Everybody likes animals. We draw parrots on our kites, we watch dolphins in the ocean, and we eat the odd unlucky chicken in the mess hall. It seems like even when the JR is hard at work drilling and coring, we can’t stop thinking about animals. So here are some of our favourite animal-related drilling terms, courtesy of Steve (Operations Superintendent) and Kara (Staff Scientist):

Cat head: The yellow device that raises/lowers the whole drill string.

Mouse holes: The holes in the rig floor where we temporarily store coring and drilling tools

Rabbit: A metal cylinder we drop through the drill pipe to make sure it’s open for coring and logging tools.

Pig: Like a rabbit that cleans the inside of the drill string.

Monkey board: A platform 90 feet above the drill floor, where the derrick men handle the top of the drill collar stands.

Bigfoot: The machine that tightens the drill pipe (also known as the Iron Roughneck)

Alligator box: The 10m long box the core liners are stored in.

Fish: Anything that falls off or gets lost in the hole.

Snake: A tool to pass wires through things.

Mule shoe: A specially shaped piece of pipe that can align with another piece.

Pup: A short piece of pipe, casing, or tubing, to slightly adjust length.

Pony collar: A short piece of drill collar.

Bull plug: A seal for any sort of opening (not that kind of seal).

And that’s just to start! What is this, a petting zoo? Get back to work!