Sunny days filled with many animals (and surprises!!)

Hello friends and family! It’s been a little bit since I wrote last, but I’m trying to get better at it haha. I enjoy it – it’s just life has been crazy (in a good way)!!

I am currently writing this in a super cute café/beach store/skatepark in Pensacola, FL. I just moved here at the beginning of May to follow my passion of working with animals by becoming a zookeeper at the Gulf Breeze Zoo. I am loving it here! Being outside and working some dope animals and people. Everyone keeps it a fun place to work at… on top of booping all the snoots of animals (which is like literally the best hehe). I am currently a hoofstock keeper which means… animals with hooves haha. But of course I work with other animals, too…. which include: Giraffes, Zebra, Ostrich, Emu, Antelope, Gazelle, Rhea, White and Indian Rhinos, Pigmy and Nile Hippos, Camels, Axis Deer, and Wildebeests.

It’s been hard to get used to the hot, humid weather. To combat this, I use so much sunscreen daily, a huge safari hat, sun glasses and LOTS of water. It really does take a lot out of you everyday but the payoff is so rewarding! I’ve met some great new friends that are military, I enjoy hanging with my co workers and am trying to find my groove (i.e. morning routine, gym, going to the beach, finding cool new hangout spots, being social but also refueling my battery).

Pensacola is a really cool town, definitely since it’s summer and it’s really starting to boom. There are lots of military people which is fun because they are all around my age. Also the 2 Universities here bring in a lot of other younger people. Though one of the best things is the Gulf Coast breeze. Like it feels amazing. Yes the humidity sucks but with a nice daily breeze it makes things a little easier haha. Gulf Breeze Zoo, gulf coast breeze. Now say that 3 times fast lol.

Fast-forward 3 months: I am now writing this back in NC after just quitting the Gulf Breeze Zoo due to a unplanned opportunity/surprise lol. Disclaimer: the FL heat takes literally everything out of you. I do not recommend working outside in FL. Will not get much done outside of work. Will always want to be in AC and go to bed early haha.

A few weeks ago I was called by the director/founder of Field Projects International (FPI) asking what I was doing in October… you know just working and living life in FL I thought. Little did I know he was going to offer me a position to return back to the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest and to the exact field station I was just at last summer. I said OF COURSE!!! as I love field work and want to continue to open up paths in my career towards that direction, and he said great, well can you be there October 1st? Soooo I put in my notice the next day or so at the zoo, told all my co workers of the opportunity that had arose and started to pack and plan.

Now to tell you the cool part – what I will be doing. I am heading to the field station with a team of 4 Americans and 1 Peruvian local. We are going to be gathering spatial data, behavioral data, and the main part which will include habituating several groups of Emperor Tamarins. This basically means doing all-day follows tracking where they sleep, locating what are some of their favorite spots to eat, what are their home ranges, and really just making them more comfortable with humans being around them. We will be using tools like GPS tracking to look at the areas of the rainforest they inhabit, and old school telemetry to find some of the groups that have a female monkey with a GPS collar on. All this data is to help FPI towards the study and conservation of tropical ecosystems. However the most exciting part of getting the monkeys used to us is that *THE* BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) will be sending out 1 or 2 film crews to record a wildlife documentary. Just to refresh your memories BBC has made some animal/wildlife documentaries like: Planet Earth 1 & 2, Our Planet, The Blue Planet 1 & 2, Life on Earth, Dynasties, Life, and many many many more. If you haven’t seen one of these in a while definitely go check them out on Netflix ASAP. When the film crews arrive, we will be helping them navigate the rainforest and guiding them to where the different Tamarin groups live. They are trying to record Tamarin twins and them growing up together, along with some foraging behaviors, how they interact within their family group, and some other cool things. This is all really cool stuff to be a part of, and I am definitely going to be keeping you guys posted while I am there through the blog. The rough estimate of time I’ll be out of the states will be around 5-6 months. This includes time for us to prep before BBC arrives, and then time for them to come and film as much as they’d like.

So now that I finally wrote a new blog, I am going to attach some of my favorite pictures/memories that I took at the zoo and my time in the Pensacola area 🙂

And now a few pictures of my friends, sunsets, good memories, and more:

Overall, it’s been a great last few months learning new things, meeting new people, and working with so many amazing animals! I’m finishing writing this blog as I’m sitting in the Lima airport waiting for my 10 hour layover so I can continue day two of traveling tomorrow and arrive at the field station by dinner hopefully. I’m the first one from my team of 4 that is arriving at the station, so I’ll have a day or two to unpack, check some trails, catch up on much needed sleep, and make sure our equipment is working and ready to go.

Like always, keep it light and fun… and never stop taking adventures. That’s what’s life is all about!

Talk to you guys very soon!

Luke