New species for 2008

Time is running out to discover any new species this year! Wired magazine has a series of "top ten" stories for 2008, including one about new species discovered this year. The slide show includes this tiny snake discovered by Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University. The post also includes a great story of how a researcher decided to name a new species of catfish after a dedicated worker in the mailroom at his institution. You'll also find an interesting read about how you can discover a new species that is already extinct (and it is not a fossil).

Use the comment section to direct us to any animal stories from 2008 that deserved more coverage.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2008

So this Christmas went much better (smoother) than last year. Last year I was up in the middle of the night with my daughter and this year I didn't go to bed until 2:00 because I was getting ready for moving next week. I guess lack of sleep is the same as last year. But this year we are not in a drought, which is great news, and something I remember about last year's Christmas. While at work today, I didn't make any huge blunders, minor mistakes, lose any medicines, and most importantly I had the help of two great volunteers. You can see Mike (on the left) and Donald (on the right) below working hard. They took care of the entire Farmyard so I could work on other things.


Other great things about today's work: Gus, our youngest bear, is walking much better. He was lame on his back left leg on Tuesday and he seems to be recovering nicely. The weather was wonderful. Two years ago I got soaking wet while working, but not this year. I didn't spill any poop buckets, and didn't get bit by anyone (although, the exhibit box turtle did come lunging at me with his mouth wide open, and yesterday the turkey bit me on the neck while I was weighing him).


There's always something interesting that happens when I step in and help the Keepers out. I try not to make things worse, and this year I think I was successful. Let' s hope Christmas 2009 goes as smoothly as this year!

What’s Happening THIS Week!?!? A Weekly Look Into the Busy Life of a Keeper

WRITEN BY GUEST BLOGGER ERIN BROWN



12/23/08: Holiday Preparation!

Oh the sights, sounds, and smells of the holidays are in the air! Pig is sitting by the heat lamp wrapped in a blanket, the possum is sleeping soundly in the hay, dreams of sugar plums (or just regular plums) are dancing in the bear’s heads, and the keepers are all a-twitter with their coming vacation days. With this last one brings the other feeling that is floating in the air these few weeks: chaos.
Even though the keepers have holiday traditions and families to attend to during these holiday weeks, the animals still insist on peeing, pooping, and eating (which is quite inconsiderate of them, if you ask me). So what happens when the work that takes 7 full time keepers, one part time keeper, and one animal director is divided between 3 or 4 people? Yes, a slight bit of chaos. Luckily, we have ways of making the really stressful days where we will be short several people easier. It just takes a little bit of everyone chipping in for some holiday preparation, and that’s what’s happening this week.

The day that I’m writing this is a Tuesday, and of this week, it is the day where we have the most help. Only two of our keepers are off, so even though our schedule is tight, it is still quite manageable. Today we have been preparing by doing a lot of the things that are on our log for tomorrow, when we will have even less people working. We do things like stock up on food and medications, prepare extra food for the animals, and make sure we do everything that’s on the log for the next two days that we can afford to do. It also means giving everything the best possible cleaning that we can do today, so that everyone will be in good shape tomorrow and on Christmas. Part of holiday preparation is also working in areas that you are necessarily assigned to work for that particular day, in order to cover for those who aren’t here. (Above, Marilyn makes extra food, volunteer Andrew does some sweeping, and produce is being washed)

Usually on Christmas, our Animal Department Director Sherry keeps all by herself to let everyone have the day off. You can click here and read about how Sherry’s Christmas last year went! Luckily this year we have two very awesome and stubborn adult volunteers who insisted that they will be working with her. Happy Holidays! (Below, Keeper Larry is being “helpful” by holding a snake)

Creating a different view, for visitors AND animals

We decided a while ago that it was time to change the perches and trees out of the barred owl exhibit. Seeing as how spare time is precious around here, it wasn't until last week that Jill and I finally got around to setting our plan in motion. We already had a nice big perching tree ready to go in the exhibit, so last Tuesday we put the tree in while doing a superclean of the exhibit. We still have more old trees to take out and replace with new ones, but so far the change looks great and the owls can now perch away from the walls, which helps them to not damage their tail feathers.

Above is a picture of Jill taking out some of the old perches while I am cleaning the exhibit.

To the right is a picture of us trying to cut the tree in order to stand it up in the exhibit. The tree was originally so large that we had to cut one of the limbs off and then connect it back once it was in the exhibit... and it still barely fit in the doors!

