Course Reflection

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At the beginning of this class, I was nervous about what we were going to learn- I was worried that i wouldn't be good at social media platforms. I came in with a lot of nerves, but also a lot of excitement, because my gut told me that I was going to like doing this kind of work, no matter my actual skill level.

I was expecting to learn about Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram, but my expectations of learning anything really super new was pretty low. I wasn't expecting to learn anything audio-related, or about blogger. I was really dreading the audio stuff, purely because I hate the sound of my own voice.

During the course of the semester, I learned that I'm a lot more creative than I thought. I never expected to be successful in blogging or anything recorded. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a rhyme and reason to everything we do, when we do it, and why we do it.

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Overall, my favorite experience throughout the semester was the creative process. I love siting down and coming up with a clever blog, finding cute pictures, and seeing how many corny animal-puns I can get away with before it turns into cheese whiz.

This turned out to be my all-time favorite class.  

Who wears it best?

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No Shave November is in full swing, and we'll be a monkey's uncle if the facial hair around here isn't looking positively lumberjack. Walt kicked us off on November 1 by getting a good look at all the clean-shaven, but soon-to-be-hairy, hopefuls so we could get a fair comparison of the before and after shots, but I don't think even he expected such wildness.

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No Shave November started out as a way to raise awareness and money for men's health, and has since become a national phenomenon. Men nationwide shave their faces on the first, and then give up their razors in the race to be hairiest in the land, all in solidarity of men fighting illnesses that rob them of their hair. Since then, it has evolved to include "movember", which is a contest to grow the best mustache only. We may be biased, but we feel that young Jack Sparrow had a firm lock on that particular title.

As firm supporters of any fight for a cure, we challenged the men in our little corner of the world to do their hairiest in support of No Shave November, and they're certainly following through. We never expected the sheer number of dapper beards and mustaches that we've witnessed, and we're certainly excited to share their progress with you! we've voted on the top two bearded bragsters, and we need you to help us choose the king of the beards.

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Who's who at our favorite zoo?

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There's a lot to love about a zoo as busy as ours. On average, we see about 3,200 visitors a week. So it's only natural that there's a few exhibits that happen to be Zooligan favorites. We've put together a list of the top five favorite places to be at Zoo Mark.

5. The Toucan Towers. This doesn't really surprise us, since we know our Toucans are bright, smart, and...chatty. Sometimes too much so. No whisper is safe from Tyga's ears; she once repeated a dad's little secret about a surprise Backstage Paw Pass for the whole crowd to hear. Including his twins. Whoops, sorry dad!

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4. Manatee Bay. These easygoing, gentle giants are pretty laid back and don't mind hanging out for photo opps and the wayward treat, so it's only natural that these guys are the stars of their own show.

3. Gorilla Mountain and Panda Pagoda tied for the number three spot on our countdown to number one. Gorillas are playful and curious, making them super popular with our younger zooligans looking for a new friend and playmate through the glass. Our Matriarch, Tur, took part in our Zooligans Read program a couple weeks ago, and she was the perfect hostess. And who doesn't love pandas? their playful antics are always fun to watch.

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2. Tiger Tundra. We love every animal here at the zoo, but the tigers hold an extra special place in our heart since we're working so hard to rebuild the population and protect them from extinction. This year we were excited to welcome a new member to our tiger clan. She's doing well, and we love her to pieces, so the fact that you guys love them as much as we do is super special to us.

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1. Rock-a-Bye Nursery is by far our most popular stop, and who can blame you? Our state-of-the-art nursery is home to a dozen or so babies at any given time, growing big and strong until they can rejoin their families in the habitats we've created to make them as close to home in the wild as we can. Our babies are monitored closely by highly skilled staff to ensure that they stay on track developmentally and can be safely transitioned back to their families without becoming to reliant on their human nurses. As much as we love them, we know that their best chance is with their own kind.

Well, that's a wrap on this year's top five list. Be sure to stop in and see us, and keep up to date on zoo happenings through our Facebook and twitter accounts linked to the right. ==>

Check out our special commercial tribute to military animals in honor of Veteran's Day, right here: Zoo Mark Military Animal Commercial

All things autumn-festy

Calling all Zooligans!

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Raise your paw if you love animals. Now raise your other paw if you like apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and anything autumn. Are both hands up? Good, you're invited. To what, you ask? Only the biggest, bestest, apple and pumpkin spiciest Fall Harvest Party, ever! We're about to be the best part of your entire autumn.

We're pulling out all the stops this year. We've invited Wyatt from Rocking-M Horse Farms and Kylie of Apple Smash Apple Orchards for horse-drawn hay rides, apple picking, and Granny's Kitchen pie and ice cream specials, all at half the price you pay when you go to their home bases. I can't even...I just...There's so much...CIDER! Auggie and Obie will be on site to test out the product line, but they aren't coming alone. There's going to be all manner of monkey business going on. We're bringing in a Fall harvest farmer's market, a carnival with games (tickets 10 for $5), prizes and pony rides ($2); it's gonna be huge, Zooligans! With all this going on, can you imagine anything else you'd rather be doing? We can't. We've gone bananas, and we're taking you along for the ride.

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Did we let you in on the best secret of all? During the party, admission to the zoo is...Free. Yeah, we went there, it's free. Grab your kids, grab your sweaters, and meet us at Zoo Mark next Saturday, November 12, 2016. You absolutely can not miss this one!

See you at the zoo!