Each of the animals at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has a story. They are animals that for one reason or another cannot be released or returned to the wild. The safest place for them is in captivity, and here they have the opportunity to educate thousands of visitors each year.
This is Lindsay, our Loggerhead Shrike. She was hatched in July of 2002 with a deformed beak. Her upper beak does not grow as it should, which allows her lower beak to become too overgrown. Her beak requires routine trims by the wildlife staff. If she lived in the wild she would not be able to hunt food properly and would not survive.
In the wild she would normally use her hooked beak to kill mice, birds and insects and then impale them on thorny branches to easily rip them apart. Shrikes are given the nickname “Butcher Bird.”
The Loggerhead Shrike was common in Ohio in the 1930s but their populations began to decline due to habitat loss. Sightings are rare in Ohio today.
Melissa Terwilliger, CMNH Wildlife Specialist
Friday, January 13, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Raccoon Creature Feature
In this video Wildlife Specialist Katie Overholser introduces Brad, Kelly, and Nobbum, CMNH's resident raccoons.
Wildlife Summer Intern Experience
Darryl Pronty, Animal Science student at The Ohio State University and CMNH Wildlife intern from the summer of 2011, blogged about his museum internship experience.
Check it out at this link:
http://studentblogs.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/2012/01/day-at-the-museum/#.TwsTt9dS-RU.facebook
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Groundhog Artwork
Eddie the Groundhog and I had fun with paint today! A few bottles of non-toxic paint and a couple of canvases resulted in an engaging enrichment activity for Eddie and two great animal artwork pieces. Eddie's paintings will be raffled off at our Groundhog Fun-day event on Saturday, January 28th.
Two of the finished paintings:
More information on Groundhog Fun-day can be found at this link:
http://www.cmnh.org/site/ClassesandPrograms/SpecialEvents/Groundhog.aspx
We look forward to seeing you there!
Michelle Leighty, Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager
Sunday, December 4, 2011
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!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Shedding Snake
Wildlife Specialist Melissa Terwilliger recently took this great video of Webster the Corn Snake shedding his skin!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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
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
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