Life with Dylan

Year: 2013

  • Time to Get Wild with Nat Geo WILD & the return of America the Wild

    While most parents limit the amount of television their children watch, I have the complete opposite approach. You see, my son loves to watch educational shows and documentaries – especially the ones on Nat Geo WILD!



    Last night we had the opportunity to preview the season premiere episode of America the Wild: Monster Wolf and we loved every minute of it. In true Casey Anderson form, he had us both on the edge of our seats and holding our breath to see what would happen next. There were even a few times when my son said, “That’s insane!” and “Casey has the best job ever!”



    If you are not familiar with the series America the Wild or Casey Anderson, then you must tune in to the Nat Geo WILD channel this Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 10 p.m. ET/PT for the season premiere. This marks the fourth season of the popular series and I’m sure we are in for some amazing adventures.



    As a wildlife expert and naturalist, Casey Anderson lives and breathes wildlife. This season he will take us across North America to explore the lives of wolves, mountain lions, moose, bighorn sheep, and other elusive and endangered animals.



    In the premiere episode America the Wild: Monster Wolf, Casey ventures to Canada’s wild West Coast in search of clues to some unusual wolf behavior on Vancouver Island. Most wolves keep their distance from humans, but the wolves in Tofino are not like most wolves – because these wolves are approaching and in some instances attacking humans.



    Are these so-called “monster-wolves” purebred wolves, hybrid wolves, or some sort of wolf-dog breed? Be sure to watch this Sunday, August 18, 2013 to learn what truths Casey and his tracking skills discover about the wolves. I promise you will be glad you did.

    Casey Anderson watches a hungry hybrid wolf-dog tear apart an elk carcass at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. Photo Credit: Grizzly Creek Films, LLC/Rick Smith



    Breathtaking scenery from a tree top and a bald eagle had me saying “Wow, that’s amazing”! Casey Anderson on a beach at night with a pack of hungry wolves and an animal carcass had me saying “Wow, that’s amazing”! No matter how you look at it, whether it be the film footage National Geographic is known for or the fearless adventures that Casey lives for, America the Wild is a must see for all wildlife enthusiasts.


    You can find America the Wild episode guide on the Nat Geo website. Future episodes include Mountian Lion vs. Bighorn, American Vampire, and Super Moose. Make sure to set your DVR’s so you don’t miss a single episode.

    About Nat Geo Wild:
    For more than 30 years, National Geographic has been the leader in wildlife programming. The networks Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo WILD HD, launched in 2010, offer intimate encounters with nature’s ferocious fighters and gentle creatures of land, sea and air that draw upon the cutting-edge work of the many explorers, filmmakers and scientists of the National Geographic Society.



  • Dylan shares his love of Southern White Rhinos through writing

    Last spring Dylan was given a writing assignment in school and told that he had to write a paper about his favorite animal. He had to do research about his chosen animal and then write a seven paragraph paper, which he would read aloud to the class. I have never seen him so excited to write a school paper. 

    He said other kids were writing about cats, dogs, bunnies, horses … the usual stuff, but he was going to figure out a way to write about conservation. Yep, he saw an opportunity to bring awareness to the plight of the rhinos and he ran with it. 
    Today I am sharing his paper with you in hopes that he can make one more person aware. 

    Southern White Rhinos
    by: Dylan Fryer
    The White Rhino is one of the most beautiful animals in Africa. It is endangered. That means there are not many left in the wild. They are all dying because poachers are hunting them for their horns. The Southern White Rhino is the least endangered of the living rhino species. 
    The scientific name for the Southern White Rhino is Ceratotherium simum. It means “horned wild beast with a flat nose” in Greek. White Rhinos are native to the African savannah. They are found in Botswana, Nambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Uganda. 
    The Southern White Rhino is unique because of its two sharp horns. The front horn is about 40 inches, but can grow to 79 inches. The back horn can be 22 inches. Their horns are made of keratin. Poachers think the horns have medicinal value, but they do not. Rhino horn is not medicine. It is keratin, just like our fingernails and hair. 
    The White Rhino is a grazer. It is identified by its square lip. White Rhinos feed mostly on short grasses and like to wallow in the mud. Like all rhinos they are ungulates, which is a hooved animal. They have excellent hearing and good sense of smell, but very bad eye sight. 
    Next to the elephant, the White Rhino is the largest land mammal. Male White Rhinos weigh up to 4,400 lbs. to 7,920 lbs. and females weigh up to 3.080 lbs. to 3,740 lbs. White Rhinos can grow up to 11-14 feet long and 5-6 feet high at shoulder height. Even though White Rhinos are big, they can run at 30 m.p.h. for short distances. That is an impressive animal.
    White Rhinos can live up to 50 years. With a lifespan like that people think that there would be a lot of them left. There’s actually not many because over the past three years poachers have killed an average of two rhinos a day. With a gestation period of sixteen months, they will never catch up. This is why rhino conservation is important. 
    Not many people know that Southern White Rhinos are endangered. In 1895 the Southern White Rhino was thought to be extinct until a small population was discovered. Now there are 20,600 Southern White Rhinos left. That’s the power of rhino conservation! 

