The warmer temperatures of summer stimulate the growth of an ancient life form in our local waters. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have been pumping oxygen into the environment for billions of years. Their buried remains contributed to the formation of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Cyanobacteria live in almost every ecosystem in the world as well as living in symbiotic relationships with fungi to form lichens. You can find them in the ocean, in saltyRead more
Posts tagged: #science
Big Word of the Month: Marsupial
The next time you are strolling through Carolina Wildlife and pass Sonny and Cher opossum, stop to appreciate what a rare beast you are viewing. Pshaw! you protest, it seems you can’t drive 2 miles in North Carolina without seeing a deceased opossum by the road. Although very numerous as individuals, the Virginia opossum is a taxonomic rarity. Didelphis virginiana is in fact the only species of marsupial that exists north of the Rio Grande river. Originally found in theRead more
Red Wolf Recovery Program: Quarterly Report
Since Marilyn just wrote about acronyms and the red wolf program, I thought I would share the following with you, in case you want to learn what’s going on with the RWRP (Red Wolf Recovery Program) directly from the Red Wolf Recovery Program Coordinator? The link below will take you to the 10 page report that is released quarterly. In the report you can learn about the program objectives, the packs of red wolves that live in the wild, researchRead more
Red Wolf 1390 update
Does this guy look familiar? This is one of our wolf brothers, 1390, who lived here awhile ago- from December 19, 2005- September 29, 2008. He was transferred on September 29, 2008. He left here to go to Sandy Ridge, a captive holding area that’s part of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The Wildlife Biologists at ARNWR have started their own Blog (I snatched this photo from their blog to share with you) about the wolves and the goings on out their way.Read more
Woodchuck (and other) sighting
This is Wendy, our Woodchuck. She was standing outside my office this morning when I walked out to check on something. It always makes me smile to see her. I don’t see her much during the winter as she spends most of it sleeping. She’s at her post-winter weight- looking pretty skinny in this photo. She goes into winter hibernation around 5 Kgs and comes out around 3.5 Kgs. Katy can chime in the comment section and let us knowRead more
Big Word of the Month: Amplexus
We have had several recent posts about the explosion of life around the wetlands this spring. If you have been in Explore the Wild recently you no doubt have heard many frogs and toads calling. Earlier this week I found that some of our resident amphibians were busy making new amphibians at the edge of the bear pool. How many toads do you see in the photo? (click on picture to see larger version) This clump is one female AmericanRead more