baby Ah Seng is really cute).


The adorable cotton top Tamarins who looked like they had mohawks. They are actually really small, like the size of two of your fists placed atop each other.

Click Here to View Cotton Top Tamarins


Then there are the adorable Asian Small-Clawed Otters. They can be found near the Treetop Trail. They make the cutest sounds ever!

Click Here to View Asian Small-clawed Otters





Heard the squeaking noises? Yeap, those are the sounds that these otters make. Unless you smell it for yourself, you would not believe me when I say that these adorable animals actually give off a pungent smell. Now this is because they are territorial, and they mark the areas from the secretion secreted from their anal glands.

Then there are the Black and White Colobus Monkeys. They have a black coat of fur, but have a white tail. Right in the Singapore zoo, we actually have a baby colobus Monkey, and it is all white! hahah, only a few months later will it then start growing its fur.

Click Here to View Black & White Colubus Monkey

Click Here to View Black & White Colubus Monkey and baby

And the Saki Monkeys!


Click Here to View Saki Money


The one that you are viewing is the Male, while the female has a greyish brown coat of fur.

Last but not least, the polar Bears!


We have Sheba who is 31 years old. She joined the Singapore Zoo in 1978 when she was only 2 years old. Her birthday is on Valentine's Day. She is always sun tanning on the boulders in the enclosure.

We also have Inuka, her son. Inuka in Eskimo Language actually means "Silent Stalker". He is a very special bear not only to the Singapore Zoo, but to Singapore itself. Why? Because he is the very first polar bear to be born in the Tropics, right in the Singapore Zoo. His birthday is on 26th December and was born in 1990.

Inuka is 1.8m tall, and weighs 550kg. However, a full grown polar bear can grow up to 3m tall, and weigh over a 1000kg!

But did you know that when Inuka was born, he actually weighed 450g? How he actually grew so big and strong is because of his mummy's milk. Human's milk contains 4% fats. But Polar Bear's milk contains 48% of fat!


Polar Bears have black skin. And their fur coat is NOT white. It is actually transparent. The reason why we see it as white on TV is because of the snow that reflects on the fur.

Polar Bears are from the North Pole, and you might be thinking : the water confirm very cold one. But, the water in the enclosure is actually at room temperature. However there is a den which the polar bears have excess to, which is at a comfortable 16 degrees Celsius.

In the wild, polar bears feed on Seals. But in the Singapore Zoo, they are given a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meat. In fact, Inuka's favourite food is Frozen Watermelon.



These are just some of the animals that I learned about. There are obviously more animals to learn. But I must say, the animal, or rather fish that I like the most, is the token feeding session of the Giant Arapaimas.

The first time the fish "jumps" up to take the small fish from the stick, never fails to crack me up. Because everyone will get the shock of their lives, going "woah". Small kids will cry, girls will scream and others will put their hands near the heart at the chest, because they were shocked.





Arapaimas are the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world. They can grow up to 4.5m long, and weigh a hefty 200kg. Another feature that distinguises this fish is the presence of a bony tongue.


Click Here to View Giant Arapaima


In the Singapore Zoo, we have 3 giant Arapaimas, with the largest coming in at 2m long, and weighing almost 120kg.

They can be found in the Amazon Basin and only during high tide, can also be found in flooded forests, swamps and upstream in the creeks.

Only during low tide do they lay their eggs in nests in the hollows of the mud, of the floodplains.

They feed mainly on other species of fish. And are the top freshwater predators. However, if there are any low flying birds or animals, they would of course, consume them!

But despite all these, Arapaimas are on the brink of extinction because they are sought after for their meat, scales and bones. They are also kept as illegal pets.




End of tour!



Loves.

Bite Me

After reading today's New Paper, I'm a tad bit nervous to start work at the zoo. I found out that today's news was not only published in Singapore, but also other parts of the world like India and the USA.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go grab the New Paper or Click Here, Here and Here.

The New Paper also revealed other incidents that happened in the zoo, involving Ah Meng our famous orang utan, hippos, elephants and chimps.

My mum's worried, and she's asking me to reconsider my job, for fear of something bad might happen to me.



But all the more, I'm even more excited to be up front, face-to-face with theses dangerous, it gives me a sort of adrenaline rush.

ANIMAL ABUSE

Not for Animal Lovers



The last time I blogged about Animal Abuse was back in February, where I lay the truth about where China got their fur from, and how they got it.

Click Here to read it.


