Winter Coat

Huxley the Red Fox is looking very handsome these days as he prepares for the approaching Ohio winter by growing a thick warm coat. The animals in the Perkins Wildlife Center can be viewed year-round in their outdoor habitats so be sure to bring YOUR coat and venture outside to see them!

Shedding Snake

Wildlife Specialist Melissa Terwilliger recently took this great video of Webster the Corn Snake shedding his skin!

The Passing of an Eagle

On November 19th, Saturn the Bald Eagle was euthanized after a long life at CMNH. Director of Wildlife Resources Harvey Webster wrote the following for museum staff:




In 1985 Saturn was pulled from a nest in Michigan as a nestling by a wildlife biologist who, while banding the eaglets in the nest, noticed a large lesion on Saturn's head that seemed to involve his eye. Concerned that the eaglet would be blind in that eye, the biologist took him to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center for treatment. The lesion proved to be a large hematoma. Saturn was treated but by the time he was healthy enough for release, he had become too human oriented and tame and thus unsuitable for release.

He was placed in our facility in 1986. He was originally held off display and trained for program use and as a semen donor in our eagle breeding project. He was then placed on display in our original eagle aviary with 'Martha II' and they were displayed together for twelve years. They had one eaglet in 1990. Upon her passing, he was our lone display eagle until we obtained Venus in 2006.

He was diagnosed with a neuro-myopathy of his leg in 2002. He was examined, x-rayed, ultra-sounded and even cat-scanned at the Ohio State University Vet School. The wasting of the leg muscles of his bad leg was clearly apparent but the underlying cause was never discovered. Thus all we could do for him was manage his pain with anti-inflammatories and analgesics.



Although he and Venus seemed to be very compatible, his listing behavior became so exaggerated that he was no longer suited for public exhibit. So when we had the opportunity to obtain Orion from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, we grabbed at it and pulled Saturn off and put Orion on display. Saturn was then moved to the Raptor Center where his condition has worsened over the past 3 years. And thus the course of action on Saturday.

And though I would have hoped to have Saturn here far longer, 26 is a very respectable age for an eagle.

With 25 years here at CMNH, he has been a great bird, handsome, spirited, majestic and has thrilled millions of CMNH visitors. My hope is that he touched those people as he touched us and helped spread a message of respect and conservation of these noble raptors to a large and diverse audience. He will be missed.

Best,

Harvey

Snowshoe Hare Creature Feature

CMNH Wildlife Specialist Traci Lambert teaches about Lucky and Ned the Snowshoe Hares.

Reptiles in Winter

So...it is getting close to that time of year again...winter. Humans can bundle up or stay indoors when it gets blustery but what about our native wildlife? Most of us know that mammals grow thicker coats and a larger layer of fat to keep themselves warm in the winter. Most birds insulate themselves by puffing out layers of feathers to trap air near their skin or huddle in groups with family members to stay toasty.

What about some of Ohio's reptiles? Ohio's snakes and turtles have no way of adapting their bodies to the cold temperatures they will face in the winter. Many reptiles seek shelter in holes or burrows of other animals and spend the winter dormant or inactive. Large numbers of snakes (even of different species) will share the same burrow. A reptile's system slows down during the winter months and as its metabolism decreases, its heart rate drops and it needs very little oxygen. Reptiles need very little food and water, if any, during this time.

Bodies of water are an ideal spot for many reptiles during winter. They can hide underneath rocks and logs, and even bury themselves in mud to keep warm. Painted turtles can dig up to 18 inches below a pond's bottom. They can get the oxygen they need from the water right through their skin. Terrestrial turtles, such as box turtles, dig holes in the earth to crawl into as the temperature starts to cool. They can also alter their blood composition during the winter months to keep from freezing.

To hear more about reptiles and other native Ohio wildlife and meet some in person, visit the museum for our live animal programs at 1pm and 3pm every Saturday and Sunday!


Melissa Terwilliger, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Bald Eagle Creature Feature

Director of Wildlife Resources Harvey Webster discusses Bald Eagles, including Venus and Orion, the two on exhibit in the Perkins Wildlife Center:

Enrichment Cages!

The animals that are used for classes and programs are kept in cages in the indoor portion of the wildlife center, located in one of the museum's lower levels. These areas are not as roomy as the exhibits outside in the Perkins Wildlife Center and Woods Garden.

The wildlife staff must therefore work hard to give all of the animals housed indoors a chance to stretch their legs by allowing them access to one of the large "enrichment cages." The wildlife specialists custom design the spaces for each individual species. For example, an enrichment cage (e-cage for short) for a groundhog may have numerous tubs of mulch and dirt in which to dig and tunnels made out of PVC pipes. An e-cage for a turtle might have water tubs, rocks, branches and other greenery, and interesting scents.

The above video shows Willow and Lilac, the baby skunks, enjoying the extra space of a toy-filled e-cage by running and playing. The video below showcases an e-cage set up for Dora the opossum, complete with plenty of high branches to climb and a rope-and-log swing!





There is also an outdoor e-cage for the animals to get sunlight and fresh air. The snakes and turtles particularly enjoy basking in the sunshine on warm days. Eddie the groundhog is pictured below having a ball in the outdoor enrichment cage.

