Wildlife education -- part 2

(continued from yesterday's report)

A Virginia opossum – the only marsupial in America and an animal that was around with the dinosaurs – was the third animal introduced. Because she has brain damage, she probably couldn’t survive in the wild. Rakos-Yates did some rumor busting here: first, opossums really don’t hang by their tails; nor do they “play possum.” Faced with a predator, they actually faint from fear, and in the process vomit and relieve themselves. Altogether, they become wholly unappetizing to save their own lives.

Last came a red-tailed hawk, a majestic and scary creature who looked like much more than her estimated three pounds. (She can pick up about twice her weight, though – so squirrels beware.)

New Jersey has lots of these hawks, who like the flat open land that makes food-finding easier. Because this hawk may have been “human imprinted” as a fledgling and therefore can’t or won’t leave humans and their food alone, she must be kept from the wild, where she could hurt or be hurt.

Except for the hawk, who in nature would be diurnal, the animals were nocturnal. The carnivorous screech owl would depend mainly on her hearing to hunt, and special feathers allow her to fly very quietly so her prey can’t hear her coming.

An omnivore, the skunk had nails that showed why digging for grubs is a common way to feed. Spraying is her only protection, although contrary to belief, her first warning is stomping her feet. Then she turns around and looks over her shoulder at a predator, and then if necessary, she lifts her tail and sprays.

The opossum, a carnivore and scavenger, keeps her offspring in her pouch – which Rakos-Yates declined to show the children. “We must be respectful of her,” she explained.

Hawks are not the birds we often see soaring in big circles, she told them. That would be vultures – the only birds with a sense of smell. Hawks and other birds migrate south in winter not for the warmer weather – their feathers keep them cool in summer and warm in winter - but because of the plentiful food still available in warm places.

All told, this was in fact “an education session.”
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Wildlife education -- part 1

Rabbits, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, bats, foxes, raccoons, ducks, geese, owls, moles, coyotes, eagles, hawks, possums, songbirds, crows . . . The kids called out what animals they thought might be taken care of at the Mercer County Wildlife Center. (All those named here were correct, and there were still more.)

This was an education session provided by the Center for children attending the Junior Master Gardener Summer Nature Camp, in Lawrence Township. All 18 seated (and most squirming) on a big blue mat, they looked and listened – and asked questions and told stories – as staff member Jane Rakos-Yates conducted the class.

She elicited from them what kind of animals the place serves: birds, mammals, reptiles. And in spelling out what kind of wildlife is welcome there -- sick, injured or without a parent – she stressed that it’s a hospital, not a sanctuary or zoo.

Four “education animals” were introduced to the children. Although they’ll live out their lives at the Center, they are still treated like wildlife. Rakos-Yates wore protective gloves and used towels when she held them, and the animals were on (short) leashes.

First came a female Eastern screech owl, who is at the Center because when the tree where she lived was chain-sawed down, she lost part of a wing. Inability to fly would quickly finish her off in the wild, so she helps with education and sometimes acts as a surrogate mom for baby screech owls brought in.

Next came an Eastern striped skunk. She had been de-scented to make her a pet before being rescued. For future reference, the kids learned that different kinds of skunks have different stripes and that vinegar’s the best way to get rid of the skunk spray "aroma."

(to be continued tomorrow)
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