Welcome to the Zoo!

In Ukarumpa, it’s very common for people to move around—a lot. Many language workers are in and out of the village, and the rest of us—the support workers who live and work in Ukarumpa—well, we move around a lot, too. Many people own their own homes, but there are many who rent, as well. As people go on furlough, they need someone to house-sit for them. This is where people like me come in—I don’t own a house, so I can house-sit!

About two months ago, my housemate and I moved out of the firehouse and into a house whose owners are on furlough in the States for a year. While they are gone, we are renting their house—and, I’m sure you guessed from the title of this post—taking care of their pets. So for the next year or so we have two dogs, a lorikeet, and a cuscus (or kapul or possum, depending on who you talk to).

So let me introduce you to the zoo! First we have the dogs: Nutmeg and Copper. Nutmeg is Copper’s mother and the top dog of the two. If someone is barking, it’s probably Nutmeg. Copper is a people-lover and gets so excited when we come home.

Nutmeg: the barker

Copper: the emotional one

Next, we have Emerald the lorikeet. She eats sugarcane and bananas and likes to perch on your shoulder and squawk (loudly!) in your ear when you go in her cage to feed her.

Emerald also likes to play with her toys and ring her bell

Lastly, we have Stormy the cuscus. Since she is from the possum family, she is nocturnal. Stormy sleeps all day—either in a cardboard box or a bilum (string bag), when she gets tired of the box. Stormy likes a variety of foods, including avocados, carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, pineapple, strawberries, and leafy greens that grow nearby—not all at once, though! It’s fun to watch her scurry around the branches in her cage at night, nibbling on her peanuts.

Stormy is currently trying to decide which box she likes better;
this one (which is missing a side, so I was surprised she was
in it at all) or a slightly smaller one with just a hole cut in it
for a door. 

Stormy likes to poke her head out when I feed her to see what
 goodies she gets that night.

So there you have it—the zoo!