And, finally, the new tree and perches are in! More changes will take place in a few weeks after the holidays.

Amusing story (at least to me)

Last month we ran a few emergency trainings, or mock drills. In one of the scenes, the keepers learned of a wind warning/tornado watch. Part of their task was to rescue a staff member who found himself in a precarious situation on the boardwalk.

I didn't want to have a real person hanging over the edge, so this is Stacey (with Erin). I put clothes on him and duct taped a whole lot of bricks to him to make him MUCH HEAVIER than air.

Well, I haven't gotten around to putting away all my supplies from the training and Stacey has been making his way around the office and startling or amusing people. Yesterday, as I was finally prepared to clean up, I was reminded of how difficult (and embarrassing) it was for me to purchase my "fake person". I wanted a cheap, G-rated, blow-up doll. The calls I made, the Internet searches I did, the jokes I received were quite enough to make me quit, but I persevered. Of course I had to call our CFO and let her know that I really was using the Museum's VISA to purchase a blow-up doll for work! Luckily for me, our CFO is kind and let me off the hook with just a chuckle and an okay.

As we were talking in the office, Kristen and I thought of other interesting purchases we have made. Things we never thought we would buy, places we thought we would never ever be associated with, or looks/comments we've gotten from people when looking at our cart.

We'll write about that soon.

EnrichBits: The Office

EnrichBits: A monthly look at animal enrichment

So, I was up on the 3rd floor of the museum the other day, where all of our accounting and business operations people work. As I’m walking through, I spot some old office accordion folders in their recycle bin. I grabbed as many as I could carry downstairs; they had to be good for some kind of enrichment! I decided the bears might like to tear them up while looking for bits of food within the “bellows”.

A keeper always has to be on the lookout for random materials ( better if they are reused!) that might make a neat toy or puzzle for one of our animals. Of course, you have to make sure it’s something that’s been approved by our vet, (our bears can have cardboard and paper to rip up) and you have to use some common sense—are there tape or staples that need to be pulled out? Could anyone get their head stuck? What if they ingested a little? Should it not be something with food on it? Do we have enough to go around, or could the bears potentially fight over it?

These accordion folders got the pass, and even though we are well into the cold months where the bears aren’t all that active here’s how it went:

Set up in the yard:



















Gus gets to them first:




















Even though bears aren't that hungry (tis the season to leave undesirable foods like carrot), it is still interesting to tear things up!


Thanks to Debbie, Pam, Åsa, and Laura for some good recycled enrichment!

Amazing discoveries

A recent CNN post captures the amazing diversity (like this dragon millipede) scientists have cataloged in the Mekong Delta region of Southeast Asia.

From the article:

A scientist visiting an outdoor restaurant was startled to see a Laotian rock rat among the nearby wildlife. The hairy, nocturnal, thick-tailed rat, which resembles a squirrel, had been thought for centuries to be extinct.

Imagine making a discovery like this while having some lunch!

Make sure you check out the slide show of some the new species on CNN's website.

For more details you can read the World Wildlife Fund's report that describes the efforts that have led to the discovery of nearly 1000 new species in the last 10 years.

Squirrels hoard acorns, and Kristen hoards our holiday candy...

But at least she has nicer teeth.

Actually, hoarding acorns has been difficult for squirrels this winter due to an acorn shortage. You can click here to read more about it.

Creature Feature: Baby the Spotted Salamander

With a name like "Baby", it is probably easy to assume that this spotted salamander is very young. On the contrary, he is 10 years old! That's right, he actually came to the museum in 1998 as a baby, but old habits die hard in the animal department, so the name has stuck with him for his entire life.

Baby is our only spotted salamander, while the rest are barred tiger salamanders. He is one of our many animals that live off-exhibit and are used for education purposes. Behind the scenes, he lives in a large plastic terrerium that has plenty of room for a water bowl and some hidey places, and also has a smaller second level that he can walk up to. In the wild, these salamanders spend much of their lives under logs or in burrows of other animals, and only come out at night to eat or during the breeding season. We try and mimick his wild living conditions by giving him moist coconut husk as his substrate, which is commonly used as reptile bedding for geckos, frogs and toads and has the same consistency as loose dirt. We also give him damp moss that he can hide under if he doesn't want to bury himself or use his hidey places.

