Snakes are undoubtedly one of the most feared animals in the world (although several African cultures revere Ball Pythons as being sacred). Still, more often than not snakes are seen as terrifying pests, which is exactly why I chose Ball Python #1 to be the animal highlighted in this month’s Creature Feature. Ball Python #1 is a gentle 5 foot long female who weighs almost 6 lbs. and has been at the museum since 1993. She was found in someone’sRead more
Posts filed in: Education
Big Word: ‘ologies
Sometimes it seems that scientists have a language all to their own! Learning how to decode big words in Biology can help make learning easier and more fun. Once you start investigating some of the big words you encounter, some patterns may become clear. For instance, a word that means “the study of” something usually ends in “ology”. The beginning of the word is often derived from Greek or Latin. Biology comes from bio (life) + ology (knowledge) = theRead more
Congrats On Your New Condominiums!
Last Thursday, our Bearded Dragons moved to new homes. No, they didn’t leave the museum, they just left their old terrariums and moved into Reptile Condominiums! These new cages are complete with many different platforms and perches, large sticks for climbing, reptile hammocks, small logs for hiding, all the calci-sand they could ever want, and even their own trap door that leads up to the “second floor” where they can bask under heat lamps and UVB lights. Yes, that’s right,Read more
More on venomous snakes
My last post on the tools we use to work with our venomous snakes led to some good questions… like what is the difference between venomous and poisonous? As keepers talking to visitors, we try really carefully to use the correct terminology, but most people use the words venomous and poisonous interchangeably. Technically speaking, they are different. For feeding or self defense, venomous animals produce and store venom and deliver it through a specific set of organs. Examples of venomousRead more
Big Word: King Phillip loves spaghetti!
Biologists group organisms based on shared characteristics and historical relationships. This practice, known as taxonomy, uses a series of increasingly specific groups to organize the elaborate tree of life. Unfortunately, the terms used in biological taxonomy can be a challenge to the novice because they are often based on Latin and Greek. In this month’s Big Word feature we will discuss some common terminology related to the classification of animals that live here at the museum. The most common taxonomicRead more
Big Word: Anthropomorphism
Are owls really wise? Are raccoons nature’s bandits? Could a bear love some bears while disliking others? These questions reflect the tendency of humans to attribute familiar emotions and intentions to animal species. The behavior, also known as anthropomorphism, springs from our desire to know the mental status of those around us. While this capacity usually serves us well at parties, scientists try to avoid anthropomorphizing about animal behavior. We can never really know if an animal is “sad” orRead more