It's impossible to hate giant tortoises. They are so gentle and good natured.
We just finished a fun first day of training being amazed by the special adaptations and behaviour of animals in this scope (rhinos, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, lions, leopards, hunting dogs, warthogs, meerkats and naked mole rats).
I think it was a good decision for me to join this station because I have a recurring nightmare of being chased by a rhino. For the record, my worst animal fears are being chased by rhinos and flying cockroaches. Although we learnt that some rhinos can grow up to a staggering height of 2 meters (and I'm only 1.6 meters tall), our trainers mentioned that they can't jump, so leaving a log as an additional barrier to their enclosure can slow them down significantly. Next time I have that nightmare, I'm going to try and run towards a fallen tree in the savannah. Nope, I see no holes in that plan.
Wait what?! Lions, warthogs and meerkats??
A familiar cast
Source: Deviantart
The day ended with a game to see how well we had revised our notes. We were given a photograph of an animal and each group was asked to write down as many recalled facts as possible. The prize for the winner was too good so the competition turned fierce. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts (dammit if only I knew, I would have spent more time on my notes!), we lost the chance to have a private session to feed either the rhinos or the giraffes. Our opponents were nice enough to request the trainers to allow us to join them. For now it's a big maybe, as they will try to accommodate extra people.
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At work, I recently decided to adopt some indoor plants. Following advice from a friendly sales lady who assured me that they are all indoor plants which will survive well in an air-conditioned office, I purchased three plants. I gave the cactus to a colleague as part of her birthday present, because I was quite sure it won't die too soon.
It's interesting to watch plants grow...even at the cost of having your boss and colleagues think you are a bit eccentric
Turns out this plant needed direct sunlight for photosynthesis
Two days later, the plant with reddish leaves starting wilting! I tried to water it but there was no change. Then I carried it to a roof top garden in the adjacent building and left it concealed among other plants, hoping a bit of sun exposure will nurse it back to life. To my horror, it rained heavily for a couple of days and I was too afraid to see what happened to the plant. When I gathered my guts and went there, I was not prepared for what I saw!
The plant had been brutally murdered by a band of barbarian snails!