  • I never get tired of watching sunsets

    I still say the best cure for a bad day is watching the sunset. Watching that big ball of fire get smaller and smaller and finally disappearing below the horizon … perfection in my book.

  • My son will always come first in my life

    Something I learned when I became a parent was that the needs of my child would take precedence over my own needs. I thought this would change as my son got older – and in some aspects it has, but not entirely.

    I am at a point in my life where I would like some things to change. I am thinking about a career change and a possible move, which would be a done deal if it was just me. However, I have a son and I will always be a parent first. So I must put on my mom hat, the one filled with rationality, before making any hasty decisions.

    Would it be fair to pull him from his school where is very happy? Would it be right to go back on promises of future vacations because a new job won’t give me the time off I have now? Do I just continue down the path we are on for a little longer? Maybe make some modifications, but no major changes?

    I’ve spent the last week thinking about nothing but the future and the changes that I will or won’t make. Countless hours on the internet looking at my options. Sleepless nights with tears of frustration, followed by 3-4 cup coffee mornings. Nobody ever said that being a parent was easy, but they also didn’t say how tough it was being a single parent.

    Every single choice I make will effect my son and I need to make sure that I am making the right choices. Not just what is best for me, but what is best for us – for my family. Now 10 years old, my son is still determining the path that I take in life and that is perfectly ok with me.

    Some people may think I am wrong for thinking this way, but my son will always come first in my life. He is a pretty incredible kid with some big dreams of making this world a better place. Making his hopes and dreams come true is my priority. I had 32 years to myself before him and in 8 short years he will be off to college – so for now there will be no major changes -we will continue down this path together. Laughing and loving every minute of our adventure.

  • Happy Global Tiger Day!

  • Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp was awesome!

    So after many months of planning and preparation, we held the first annual Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp this week and it was a hit with all the campers.

    Knowing this was a fundraiser, I wanted it to be better than great – I wanted it to raise lots of money and for Dylan to feel that he had succeeded.

    The day before the camp I was a nervous wreck. Had I taken on more than I could handle? Finalizing the details and helping Dylan make note cards of what he was going to talk about filled my morning.

    Then it was time to fill the cinch bags with all the goodies we had received from sponsors and from individuals who wanted to help.

    I kept telling myself – they are just kids.

    Well, thanks to our wonderful sponsors and great campers who loved learning about endangered animals, we not only had an awesome day, we also raised $300 for the leopards at the San Diego Zoo!

    I was so busy leading the camp with Dylan that I didn’t get a chance to take pictures during the first half of the camp, but thanks to my wonderful friend Tammy Mendoza (from Dez & Tam Photography) I have her pictures to share.

     

    While Tammy was busy taking pictures of the kids making bookmarks, I managed to snap a few pictures of them painting rhinos with my phone.

    We had snacks from our sponsors and learned about what can be recycled through TerraCycle, learned how reading labels and not buying products with palm oil can help the orangutans, ate lunch together under a tree and then finished up the day with Rebecca from Remember Wildlife and all her animal friends.

    Thanks for making Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp such a wonderful experience!
    To see more pictures of the campers and the unique animals that Remember Wildlife brought you can view our Flickr album. 

  • Dylan’s Thank You Letter to all the Zoo Keepers

    Today kicks of the start of National Zoo Keeper Week. Over the past year we have had the pleasure of meeting many zoo keepers and are proud to call them our friends. It is difficult to thank all of them in person, so Dylan wanted to write an open thank you letter to all our zoo keeper friends.

    Dear Zoo Keepers,

    Thank you for all the things you do for the animals. Thank you for being the voice of the animals. You feed them and you help them when they are sick or in need.

    To Jonnie, thank you for helping all the rhinos. The great park you work at has had many rhino births and I really liked reading about your experience with Mili’s birth.  You have helped so many animals, especially the ungulates.

    To Julian, thank you for taking me behind the scenes to see where Connor and Christopher live and for introducing me to Danai. I learned a lot about what a tiger keeper does.

    To Peter, thank you for teaching me about the monarch butterflies during Garden Festival at the San Diego Zoo. You are really lucky to work with Sonny and I hope one day that I can tour the reptile house with you. I think it’s really cool that we both want to work with Zookeeper Rick.