We use special filtered water for our salamanders and toads, because these animals are more sensitive to chemicals than other animals, including people. Thus, chemicals that are used to treat tap water, that we never think much of, can be harmful to them. It has been proven in the wild population that acid rains can prevent salamander eggs from developing properly and, thus, never hatch. A typical spotted salamander diet in the wild consists of worms, snails, spiders and virtually any insect they can catch. Our salamanders are fed crickets, but there is a chance in the future that their diets will broaden to include earthworms and snails.

Spotted salamanders are prevalent throughout parts of Canada and the United States, although there are other species of salamander that are threatened, endangered, or of special concern. Because of the diversity of terrain found in North Carolina, the state boasts around 50 different species of salamander, a number rivaling that of any place on Earth!

The information in this post, along with much more that you can learn, can be found at http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/spotted-salamander.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Salamander.

A tough day

Yesterday was a tough day for the keepers. Our very cool Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle passed away. Sponge Bob, as we knew him, was highlighted in one of Marilyn's Creature Features. He was a favorite of many of the keepers.

His body was taken to our diagnostic lab to be necropsied, which is standard protocol for all of our animals. This is to try to learn the cause of death, and to glean any information that might help us care for other or future animals in our collection.


We will all miss Sponge Bob, as will Museum visitors, who were always excited to see his long neck stretched out, or to get an up close look at his unique shell. Please leave us a comment if you have memories of Sponge Bob the Softshell Turtle; he was a great ambassador of his species.

Adopt an Animal for the holidays

We've started a new way for you to help the Museum animals that you love. The proceeds from the adopt-an-animal program go directly to helping care for our animals. If you'd like to learn more about the program, click here.

This may be the perfect gift for someone in your life.

Big Word of the Month: Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is a word of Greek origin that roughly translates into "virgin creation". You may remember learning about asexual reproduction at some point and recall that it involves an organism producing offspring without mating or exchanging genetic material with another individual. Parthenogenesis is a special type of asexual reproduction seen in organisms that produce seeds or embryos. You might be surprised to learn how widespread this type of reproduction is in the Animal Kingdom.



In the Invertebrate world (90% of the Animal Kingdom), parthenogenesis is widespread. In many ant, bee and wasp species, unfertilized eggs will develop. Queens in these groups sometimes produce other queens through parthenogenesis. The water flea Daphnia is a crustacean species that switches between parthenogenesis and sexual reproduction depending environmental conditions. This species has been very valuable to biologists studying the evolution of reproductive behavior.




Photo of water flea, Daphnia, with eggs from Wikicommons.




Parthenogenesis is also observed in Reptiles and has been well studied in whip-tailed lizards in the American Southwest. Individuals in this species are all female and produce eggs that develop into genetically identical females. Interestingly, whip-tails display a pseudo-mating behavior in which one female plays the role that a male would play. The behavior stimulates hormone production and increases the fertility of females of involved. More recently, parthenogenesis has been observed in Komodo dragons.

Parthenogenesis is also observed in several species of fish including sharks. There have been several cases in the news recently of female sharks living in public aquaria producing offspring with no males around. This was quite a shock to aquarium staff because it was thought sharks did not reproduce this way!

Links to shark stories:

Hammerhead shark parthenogenesis
Virgin shark birth at Virginia Aquarium (PDF file)

Parthenogenesis has not been observed in mammals and several aspects of fertilization and reproduction appear to make the process unlikely. The process can be initiated in the laboratory but is not common. Note that laboratory cloning of animals is not the same as parthenogenesis and has been accomplished on several occasions.

Spotlight: Leiana Leon Guerrero

Leiana is the Museum's Director of Family and School Experiences and has her Master's degree in Science Education. I worked closely with Leiana in the spring when I trained her and other Museum staff to handle and use our red tailed hawk for programs.

Leiana has been at the Museum for almost 7 years, and has been doing all sorts of programs the entire time. She does whatever is necessary, and she'll do it with a smile on her face. No day of hers looks the same, as you never know what might be on her agenda (meetings, teaching programs, planning events, writing summer camp, coming up with new education ideas, budgets and schedules, handling problems, walking the hawk, etc.). She loves the hawk, bugs, seeing kids use their imaginations, making kids think, giving kids a voice, getting dirty, introducing kids to new experiences (and animals): she loves just about everything!

She just (last night) coordinated a really great special event: An Evening With Wolves. (Brad took video of the event and I am sure you will get a chance to see it in the future).

I love every opportunity I get to work with her and you'd be lucky to be working on a project with her, or attending one of her programs. Look for her around the Museum if you have a chance- she's someone who you won't want to miss.