How others see..

Ever wondered how a cat, dog or even a shark really see? Well this clever video gives you that answer.

Now that revision procrastination  is slowly kicking in, there is nothing better than endless youtube to help avoid the dreaded subject.

Exciting News

After returning from an amazing Ski trip in Les Arcs (there will be a post later) I arrived home to a letter from Chester Zoo!

Earlier this year I applied to Chester Zoo for a 3 month placement which would be part of my year in Industry. In November I had my interview and with the nervous wait of a month or so I have finally been given a placement to work with the Rhinos for a whole 3 months and I couldn't be more excited.

Why not big cats you say? Well, a 3 month placement at Chester for big cats would mean that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere near either tigers or lions as they are dangerous species and only people are there a year or longer would be able to. This meant that I wouldn't really gain as much hands on experience bar brushing and prepping food. Instead I mentioned my love for Rhinos and if I'm honest, any animal of that magnitude that lives in Africa which I love and to my amazement I was offered a place which means that I will get to work along side Rhinos but also Giraffes and other animals.

My interview went on, somehow for an hour, in which we discussed the types of questions you would expect when going to volunteer at a zoo, from the roles of a Zookeeper to why are Zoos important and much more. The whole interview experience made me feel very comfortable and welcome. Everyone who I met was so friendly that it meant I wasn't as nervous as I expected.

I still cant believe I have a placement, all it means now is that I need to find 2/3 more so bring it!!

Strictly Come DanceSport

So....
I have had the honor of taking part as a 'Celeb' representing Cheerleading in Strictly Come DanceSport to raise money for Leeds Marrow, an amazing charity that aids the recruitment of bone marrow donors as only 50% of people diagnosed who require a donor will find one and it costs £100 to add a person to the register!

I have been training hard learning the Pasodoble, a Latin dance which tells the story of bull fighting, and the girl acts as the cape, the male as the bull fighter for the past 3-4 weeks. It was such an amazing experience to get to take part in and the show was incredible! It really did feel like we were on strictly.

Everyone who took part were incredible and it was amazing to see what we had all managed to achieve in under 4 weeks!! Some of the judges were ridiculously harsh which really was like strictly but over all a fun filled night.

My performance was 9th out of the 10 competitors and it definitely felt like a nervous wait. We finally went onto the floor and all I kept thinking was that I need to be angry!! I believe that I may have done a good job to. After badly injuring my back last week I was really nervous about injuring it more but somethings are worth the risk and the dance with all the lifts certainly was plus my medication certainly took the edge of any pain!

The dance went AMAZINGLY and we got scored two 9s and two 10s!!! I  really couldn't believe it, and it was such a proud moment when all the hard work at training and going over or the silly details like which direction a foot should face meant something. We then had the nervous waiting for the spectators votes to be counted.
The results were in and Jordan and I had won! I really couldn't believe it as everyone was so good! Charlotte Warner, LUU Welfare Officer came second, her performance was truly amazing and I need her to teach me to shimmy (its her secret skill). Its been such a brilliant thing to do and as I said to some it up 'Different'. Doing something different than what you would normally can be the most rewarding thing possible and taking part in LUU's Strictly really was.
Everyone who performed and took part were winners really though as we all got to help raise money to an important cause, after all it is Christmas and whats Christmas unless you can do good  deeds for others!!

To see the show the links below..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxx4WnHk3tQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUXiQ_pewQZq7pwV-dsw-4SQ


So... Keep Dancing, Smiling and a Very Merry Christmas to everyone.

Ross Piper Talk

Last Wednesday Leeds University were lucky enough to have zoologist Ross Piper come into talk to us all about his trip to Burma which has been shown on BBC 2. The show is all about trying to find as many species as possible in the short time they were there so that they could show the Burmese Government that the land really does need protection.

Ross's talk told us all about the animals that were not shown in the series especially the wide variety of insects there. He went on to tell us how although the show makes out that the land is untouched, when he was there many of the pieces of land which were meant to be protected had already had many roads cut into to aid with deforestation of the natural habitats. Learning about a place I had never heard anything about was truly fascinating.

We got to see many brilliant camera trap photos and pictures. It really reminded me why I wanted to be a Zoologist and help animals in the first place! We got to talk about what people want to watch tv and that its a shame that one person gets to decide what everyone in the country watches.

He then gave us a small career talk. He spoke about how he did a phD, then went to do extras and then decided that he has done enough academic studies so went on to do a normal job so he had time to write his books. Now he has writen 12 books. His time is taken us doing ecological surveys, writes his books, completed the bbcs burma program and doing publicity work for his book.

It was great to find out about another Zoologists life style and what they became and how they got there.

If I got to to travel to Burma like Ross did, I would be the happiest person in the world!
As Ross says, you make your own luck and you only need to have one lucky break!