Michelle Leighty
Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager

White-tailed Deer Creature Feature

Director of Wildlife Resources Harvey Webster introduces Artemis, Baby, and Ginny:

Junior Veterinary Camp

The Wildlife Resources staff and animals had a great summer helping out with two sessions of Junior Veterinary Camp! Here are some highlights (click images to enlarge):

Photos by Jeff Day

Michelle Leighty doing a training demonstration with the bobcats:

Dylan Beach restrains a Great Horned Owl for a talon and beak trimming:

Joe Dell'Anno teaches about the medications for some of the animals:

Campers learn how to put the medications in food (including mice and quail!) for the animals:

Michelle Leighty talks about a Barn Owl before another beak trimming demo:

Melissa Terwilliger and campers prepare paper-mache enrichment items:

A bobcat investigates:

Campers with the scarecrow they made for the deer and Wild Turkey:

It was a hit:

Campers watch as Melissa station trains with the raccoons:

Learn more about CMNH summer camps at this link:

http://www.cmnh.org/site/ClassesandPrograms/SummerCamps.aspx

River Otter Creature Feature

Wildlife Specialist Nikki McClellan shares some information about Lucy and Linus the river otters in this video:

Skunklets!

One week ago the wildlife department acquired two female baby skunks, Willow and Lilac. The captive-born, hand-raised kits will be trained by the wildlife staff for use in educational programs. Pictured below is Lilac on the day she arrived at the museum.



The wildlife staff is enjoying socializing the young skunks and acclimating them to their new home. Both Willow and Lilac are responding well to their surroundings and like playing with each other and (to our delight) with the wildlife specialists.



Michelle Leighty
Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager

Red-tailed Hawk Creature Feature

In this video Wildlife Specialist Dylan Beach talks about Meep, our male Red-tailed Hawk:

Coral Reef of Creatures

The Climate Change exhibit opens at the museum today, and includes a living component of a coral reef which the Wildlife Resources staff helps maintain.

Check out this video with Director of Wildlife Resources Harvey Webster to learn more!

Peregrine Falcon Creature Feature

Wildlife Specialist Melissa Terwilliger introduces Horus, our newest Peregrine Falcon in this video:

Make Way For Ducklings!

Check out the freshly-hatched ducklings in the museum's courtyard!

Red Fox Creature Feature

Wildlife Specialist Michelle Leighty introduces Huxley the red fox in this Creature Feature video:

Feeding the Raccoons on their Stations

I took this video a couple of days ago while I was feeding the raccoons, Nobbum, Kelly, and Brad.




They are trained to stand on assigned stations (in this case large tree stumps) before getting their food. There are several reasons the wildlife specialists have trained the raccoons to exhibit this behavior. One is that it is an easy way to keep track of how much food the raccoons are eating and to make sure each is getting its fair share. Feeding them this way also prevents aggression and fighting that may result if the food was scattered around the exhibit. One of the raccoons is on a daily supplement and it is very easy to hand her the medicine in food on the station and ensure that one of the others is not getting it instead. Station training is also helpful for weighing the animals. The wildlife specialists can place a scale on top of the stump and then ask the raccoon to stand on it. Daily training exercises also help keep the animals mentally healthy.


Michelle Leighty, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Meet Horus!

Meet Horus, one of our most recent additions! Horus is a juvenile peregrine falcon, born in captivity in the spring of 2010. When an animal is born in captivity, many times it is not releasable into the wild. The animal can start to identify with humans rather than its own kind, which is called “imprinting.” Although they may still have some wild instincts, they lack basic survival skills, which they would normally learn from imitating their wild parents.

Horus is an imprint and needed a permanent place where he could stay and live a great life. In the late spring/early summer of 2010, Horus arrived at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Currently, Horus is being trained as an education bird. He will travel to schools, events and classes in and around the museum, in order to teach people the remarkable story of the peregrine falcon.



Before WWII, the estimated number of breeding pairs of peregrines was between 350 and 400 in the eastern United States. However, due to predators, human disturbance and pesticides their populations began to decline. After WWII, the peregrine population was thought to be extinct in the eastern US. Populations still remained in the west but were declining quickly. In the 1970s, DDT, an insecticide and large culprit in peregrine decline, was banned in the US. With the banning of this chemical, along with a Peregrine Recovery Plan established by the government, peregrine numbers were soon on the rise.

Today we have 39 peregrine nesting sites just in the state of Ohio alone!

Melissa Terwilliger, Wildlife Specialist

Bobcat Training Session

Wildlife Specialist Joe Dell'anno conducts a training session with bobcats Bob and Bitty (click images to enlarge):






photos by Wildlife Specialist Michelle Leighty

Otters in the Snow

Here is a video I took this morning of river otters Lucy and Linus enjoying their snowy exhibit - prepare for cute overload!





Michelle Leighty, CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Virginia Opossum Creature Feature

Meet Dixie and Dora, the baby opossums!

Groundhog Fun-day 2011

Join us for Groundhog Fun-day on Saturday, January 29th!

Striped Skunk Creature Feature

Harvey Webster, Director of Wildlife Resources, shows off Chrissy the Striped Skunk in this Creature Feature: