On Friday, June 28, ten students and three instructors from the Loyola Intensive English Program boarded two Loyola University New Orleans vans for a trip to the Louisiana Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, Louisiana, about 60 miles northwest of New Orleans. The Louisiana Global Wildlife Center has over 900 acres where live many animals: deer, camels, giraffes, zebras, bison, elands, rhea birds, kangaroos, and more.
A long covered wagon took us on a "safari" through the 900 acres to see, feed, and learn about the animals who live there. Feeding the animals is a very enjoyable aspect of the tour! We had a bucketful of official food into which we could dip smaller cups from which to feed the animals, who came right up to the wagon to be fed. The animals have learned that the approach of the wagon means food--and they come running!
We would like to share with you some photos of our adventure at the Global Wildlife Center. Here we are in the long covered wagon, waiting to begin our "safari"!
Animals see the wagon approaching and come eagerly to be fed! Here you can see a camel, elands, and deer.
A deer and baby approach.
Faisal "Solee" Mouamenah of Saudi Arabia feeds a deer.
Lina Gonzalez of Colombia photographs the deer as they eat food that has been tossed to them.
In the photo above, you can also see a gray rhea bird among the deer. We learned that rhea birds can only walk forwards. They are incapable of walking backwards. This means that, each evening, the animals' caretakers must search the corners of the Global Wildlife Center to see if any rhea birds may be stuck in corners that they can't back out of. A rhea bird stuck in a corner must be physically lifted up and turned around; otherwise, the rhea bird can find itself abandoned in the corner, where it may die.
Below, LIEP instructor Karen Greenstone feeds an eager cow.
A zebra approaches the wagon.
We were cautioned not to touch the zebras, as they have an unfriendly disposition and are apt to bite. We also learned that a baby zebra and its mother spend time staring intently at one another to imprint one another's pattern of stripes on their brains. Each zebra has a unique pattern of stripes; no two zebra's stripes are alike.
A camel approaches the wagon.
Although giraffes are not pictured here, we saw several at a distance. We learned that giraffes spend their entire lives standing up. It is very rare for a giraffe to lie down. A giraffe standing still with its ears back is sleeping. Giraffes sleep for about 30 minutes a day in 5-minute increments.
Upon ending our "safari" at the Louisiana Global Wildlife Center, we drove back to New Orleans by way of Manchac, Louisiana, where we stopped at Middendorf's Restaurant, famous for thin fried catfish, to have an early dinner. Here we are at dinner at Middendorf's.
We hope you've enjoyed accompanying us on our adventure at the Louisiana Global Wildlife Center!
Our next post will feature a writing project of our Advanced Writing class, designed to encourage the use of vivid descriptive details.
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