Otter Update!

Everything is going swimmingly in the river otter exhibit in the Perkins Wildlife Center!

The naming contest for the new male otter came to a dramatic close, with the name "Linus" edging out "Harry P. Otter" for the win. Thank you to everyone who voted!

Lucy and Linus have been introduced and get along famously. They can be seen on display together every day, and pass their time playfully wrestling on land and splashing in their pool. During periods of relaxation they have been spotted nuzzling each other.

Linus has recently been showing off a new behavior. With the abundant snowfall in Cleveland, he has been spending a great deal of time sliding around the slippery exhibit on his back. Perhaps this is the first winter he has experienced snow; he is from Louisiana after all. Fortunately, he seems to otterly enjoy it, and visitors and staff alike are delighting in watching him bound and dive through the snow piles.


Michelle Leighty, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Name That Otter!

He is small, dark, and handsome. And at the moment, nameless.

His pastimes include rolling in mulch, swimming to the bottom of his pool, and eating raw fish. Visitors to the Perkins Wildlife Center can observe him interacting with enrichment items, relaxing in the pond, and exploring the trees and logs and mud of his exhibit.

“He” is the museum’s new adult male North American river otter, who is adapting quite nicely to his new home, which he shares with the playful female otter, Lucy.

Staff members have been temporarily calling the little guy “Lucky,” but we have run into a few obstacles with this moniker. For one, “Lucky” and “Lucy” differ in spelling by merely a single letter, so at a quick glance it is very easy to confuse the two names. For instance, on the labels on their food containers. And on their medical files. And training paperwork. And enrichment records. And so on. Additionally, the names are fairly similar when spoken aloud, which could lead to confusion for the animals when we train them together on exhibit. As a solution, we have decided that Lucky needs an official name and that the public should have some input, and thus, a naming contest has been born!

We compiled a list of name suggestions and then held a top secret meeting to narrow down the choices, which will appear in a poll on the museum’s website. It was a difficult job eliminating many great submissions, and I am sorry to report that my own entry of “Officer Torpedo” did not make the cut. We selected four notable options, so keep checking the website and cast your vote!

In the meantime, the soon-to-be-officially-named male otter is having a fine time familiarizing himself with his new abode and the wildlife staff. We are also in the process of introducing him to Lucy, which is going well, and we hope the pair will be romping on exhibit together in the very near future. Be sure to visit Perkins to see him, and also be sure to vote for his name!

Michelle Leighty, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

"Ribbit"

Whoa, the Vernal Pool is erupting with green frogs! You can find it at the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden, the 2.2-acre outdoor gallery adjoining the Museum via a glass-enclosed exhibit space off of Kirtland Hall. More specifically, the Vernal Pool is next to the Eastern Screech-Owl Exhibit just across from the Song Bird Aviary. This pool teems with amphibian, invertebrate, and plant life both above and below the surface year-round, but is most visible RIGHT NOW. Vernal pools are temporary woodland and meadow pools that naturally hold snowmelt and rain runoff in the spring and early summer.

Some vernal pools, such as the pools at Mentor Marsh, are actively managed to enhance species success. Plants that may be found in vernal pools are: keeled bur-reed, yellow water lily, and pickerel weed. Many species of salamanders, frogs, and toads also use these pools for breeding. Aquatic insects, such as some dragonfly and damselfly species, find vernal pools a perfect habitat. The Museum’s Stewardship Program has restored vernal pools at the Grand River Terraces and Mentor Marsh. In visiting the Perkins’ Vernal Pool exhibit this summer you will undoubtedly get a close-up encounter with green frogs and possibly hear their call. They sound like a loose banjo string. Look for adults, tadpoles and 'froglets' - individuals in the transitional state between tadpole and adult.

Can you find the green frog hidden in the photo?!?

Marty Calabrese, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Groundhog Sun-day!

February 2nd marks the annual celebration of Groundhog Day, where legend has it that my favorite rodent, the groundhog, rouses from his long winter sleep to peek out of his underground den. If he sees his shadow - six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't - then spring is on the way!

Even though groundhogs can't really predict the seasons, Americans have celebrated this time-honored tradition since 1886. Fortunately, this year you don’t have to travel to Gobbler’s Knob to see Punxsutawney Phil. Instead, you can have a hog-tastic time right here at the museum on Sunday, February 1, 2009 and see our very own “Lake Erie Eddie” in his debut Groundhog Day celebration.

I decided to enlist Eddie, our one and a half year old orphaned groundhog for his first official Groundhog Day. The plan is to have Eddie come out from behind the stage…wait a minute, I can’t tell you what he will be doing, you have to come and see for yourself!

In preparation, I have been training Eddie, and after a small experiment I discovered Eddie’s favorite food; bananas. I use bananas and peanuts to reinforce him when he does a behavior correctly. The problem was bananas are REALLY messy when being fed to a groundhog, not to mention he takes a long time to eat them. Instead, I use dried banana chips and boy does he love them! Eddie is particularly interested in learning. He knows when the kennel comes out in the afternoon that he is going to the auditorium for a training session. Even though groundhogs are not the swiftest of critters, there is a bounce to his step in anticipation of the ultimate enrichment. Stage fright does not appear to be a problem for Eddie as he likes to show off how well he does at a number of behaviors. Eddie will follow his trainer, touch a target pole, sit up, wave, and climb on a tree stump.

In addition to Eddie's performance, there will lots of other cool things to do - crafts, demonstrations, and the Hibernator's Hall of Fame!

So, be sure to come out and meet Eddie, learn some fun things, and have a good time doing it on Sunday February 1, 2009 from 12-4. Free with museum admission.

Robyn Kaltenbach, Senior Wildlife Specialist