Today I saw a screech owl and a Harris’s hawk. Too bad that both were at the Toledo Zoo so they don’t count towards the biggish year total. Lise and Molly were attending Lise’s NAI conference. I came down to do a presentation. The dinner event was at the Toledo Zoo where they did special programs and tours for the NAI conference attendees. It’s always a little dicey eating meat at a zoo restaurant. Are they just finding an easy way to dispose of whatever died the day before? Same reason you don’t order the “Loser Special” at the horse track restaurant.
Zoos have come a long way since I was a kid. I remember that going to the Philly Zoo was a big deal for my family. Of course with six kids, going to the grocery store was a big deal too. What I recall was a zoo that consisted of animals stuck in bare cages. Now you see things like zoos participating in species recovery plans, educational programming and exhibits I never dreamed of as a kid. The Toledo Zoo has things like an insect area that includes an amazing harvester ant exhibit. Also, they have an amphibian area with a native salamander display. The salamander display is a large tank that looks like a moist forest system and contains four native salamander species. The display allows people to see species that quite possibly live in their backyards, but they may never have seen. I can understand Molly’s interest in working with a zoo.
I have had a crazy week. Sleep optional it seems. As adjunct, I teach a class for Lansing Community College, Wednesday evenings from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Adjunct status puts you somewhere around lab rat level in the academic community. Anyway, this past Wednesday I spent all day in the field as part of my real job. So I had a whole day in the field, then teaching until 11:00 PM, sleeping for a few hours, then getting up and driving a couple hours to Toledo for my presentation. The field time was not scheduled at an opportune time for me, but it was a great day to be outside and I got to see salamanders in the wild. In all their raging glory.
Red-backed salamander (top) and two four-toed salamanders. The four-toed salamanders are considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 