It's been a bit rainy for the past two days. The thing about the rain is that it brings the army ants out from underground in search for dry land. Today I got my first experience with the army, or warrior, ants. Now, I don't know if you know anything about army ants, but they are in HUGE, fast, swarms... and they prefer to eat non-plant material. One of the main concerns when dealing with army ants is the fact that they can easily prey on sleeping birds, especially those that are compromised and cannot defend themselves. Today they decided to swarm on the outside of the bathroom wall near Jack's, the red lored parrot, enclosure. They quickly moved over to, and in, Jack's enclosure. I wasn't entirely sure which tactic I was supposed to take when dealing with these tiny predators so I grabbed the hose and started spraying the enclosure. Unbeknownst to me, I had gotten a bit too close to the swarm and my feet were instantly covered in ants. I threw off my flip flops (which were immediately taken over by little black beings) and jumped out of the reaches of the ants. Thankfully the bites of the army ants aren't painful; I suppose it's just the sheer number that helps them accomplish their massacres. Oh, the exciting obstacles you come across when doing rehabilitation in the tropics.
This week has been pretty slow; it's mainly consisted of fishing for the tern. It's a good thing that I only eat plants anyway because I would never be able to survive in the wild by catching my own fish. What else? Tracy introduced me to Cayo Twist in town; they serve non-dairy ice cream. I think it's soy? I had the soursop flavor and it was so good. I decided to do a little research so I could purchase some of the fruit and apparently consuming it every day is linked to Parkinson's disease. Fantastic.
In bird news, the tern's eyes are improving. We found out that he was a nestling or fledgling when he was banded in 1997 so he's 13 years old. He was moved out to an aviary and appears to be doing well. All of the parrots (eight came in as babies last year) are doing well. The two Ruddy Ground Doves are improving... the youngest actually started eating on her own today. The other that had a horrendous wing fracture had the wrap removed last week and is getting physiotherapy every other day. No new patients this week... quite a difference from rehab in the states.
Tomorrow we get an early start to help wash Green Iguanas at San Ignacio Hotel. The hotel has a breeding and release program to help raise the number of Green Iguanas in the wild. They're a threatened species due to pregnant females who are about to lay eggs being a delicacy here. The resident iguanas need a good scrub every once in a while to get rid of external parasites. It should be an interesting experience!
That's all for now. Check back next week - it should be a busy week and I'm sure I'll have fun stories to share.
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