That came as a huge shock to me as I thought that the artificial fur was usually from cotton or other materials.

But even if these animals were used, what disgusted me was how they killed the animals to retrieve the fur.

I am aware that killing them by the knife could damage the fur, and I am also aware that the drug used to put animals to sleep is rather expensive. But I still think that there are other ways other than hammering them against to kill them.


This scenario is just one of the many animal Abuse that is ongoing around the world. The other Animal Abuse is Seal Hunting.















Seal Hunting is carried out in 5 countries , with Canada being the hot spot where most of the world's seal hunting takes place.

Seals are hunted for their fur, blubber and their meat, by sealers who clubs the seals with a baseball bat-like instruments. Just like China, the sealers treat the seals with so much cruelty that they kick and skin the seals while conscious or alive.

It is known that sealers kill pubs; baby seals who are not more than three months old.


If that is not cruel enough, then read on...


The next topic that I am going to talk about is, of how an artist portrayed his "art piece" in a gallery.


The Artist goes by the name of Guillermo Vargas aka Habacuc.


This man, who considers himself as an Artist, had done up an Art piece in 2007 which involved a starving of a dog named Nativity.

The dog was taken from the streets, then was chained up. He also withheld water and food from the dog. The dog was tied not more than a feet a away from a wall display constructed of dog food, where it was there till its last throes of death.

The Artist and visitors watched on as the dog suffered in agony. The visitors were told not to feed the dog. Boy, if I were there, I would've cut the chains and set the dog free!


To make matters worst, "the Visual Arts Biennial of Central America decided that the 'installation' WAS actually art, so Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the Biennial of 2008."







Bunch of idiots, I do hope they get their retribution.



To read more about Seal Hunting and the organization that is helping in the protest against it, Click Here.


If you're really keen on ending the horrendous act carried out by habacuc, then please sign the petition!


Click Here.


For more info on Habacuc,Click Here.

Little Monster

I came home slightly earlier than usual today, and the moment I stepped into my room, I was greeted by a little monster.

It was lying so "shiok-ly" on my bed, with it's head on my pillow, and little body outstretched on my bed.

It was startled at first when it saw me. But soon after, it had the cheek to closed its eyes back, to go back to its deep sleep.

I left my room to take a shower, and I think the little monster was hoping that I would forget about it, and leave it there to enjoy the rest of its nap. But it was wrong, and returned after my shower, and jumped on to my bed, and all this while, the little monster never opened an eye to peek.

I tried tickling it, but it did not respond, but rather rolled over,to give me space to lie. I gave up and collapsed on my bed, only to notice later that it actually wanted warmth and pranced on the chance to snuggle up to me on the bed.

After awhile, my mum caught us snoozing and she yelled at it to leave my room. And the cute thing was, it immediately opened its eyes and dragged itself off the bed, by using its front legs to pull itself forward, making the hind legs totally paralyzed. This was definitely a smart move to buy time.

And once the monster reached the tip of my bed, it starred innocently at my mum, not batting an eyelid at all. My mum shook her head and the monster pleaded by lifting its paw up and down, as though it is begging to not leave the bed. My mum sat at my computer table and as soon as the little monster saw that my mum was not looking, it immediately dragged itself back beside me, poking me by the nose, "to help it out".

My mum and I could not resist bursting into laughter at how adorable the monster was in feigning innocence.


If you have no idea who the little monster is, it is actually my dog, Junior!


I only have pictures of it in the past, but it still sleeps the same way!













I respect it's privates. hahah.










More recent ones








Junior is really mischievous yet adorable at the same time! And it's these pets (Junior, Shandy and Fox) that I can't live without. It's amazing sometimes to see just how much they can understand you without even speaking a word. And how much their presence and company can actually brighten your day.

I miss Fox and Shandy. Shandy especially because she has been my companion for 10 years. She was always there for me be it when I happy or sad.

She was the shoulder for me to lean on whenever I cried, and she was also the pillar of strength and motivation. She could tell when I was down or happy and has never failed to bring joy to me no matter what.

I know it sounds emo,corny and stuff, but she really means alot to me and I do love her so very much. Though it's been months since Shandy left me, I still think about her day and night.

It's really nice to be deeply in love with animals, especially dogs, but once we lose them, it's really like losing bits of our heart.


Click


But I promise myself, that when I grow up and have the riches, I would go at all cause to stop ALL Animal Abuses especially in China and Korea.


Good night.