It’s been a whirlwind getting our family of wolves checked out and up to NY and then getting in our new wolves. I think it was about 50 hours from beginning of transfers to the end. The family is doing well in NY and you can check them out, and the other wolves at WCC, on the webcams. Our new wolves- M1803 and F2062 – handled their trips into the Museum well. As you know, M1803 had a long rideRead more
Posts tagged: #ranger greg
Squirrel Appreciation Day
(Disclaimer to longtime blog readers: most of this post is identical to the 2012 post) January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day. I learned about this day a few years ago from Michele Kloda, a member of the Museum’s research and development team. She interviewed Michael Steele, Professor of Biology and H. Fenner Chair of Research Biology, Wilkes College, Wilkes Barre, PA and learned the following amazing information about squirrels: Grey Squirrels maintain 2, 3, 4 or sometimes 5 nests in aRead more
Caterpillars
Did you know that you can be stung by caterpillars? I was surprised when I got stung by one on the wolf cliff in Explore the Wild. I didn’t know that it was a caterpillar at first but after describing what it felt like to the other keepers, they said it had to have been a caterpillar. At that point, I was on a mission to find out what exactly stung me. I needed to have a plan to properly completeRead more
Spider Identification
One of my favorite aspects of working in Explore the Wild is the wildlife, whether it be foxes, ground hogs, raccoons, snakes or spiders. I found this spider recently and was quite sure it was a crab spider so I checked with Leon from the Butterfly house, who is an expert. He said it was a Running Crab Spider, they are in the Thomisidae family. They can actually be green, orange, and yellow in color, he also mentioned that theyRead more
Crazy like a Fox
Foxes are omnivores in the Canidae family. This family also includes wolves, dogs, and jackals. With an acute sense of smell they hunt small mammals, fish, insects and eggs, they also eat berries, fruits, and grasses. They cache any excess food, burying it for later. There are several species of fox, all quite beautiful if you ask me. The arctic fox can survive temperatures as low as -58 degrees F. Often they follow behind Polar Bears, eating leftover scraps. TheyRead more
It’s time to say goodbye.
Our male red wolf, 1369, heads out on Tuesday to his new home. I drove him to the Museum from NY and welcomed him just about 4 years ago and now it’s time to say goodbye. It’s a sad, busy, and exciting time getting him ready to head west. He’ll live in Tacoma, WA- the place I call red wolf headquarters. There is a large red wolf holding facility behind-the-scenes at Northwest Trek. Aaron and I will be spending about 16 hours togetherRead more