The Audubon Zoo’s newest resident, Stumpy, is an 18-year-old Komodo dragon who arrived from Florida to the New Orleans-based zoo Thursday. The 108-pound, nearly 5-foot dragon acquired his nickname because part of his tail was bitten off when he was a hatchling and, unlike in other reptiles, Komodo tails do no grow back.
12th Austin Amphibian and Reptile Expo
Come on out for quality captive bred reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates as well as books, cages, tools, feed, face painting, and handmade arts and crafts. Over 60 tables! There will be several educational displays, including a native Texas snakes display, and a venomous snake display! Raffles throughout the weekend benefiting the Austin Herpetological Society. Cages, books, toys, t-shirts, posters, equipment and supplies , by ZooMed, and more. For more info go to http://www.austinreptileexpo.com/ or call Tim Cole at (512) 83-SNAKE. $8 per person. $12 for both days Children under five FREE with an adult.
Bob Kennedy leaving Maria Mitchell Association
Bob Kennedy, director of natural sciences for the Maria Mitchell Association, has resigned and will leave the organization in the fall.
During his eight-plus years with the MMA, Kennedy has overseen a number of research projects, including more than eight ongoing ones related to the Nantucket bay scallop. Other projects include studies of snakes, beetles, barn owls, horseshoe crabs, fungi and the travels of Mr. Hannah, the Nantucket osprey who carries a GPS transmitter.
Kennedy will move to New Hampshire in the fall to be with his family. His wife, Anne Broussard, was recently named chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of New Hampshire. Over the next several months, he will continue with his work at the MMA while exploring off-island research opportunities.
Museum unpaves parking lot to create urban wilderness
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles plans to reclaim 3.5 acres for a green space that lets citizen scientists study urban ecology.
They unpaved a parking lot and put in paradise. Okay — perhaps paradise is a bit overenthusiastic, but a parking lot and its surrounding concrete and asphalt is getting ripped up from the middle of Los Angeles — to make room for 3.5 acres of urban wilderness experiences and exhibits at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.
That means the museum, located near the University of Southern California in Exposition Park, will go from looking like this:
That transformation is expected to be completed July 2011. Right now, the north part of the Natural History Museum campus is deep under construction, and looks like this:
How did the museum find room for so much green space? By ripping up a parking lot. No, the parking lot’s not disappearing — city zoning laws still apply — but thanks to $10 million from the city of Los Angeles, the lot is going to be rebuilt as a 2-story, eco-friendlier structure with natural ventilation, run-off management and a living canopy with flowering vines and hummingbird and butterfly habitats.
That means the total number of parking spaces won’t change, but a lot of land will be freed up, letting the museum turn “very ugly hardscape to a vibrant, living, natural space, as Jane Pisano, president and director of the Museum, put it at the Earth Day announcement event yesterday morning.
The city money — plus $20 million more being raised from individuals and private donors — will fund this outdoor transformation of the museum. Slated to open soon after the Expo Rail Line’s anticipated to open in spring 2011, the new revamped museum will have its signature “dueling dinos” sculptures moved to a new main entrance facing the rail station, a free entryway plaza where community members can sit amid greenery (artist’s rendering above), an entryway bridge with a whale-inspired design (photo of designers holding a model below), and a “strampitheater” (stair-ramp-ampitheater) that seats 400.
In addition, the east side of the museum will showcase a variety of habitats for exploration and study, from a Pollinator Garden with butterflies and bees to a pond with turtles and dragonflies (artist’s rendering below) to a “Get Dirty Zone” that invites kids to literally get in touch with the dirt and the little critters in it.
Once the museum’s outdoor section opens, urban visitors will get to interact with local plants, insects, and animals without ever leaving the city. These outdoor exhibits will focus not on exotic species brought in from around the world, but on native and introduced species found in the Los Angeles area. The idea: To study what’s happening to the ecology of Los Angeles itself — and to turn visitors into citizen scientists.
Can’t wait until July 2011 to get started? Then start counting lizards — because The Lost Lizards of Los Angeles project also officially launched on Earth Day. Conceived after Museum scientists were surprised by the lack of lizards in Exposition Park, this new project invites Angelenos to photo-document the lizards in their backyards and parks and submit them online for collective study.
Missing tortoise found
A giant tortoise that was stolen from a home in East Albany has been recovered.
The 19-year-old, 110-pound African tortoise disappeared two weeks ago from its pen on Peter Lowry’s property. Lowry is a tropical bird and reptile breeder.
Lowry called WCAX News Friday to report that the tortoise is back home. He was contacted by people who had acquired the tortoise from someone else and didn’t know it was stolen.
Vermont State Police are still investigating the case.
Zoo animals disrupted by ash cloud
An endangered bird and rare reptile were among the travellers disrupted by the volcanic ash last week.
A giant Madagascan gecko and a critically endangered Bali starling were due to arrive at Belfast zoo but were stranded by the flight ban, zoo authorities said.
The gecko was to be one of the final touches to the renovations of the reptile house and the starling was to join an existing pair to promote a flock by the end of the year.
Two Belfast zoo keepers were also affected.
Manager Mark Challis said: “Whilst it’s sad that our animal moves had to be postponed, it was even more concerning having our valuable zoo staff scattered across Europe and not at work. We’re glad that they are back now and working as hard as ever.”
Zoo keeper Tracey McWilliams was left at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire, without a flight home. She had accompanied the zoo’s male silver back gorilla Boulas to his new home to help him settle in. She arrived home a few days late after a coach and ferry back.
Allan Galway, the new European studbook keeper for the marbled polecat, was in Hungary at a small mammals meeting. All flights to return home at the end of the conference were cancelled.
However after two days on a coach to London, a train to Liverpool and an eight hour ferry, Allan finally returned to Belfast.
Snake bites boy at Durham school
DURHAM (WTVD) — A Durham middle school student is recovering from a run-in with a snake.
The snake bit the child while he was standing outside Githens Middle School Thursday afternoon. The child was taken to Duke Hospital for treatment.
ABC11 Eyewitness News cameras got a glimpse of a reptile at the school. However, it is not confirmed if the copperhead is the one that bit the boy.