    To Katrina, thank you for taking me behind the exhibit and letting me see Mek when we visited the Fresno Zoo. Your zoo might not be as big as the San Diego Zoo, but Mek seems really happy to be back with Paca.

    To Rick, where do I start, you help so many different animals and help bring awareness to the world about conservation. You help animals big and small – from a tiny endangered butterfly to a big African elephant. Thank you for taking so many animal ambassadors on television and showing the world how amazing these animals are. You are my hero and you inspire me to keep doing more for the animals and conservation. Like you and Dr. Harry Wegeforth, I do it for the animals.

    There wouldn’t be zoos without zoo keepers and the world wouldn’t be the place it is today without zoos teaching people about animals and conservation.

    Thank you zoo keepers for all you do.

    Dylan Fryer

    Created by AAZK, Inc, National Zoo Keeper Week is celebrated each year beginning on the third Sunday in July. During the week, zoos nationwide honor animal care professionals and the work they do in animal care, conservation, and education. There are approximately 6,000 animal care professionals in the United States.


    The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)a non-profit volunteer organization made up of professional zookeepers and other interested persons dedicated to professional animal care and conservation. The mission of AAZK is to advance excellence in the zoo keeping profession, foster effective communication beneficial to animal care, support deserving conservation projects, and promote the preservation of our natural resources and animal life. For more information, visit

  • Our road trip was a blast, Now back to reality

    The days leading up to a vacation are almost as exciting as the day that you actually leave, but the days after you come home from vacation … well, that’s a totally different story. We have been home from our zoo road trip for a week now and I am just starting to feel like myself.

    Although we made numerous stops and had tons of fun, the last two days of the road trip involved all day in the car. We left hotels by 9 am and didn’t arrive at the next hotel until dinner time. That made for one tired Mom when we got home. I don’t think I even got dressed, let alone got off the couch our first day home. Then it was Dylan’s birthday and we got Tiga. I’m finally starting to get back to my routine and feel like I’m not sleep deprived.

    As for the 800 pictures I took on our zoo road trip … yeah, those will just have to wait a bit longer. However, I did manage to get the 85 mobile pictures from my iPhone up on Flickr. Sometimes it’s fun to see spur of the moment pics from your phone.

    Not all are perfect – some may be blurry (since the car was going 75 m.p.h.) – and some are just plain silly. Regardless, they are memories.

    I’m starting to think that coming home from vacation is more work than planning and actually going on vacation!

  • Happy Birthday Dylan … Enjoy your pet tiger!

    Wow, I still can’t believe that my little boy is 10 years old today. It seems like just yesterday he was a toddler asking me to hold him up so he could see the animals over the railing. Asking me to read him the signs at the zoo and tell him about the animals. “Are the vulnerable or endangered Mommy?”  That was his favorite question to ask and the first thing he learned about all the animals.

    Now he is the one teaching me about animals and surprising me every day with his continued love for animals and conservation.

    I’m not sure where I would be without this little guy. He changed my world forever when he was born and every day has been an adventure ever since.

    So what do you get a kid like Dylan for his birthday?

    The kid who last year wanted nothing but to raise money for the tigers at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Helping build a new home called Tiger Trail was all he asked for.

    A kitty that looks like a tiger of course!

    Thanks to my friend Heather, who posted an adorable picture of a rescued kitty on Instagram a few weeks ago, our family has grown.

    This adorable 10 week old kitty stole our hearts the minute she arrived today.

    Oh, and Dylan named her Tiga too! In honor of the new female tiger at the San Diego Zoo.

    Happy Birthday Dylan!

  • Fingers crossed – My tiger picture might be Wildlife Photo of the Month

    Last month I captured some pretty great pictures of Connor at the San Diego Zoo and wrote a little post about tigers. (In case you missed it, you can click here and read it) Well, one picture got lots of views on Flickr … like over 12,000 views in a few days. I thought there must be something wrong with Flickr because my pictures, the good ones, generally get a few hundred views. 

    So I decided to submit the picture to San Diego Zoo Global for the Wildlife Photo of the Month contest. To be honest, with school ending and our road trip I had totally forgotten about submitting the picture of Connor.
    “No Floaties Needed”
    Then today I see on Facebook that my photograph is one of the choices for Wildlife Photo of the Month. What? My picture could possibly be featured on the San Diego Zoo Global website? Cool!
    You see, when you are a little fish in a big sea of really amazing photographers, like my friends who also love to photograph animals at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, then you will understand how something as little as being recognized for your work can be utterly amazing and inspiring. 
    The photograph with the most “likes” will be featured as Wildlife Photo of the Month, so if you haven’t voted yet … well, what are you waiting for? 
    Log on to Facebook and choose your favorite here.