Gone Zooing

So, Willie (the greatest donkey ever!) and I were out for a stroll this past week.  I was leading the way to go around behind the Education Center and he stopped, refusing to go any further.  I automatically assumed he was being the Uber-Brat he can sometimes be.  I thought he wanted to go between the farmyard and the kangaroos to graze in the little grassy patch in front of the Sophie Danforth building – which had been our route for a few days.  Willie can sometimes get a little stuck in a routine so I was going a different route on this particular day to make certain that didn’t happen.  So when he stopped I thought he was just trying to do things the way we had been doing them.  Basically – I wasn’t paying attention.  It took a little coaxing and targeting to get him to go around the building.  This should have made me stop and look around since his other grazing spot is behind the Ed Center and I have never had a problem getting him to go back there before.  We went around and he picked up his pace once we got in sight of the grazing patch.  The walk continued and I forgot all about his ‘stubborn donkey moment’.  To end the walk I decided to go around the Ed Center again.  Once again, he seemed a little hesitant but followed me on the path.  This is where Willie showed me what I had been overlooking: there on the path, a little off to the right, was a nice big fox scat! The reason Willie had not wanted to go back there was because he smelled a predator! 

Once again I was reminded that other animals experience the world in a way that is completely different from the human animal.  I would never have been able to smell that fox scat.  And even if I had been able to smell it I would not have been able to identify it as predator scat.  Animals experience the world in ways we could not even imagine but if you pay attention to their behavior they usually let you know what is going on.  Willie told me there was something there that he wasn’t sure about – I just didn’t listen.  He told me by stopping.  Donkeys do the ‘stubborn donkey’ thing when they are unsure about where they are about to enter.  This behavior keeps them from wandering into dangerous situations without checking out the scene first.  Since getting Willie to go anywhere towards the grassy sections is never a problem, I should have known there was something there he was unsure of.  I made the human mistake of assumption.  I assumed I knew what was going on in Willie’s world.  But there’s no way I could ever know what is going on in Willie’s world because my senses don’t work like Willie’s.  Willie trusts me, so he followed me around the building the first time, even though he could smell fox in the air.  The second time past the scat he put his nose to the ground and sniffed it out, then spent a minute or so sniffing and investigating the area around the scat.  Then he went on his merry way. 

One thing is certain, I will never assume to know what is going on in Willie’s world again.  I may not be able to smell/hear/see/taste like he does, but I don’t have to.  He’ll let me know all I need to know – as long as I trust him.