White Oak Endangered and Exotic Breeding

Posted by Tumbles on 12/14/2009 5:18:28 PM

Every year we particapate in the breeding program with White Oak. What we do is spay and neuter canines and felines at the clinic I work for then collect them and give them to the research team at White Oak. What they do is try breeding and storing endangered animals and their genetic material for future use. They collect materials from the endangered and extinct animals and try to help the numbers increase with a breeding program that basically ensures each passing season is successful by AI the females. We have done this for two years in a row and I very much enjoy it and feel very special being asked to come and visit. This time we spent a lot of time in the research center. I will admitt that after being in that building with the work they do that going back to school would be most excellent. I rode up to the dirt road and left the king by some hunting camp and hitched a ride with one of my coworkers. The rains from the day before made the roads a complete mess, although it packed the sugar sand down hard making it easy to ride on the ruts from the raoin run off made it really unfomfortable. Once at the gate we were picked up by the journey jeep to beging the tour. White Oak is not only an animal research center for breeding but also an exclusive club. To belong to the golf club is 100,000. to take a tour like the one I'm taking is 800.00. Here on these grounds presidents have stayed, heads of states, kings and queens, some move stars and the very richest of the rich. We past the cottages that they would stay at when visiting the center. We pulled up in front of the research center. Its a beautiful builiding with Spanish mission doors from the 1400's that were imported and helped design the center. Once in side one is greeted with a desk but beyond the doors it opens to all the labs where the work is done. I knew what most the equipment was and what it was for, however once we moved into the surgical and treatment rooms the equipment was so large. I'd have to say 4 times the size I'm used to working on. After and explanition to what they use the collected samples for and how it helps them with their work and learning how they fertlize and AI the different species we moved to visiting the animals. The roads were potholed and full of puddles, for some reason I was labled as the glamor girl and our tour guide Linda was concered that I might get muddy......boy she really doesn't know me well now does she. We visited the White Rihnos first, they like behind their ears rubbed, the skin there is very soft but its about 2" thick. We continued on to the Zebras, which this time were more interested in running into the barns since it was their feeding times. We went by the cheeta pens, the males all got up and ran to shelter since they really are private animals and don't like to be viewed. I did try to take pictures of the clubs at the back of the pen with their mother but It was just to far away. We went on to visit the birds area. From there we visited the gazelles, there are several differet species here. One is from the desert, another has really long necks with these tiny little heads on them. They are very shy and hide behind the trees. We passed the bald eagle area. They have a nesting pair which they recieved injured. They are unable to fly but do breed so their chicks have been releassed in North Carolina. We continued on to see the evil crane, who was rather ill tempered. Them there were these birds from Austraila that were black and had blue necks, They are rather large birds with a horny type growth coming from their heads. What they do is make this sound that is unearthly. They were recorded for jurasic park to use as dinosour sounds. We visited the black rihnos, than the giraffes. The Giraffes were out and about. They have some of the most beautiful eye lashes, We got to feed them and watch them interact. We moved on to a somilean Rihno one of the smallest rihnos. I said why are his eyes blue it looks like he's got uveitis. The Linda the head researcher said yes he does. I've never herd of it, but since you have and see it before we are all wondering if he will ever see again. I said yes he will see again but he may always have damage to his eye and they'll be discolored. We moved to the Indian Rihnos. We were then informed its the only place in the world where you will see all 4 species of rihnos. cool. We also learned its the only place in the world where cheetas are breed and born consistantly. We moved on to the tigers. I love the tigers. I remember them from last year. The weather was cooler and they were just playing away. Both of these tigers have been neutered and were done at a young age. They are there to remind people why wild and exotic animals belong in the enviorment that they live freely and not in your home. These tigers came from Indinia and were in a private home and with in 6 months the owners realized that they were going to be bigger than house cats?????? do ya thinK??? White Oak took them because they had the space. The breeding panthers are long gone as the Florida Panter population is on the rebound, slowly but returning. There were only 35 a few short years ago but not there is 137. We thanked Linda for the tour and look forward in next years tour. I'm sorry to say that halfway through the camera crapped out and missed many great photos of some fantastic and beautiful animals that if we as the world population don't take care of we will loose them. Until my next adventure enjoy and have a great one! "T