After a whole year here at UC Davis, my time here has come to an end. There are many creatures that I will miss in this charming college town. 

Growing up in Los Angeles, California, my lifestyle was very different from the slow-paced world of UC Davis. At UC Davis, instead of being surrounded by buildings and traffic, I found myself surrounded by nature and agriculture. Soon after arriving at Davis, I found myself slowing down and taking in the beautiful scenery.

As befits one of the top schools in veterinary medicine and agriculture, the entire campus abounds with  animals -- both wild and domestic. The first week I was here I was determined to feed a horse for the first time ever. Initially, I was a bit intimidated by its large size but quickly befriended it by offering it a tasty apple.

 

 

 

 

Another large animal that I befriended was Moose the therapy llama. At first, I was a bit wary about petting him because I did not want llama spit anywhere near me.

However, Moose and his compatriots came from Llamas of Circle Home, which is a ranch where they are trained to not spit. These llamas were brought to campus around finals week to help students take their minds off studying for a bit and to promote better mental health.

 

In addition to domesticated llamas, the wildlife around UC Davis is very diverse and you are almost certain to come across some unexpected organisms.

Every day while walking to lab I would constantly see quick little creatures scurrying away from the sidewalk and into the bushes. I began to wonder what these creatures were and decided to cautiously walk on the sidewalk. I soon found out that these speedsters were western fence lizards (Scleloporus occidentalis) fleeing for the lives to avoid getting stepped on.

On another day as I was walking over to the Scrubs Cafe, I encountered a family of wild turkeys. There were two babies and one very protective turkey mom that did not want me anywhere near her babies. I soon learned that there are many momma [and papa] birds around UC Davis [...and within the city limits in general. See international press coverage of one particular infamous guy for an example].

One late night in the lab, I was met with another unexpected animal friend that was trapped in the building. A fruit bat flew in through the open window and could not get back out. I decided to help it out by fully opening the window and standing in front of the closed window to deter the bat from crashing again. After about 30 minutes of repeatedly failed attempts, the bat finally managed to fly out the open window.

Lastly, I think that the most important and best animals that are in UC Davis are the cows. Every morning driving to work I would pass a large herd of cows just grazing on their breakfast hay.

My favorite pastime is to walk over to the cows and just hang out with them. Sometimes I would grab a piece of hay and hold it out only to watch these one-ton beasts slowly mosey over to my offering. The first time I visited the cows I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they do indeed moo.

The symphony of many cows mooing all at once never gets old to me and I will truly miss their melodic sounds.