Lions & tigers
& bears, oh my!

Kids Stuff
By William Feldman

Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes Part I of an interview with veterinarian William Rives, director of Six Flags Safari Park of Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J.
Everyone loves animals, especially in their natural habitat. So, if you want to see approximately 59 to 62 different species of animals, then you need to jump into your automobile and drive to Great Adventure’s Safari, which has between 350 and 360 acres.
First and foremost, here are three important rules of engagement and conduct:
1. Do not feed the animals.
2. Do not drive above 12 mph.
3. Keep windows shut at all times.
Before describing some neat animal facts, I want to give you some general information. Dr. Rives grew up in Freehold Township, N.J. He loved Wild Kingdom as a kid, so when Great Adventure opened in 1973, he applied for a job in the safari area, knowing he wanted to be a veterinarian.
Every summer during his break from Virginia Tech he came back and worked full time. Finally, after graduating University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine in 1993, he was hired as a full time veterinarian. Four years ago he became the director of the Safari. Talk about your dream jobs!

WE’RE LIKE FAMILY!
From talking and touring with Dr. Rives, I know that these animals are like his second family. He truly is a Dr. Doolittle.
Now if a human is sick, one will say, "I do not feel well," or show signs, but if you are an animal, that is a whole other story. You must remember the animals here are basically in the wild, as Dr. Rives put it, "semi-free range captive situation." When animals are sick it will be very subtle, because basically all of these animals are wild. They have retained all of their survival instincts. In order for survival, some animals will mask signs of illness. Just like you learned in science — survival of the fittest.
The safari has wardens that are in the sections, Dr. Rives said.
"They are basically the equivalent of the keeper in the zoo," he explained. "They know the animals better than any of us, because they see them every day. They feed them, give them water and clean up after them. They are the ones that can tell us the first clinical signs."
Some examples of unusual behavior he stated were lagging behind the herd, not staying with the herd, the herd pushing on without them and a simple thing like not coming out to eat right away. They still ate, but it was a little bit slower.
"These are the signs we have to look at. That is how predators pick them off," Dr. Rives said.
Back to the rule, why you shouldn’t feed the animals?
Dr. Rives answered, "First of all we do not know what is in the food, so that is why we are strict about our enforcement. Second, each of our animals has a specific diet, so if they eat something else it might prevent them from eating their necessary food to keep them healthy."
This is why they have new signs that make it clear that the animals should not be fed. Visitors who do not obey will be immediately escorted out of the park, according to Dr. Rives.
"They need to respect our animals," he added. "We will respect all of our guests that come through, but they need to respect our animals and our rules."

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
I couldn’t imagine how they moved all these animals to warmer climates in the winter.
Dr. Rives answered, "Everybody stays. Whether it is the elephants or the rhinos, big cats, everyone has a big building and a big paddock, and the buildings are heated. So, everyone is taken care of from that standpoint."
Also, there is no age limit regarding how long they keep the animals.
"One of the things that we pride ourselves on is when the animals are born here, they are our responsibility," Dr. Rives said. "We will have animals that far outlive their life expectancy, and we have so much property that we have a retirement section where we can just turn them out to pasture. We owe it to them to give them the best quality of life as possible. We have an obligation to take care of them."
The safari staff consists of approximately 22-23 full-time employees, including Dr. Rives. They have 16 full-time wardens, three supervisors, a manager, a veterinarian and a veterinary technician.
Trivia: The young male lion is almost 3 years old and weighs 553 pounds, which is a huge lion. This is considered Siberian tiger weight, and by the way, the Siberian tiger is the largest cat in the world. He ingests about 20 pounds of meat a day. Rip, the Bull African elephant, eats about 400 to 500 pounds of hay a day plus 15 to 20 pounds of grain made by Purina, and 10 to 20 pounds of produce a day.

WHAT GOES IN . . .
Dr. Rives made a classic statement: "Mind you, it also comes out as well. Elephants only digest twenty-five to thirty percent of their food, and that is why they are constantly eating."
Dr. Rives then asked me, "Do you know why camels can go without drinking for a long time?"
He replied, "When they do drink, they can drink a full complement, because their blood cells can swell four-hundred times normal without rupturing."
Remember osmosis, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions from freshman biology!
Here is some ostrich info. Do they really put their head in the sand or the ground? Contrary to popular beliefs, according to Dr. Rives, they do not. He explained: "They are probably the best group of parents. When they are moving the eggs around, they are putting their head in the hole that they dug. It looks like they are putting their head in the ground."
I was curious how they kept track of all of the animals, especially the birds?
"All of the animals get counted at least once a day," Dr. Rives explained. "Some of the animals like the predator species get counted twice a day. We check our fence line twice a day. The entire area is checked twice a day. It is a lot, but a lot of animals are predictable. There is a certain area where they like to stay. Every animal finds their own little niche."
A lot of safari regulars may have wondered why the baboons are now behind a fence.
"It actually was my decision," Dr. Rivers explained. "The baboons are very smart and very strong. They were starting to challenge the guards at the gates. Actually, the baboons are a lot nicer now."
Believe it or not, in the 1980s the lions or tigers were able to roam loose. They had a double lock system to allow the lions and tigers to roam free. This also was ended because of safety issues.
What is Dr. Rives’ most difficult part of the job?
"Besides interviews, I would say most likely the administrative aspect of it," he said. "I am a veterinarian at heart, so I would rather be looking at poop under the microscope than some of the administrative duties."
No pun intended. I could not believe it when he said he was always on call. That truly is a job around-the-clock.
Next week, Part 2 will consist of more cool animal facts, along with a Great Adventure new kids area called Wiggles World.
• • •
Answer to last week’s cryptogram:
THE ANTS ARE MARCHING ONE BY ONE, HURRAH, HURRAH
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com