Chemical Restraint @ the Elmwood Park Zoo

So I had my last lab. It was on chemical restraint. It was actually a kinda kool course to take b/c we got to shoot two different types of blow guns and such. Actually it terrified me b/c it brought back memories of my brother & his friend deciding they needed something to hunt with their new blow guns. That something turned out to be me. My mom wouldn't believe me until about my Sr. year of high school that he would do something like that to me when we were young. He was evil!
The lab was actually a lot of fun as I learned about special escape teams in the zoos and the training they go through. Then my classmates and myself got to go up one by one and shoot at our animals, which were a drawing of an animal butt on a cardboard box.
Here are a few pics from the lab. I forget our speaker's name for that lab. He is the currator at the Elmwood Park Zoo tho. And the kid w/ the long hair is my friend & classmate Brian F.

Academy of Natural Sciences - Philadelphia, Pa

For lab today we went to the Academy of Natural Sciences in the great city of Philadelphia. Our lab was on education programs in zoos so we got to go behind the scenes at the academy and hang out w/ the animals. There is a pic of a white-nosed Coatimundi named Jodi, a chinchilla, monitor lizard, owl (don't remember what kind, help me out there dad), and a turtles. *muah*

Happy Thanksgiving

To my friends and family,
So they're not turkeys, but here are some pretty birds to look at. I hope ya'll have safe travels and a very filling Thanksgiving season. Love ya'll!
~Holly Rae

Adventure Aquarium - Camden, NJ

Went with some of the Zoo Science majors today to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. We were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour with one of the lead people at the aquarium. We were then let to wander about the place and explore for ourselves. At one point, I had a little helper following me around asking, "Do you want to take a picture of this?" For such a small kid he really knew a lot about the fish I was photographing. He & his dad are picture in the bottom right corner of the diver's tank. Hope you enjoy some of the pics! *muah*

http://www.adventureaquarium.com/

Philadelphia Zoo Vet Center

This is a back post so I won't say much about it but here are some kool pics from my lab one Friday at the Philadelphia Zoo. We got to go behind the scenes and take a tour of the Vet Center there.

Back at School & On with Life

It's been a while since my last post. Life has calmed down a bit for me since summer. On Aug. 26th I celebrated my 20th birthday and finally joined the class of people whom I used to refer to as adults. Poor me right? Nah, I think I'll somehow survive this adventure as well.
My degree is in Zoo Science here at good 'old DelVal. This fall I started taking classes for my major. Every Friday afternoon I travel to either the Philadelphia Zoo or the Elmwood Zoo for a 3 hour lab. Last week I spent the class staring into the eyes of 4 mountain gorillas as I critiqued their exhibit design.
There is no real reason for this post. Nothing in particular has been going on that I thought was important enough to write on. I have however just wanted to tell everyone that since I've been back at school, I've been revealing to myself one thing after another of who I really am, and what I am made of. This next year is going to be a trying one, but I will probably also consider it the one with the most potential for growth in my life. I hope you all are having a wonderful day. I would love to hear from everyone and it's always nice to keep in touch with a wide network of friends.
Remember, don't take life too seriously. It isn't permanent.

Baby Emily Rae

Here is a picture of the newest edition to the Groff Family. My brother Charlie, and his wife Laura have just given birth to Emily Rae Groff. She has a good middle name. ;-) She is guaranteed to be smart and beautiful. heh heh heh.
"Today August 16th, at 4:48 am Emily Rae Groff came into the world. She was 7lbs, 8 ounces, 19.8 inches long. Both Mother and baby are healthy and doing great."