On my way

CHAPTER 1 : My first love

Let's go back to where it all started ; 6 years ago.

I was watching TV and by zapping, I fall on a sort of documentary named « Une Saison au Zoo » (I'm french, remember ?).

It tells the daily of a zoo in the West of the France ; the Zoo de La Flèche. It shows us how the keepers take care of the animals.

Before this series, I never imagined how it could happen in an animal park. I didn't know that animals had lodges at night, for example.

It made me discover a job which I didn't know existed. I have always loved animals from a very young age (I wanted to become a vet at first !) but I couldn't tell you how it all started but rather how my desire to become an animal keeper (at the start) came! You will surely understand it, it's with this daily documentary which was broadcast every evening on TV that this dream begin.

Then, the years passed and I stopped to watch « Une Saison au Zoo ». I don't know why but I live with my big family and they were no longer interested by this documentary. So I forgot it...

...Until 3 years later when the same scenario happened again !

I was on my computer this time, and in my YouTube recommendations, I saw an episode of « Une Saison au Zoo » and watched it over and over and over. The animal keeper in me was back.

This time, I start to fall in love with an animal species, especially. The sea lion !

In this zoo, they had 4 sea lions (for now, but we'll come back to this subject later) named Lucky, Wally, Jimmy and Cooky.

I love the complicity that they have with their keepers who are also their trainers !

I was particularly attached to my first love, Wally (although I love them all) I love him because he looks like me, in character, I mean!

He has a very strong personality that I would separate into two parts: his behavior with his trainers and his behavior with other sea lions.

With his trainers, he is the first student in the class, he always wants to please and learns very quickly. But he is also able to get upset if he doesn't like something; he knows how to impose himself! For example, if he can't do an exercise requested by the trainer, he can leave the annoyance training session; he can't stand failure!

With the other sea lions, the agreement can sometimes be applied!

Wally has trouble getting along with Jimmy and Cooky. He is sometimes afraid and uncomfortable when he is alone with them. They bark (yes, sea lions bark) and fight. They wants to know who is the strongest sea lion between them.

Lucky is the dominant male, he protects Wally and ensures peace in the group.

Wally is now 18 years old and I started to get to know him since he was 12. In 6 years, I have seen it change; he has matured and better controls his emotions; he knows how to take it upon himself.

When Wally arrived from Safari de Peaugres at the Zoo de la Flèche, he was 1 year old and very aggressive towards others, he lacked self-confidence and was a bit of a "bad kid".

Even if I have never seen it for real, it remains an inspiration for me, as I said earlier, it looks like me so it means a lot to me.

At this time, I decided to become a marine mammal trainer but only with sea lions ! Why only with this species ? That's what you're going to see in the next chapter...

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