A Beautiful Loss

The following is taken from the BBC News site:

"Two birds of prey have died after fire broke out in an aviary at a safari park near Stirling.

Staff at Blair Drummond Safari Park called the emergency services just before 21:00 on Wednesday.
Managers believe the blaze was caused by a fault in a heating system in the bird of prey centre at the park.
The birds, a Ruppell griffon vulture and a white-tailed sea eagle, both died in the fire which was quickly brought under control.
Park manager Gary Gilmour said: "We are sad to announce that two birds of prey have died in a fire at Blair Drummond Safari Park.
"On-site safari park staff reacted immediately. The rapid response from Scottish Fire and Rescue ensured that the fire was quickly contained and extinguished.
"The fire has destroyed two aviaries and a store room in our bird of prey centre.
"Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done to save the birds in these aviaries and a Ruppell griffon vulture and a white-ailed sea eagle both died."

'Staff upset'

A vet has checked other animals in the section and they are not thought to have been affected by the fire.
Mr Gilmour added: "Our bird of prey keepers Callan, Dom and Mark have a very close bond with the animals they look after and are understandably very upset at this event, as we all are."
Incident commander Alex McCutcheon from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said: "On arrival the fire had already taken hold of two aviaries - but quick and decisive action ensured that the fire was contained to stop further fire spread and extinguished.
"Safari park staff and crews managed to save the majority of the birds and relocate them, but sadly two did not survive.
"I would like to thank the firefighters involved for bringing this incident to a swift conclusion, and also the staff at the park for their assistance."
Staff at the park recently held an emergency training exercise with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service involving a pride of lions.
The bird of prey centre was closed to visitors on Thursday but is expected to reopen on Friday."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-43585184

Although the tragic loss of these two magnificent birds happened almost a week ago, I have just now heard of it and would like to say something.

Four years ago, while on an Animal Care course at college, I was extremely lucky to be given the opportunity to take part in a Work Placement at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park.  My Work Experience took place over 10 weeks, one day a week – a Tuesday, in my case.  Those 10 weeks were an amazing experience, one I will never forget.  I spent two weeks in each of the following areas – Large Mammals, Lemurland, Pets Farm, Birds of Prey, Sea Lions.  For obvious reasons, some animals are off limits to Work Experience due to how dangerous they can be to those not fully trained.  This does in no way lessen the experience gained, I believe it just shows how much the people who run the park know their stuff, keeping safety at the forefront of everything they do, for the staff, customers and definitely for the animals. 

I learned so much and experienced an incredible amount in a very short period of time.  From helping distract a giraffe by scratching her neck (and trying to avoid her huge tongue!) while the vet did some basic health checks...

 

to mucking out the elephants (yes, they are like cannon balls and there are a lot of them to clear!)...

learning about PH levels in the sealion pools and keeping them spotless...

to learning that rhinos love the back of their ears scratched and tilt their heads like puppies while you do it (please do not try that at your local zoo! 

Seriously - do not!)...

even helping look after the tiniest of babies – baby praying mantis...

and so many more memories.

I learned and experienced so much in my time at Blair Drummond.

I will admit, I believed the time I was to spend in the Bird of Prey section was probably going to be my least favourite part, at least that’s what I thought leading up to it.  I grew up with a budgie, and the little sod knew I was nervous of him.  Those claws sunk into my head every time he landed on it.  He pooped on me virtually every time he came near me.  I swear he liked me as little as I liked him (and for an animal lover like myself, it’s actually hard for me to admit that).  Little did I know that my time in the Bird of Prey section would end up being one of the best parts of the whole experience, and the beautiful vulture who died last week played a huge part in that for me.

I learned how the feeding of the birds is weighed and noted, the birds’ own weight is constantly checked and the amount they are fed is dependent on if they are flown (any food fed to them during displays is carefully added into the total amount they have in that day).  Their general health and appearance is constantly monitored, their aviaries are cleaned thoroughly daily, how and how far they fly is noted in detail also.

When the birds are taken the short distance from the aviaries to the show area, which is an outdoor amphitheatre.

Photo: Twitter - C Enright‏ @enright2007 Apr 1  Thanks for the sun, fun and ice cream today @BlairDrummondSP

They are walked over by the handler who is wearing a glove, and with a cap over their eyes to ensure they are not startled.   Not so the Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Alex, who was “walked”.  He did a sort of two footed hop alongside us from his aviary to the arena because he’s too heavy to carry that distance.  When he’s flown he does land on the glove, and he’s heavy.  I know because I took part and he landed on my arm, which staff advised me to support with my other arm due to his weight.  He was intimidating, he was so big, and those eyes don’t leave you for a moment when I was in his aviary cleaning or refilling water. 

But there was something so intelligent as well as powerful in that watchful gaze.  All the birds are special, from the small to the large, but he was the one who stole my heart in the time I spent there.  He was really special and I can’t believe he’s gone.

 The white tailed sea eagle too.

Some will say that is what can happen when you keep animals in captivity.  Well if they mean there’s a possibility of a fire due to faulty wiring, well anything is possible so that is too.  What the animals avoid though by being in the relative luxury of a collection is illness or death through starvation, exposure to the elements, accident, predation and so many other dangers their wild relatives face on a daily basis. 

I just want to finish by saying this:

All the animals at Blair Drummond Safari and AdventurePark are extremely well looked after.  Their every need is thought of and the staff and management make every effort to give them the best life they can.  Some of the animals have been born into captivity and know nothing else, nor could they survive in the wild.  Some have been given homes to live out their “retirement years”.  But regardless of how they came to be there, they are all loved and treated extremely well. 

To the birds’ keepers – Callan, Dom and Mark – I just want to wish you my sincerest heartfelt sympathies for your terrible loss.  To Gary and all the staff, my thoughts are with you too.  It must have been a horrible day for everyone there.  Lessons are always learned after a terrible accident like this one, even if it simply that sometimes bad things happen even when we do our best to avoid them, and I can only hope that you never have to go through anything like it again.

RIP beautiful ones.