GVNC is home to a variety of animals, and I'm not talking about the ones that roam the grounds. We've got tons - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, spiders, insects! There are no fish though (sad face from the marine biologist). Not only had I been gaining valuable teaching experience, I was also learning about animal care and handling. Now let's head to the animal room!
Rosie is about 9 feet long and she's pretty heavy, but don't tell her I said that. She is probably the largest animal at the nature center and the kids love her. I've had some interesting encounters with Rosie this summer...let's leave it at that.
This little guy is just adorable - even more so when he tries to nom on your fingers. He's one of the two amphibians we have at the center. Tony shares his home with his fellow amphibian, the tree frog. I think someone started calling her Tiana, but I'm not sure if that stuck. At any rate, both of these cuties get tons of attention!
While Terry is pretty badass, I tended to steer clear of him. Aside from feeding him, I enjoyed admiring him from behind the glass. He did molt over the summer, leaving us with an awesome exoskeleton.
Andy - chinchilla Oh my goodness, these girls couldn't get any cuter! Without a doubt, my favorite animals at the nature center. I really enjoyed feeding them from my hands. There is no way to fully describe their level of adorableness. Still cute even after they pee on you - that definitely happened a few days ago.
Ava - chinchilla
This guy is another favorite of mine. Azul is super chill, so he's easy to handle. And check out that blue tongue - sweet!
This is a pair of well-named dudes...get it? They are pretty mellow which makes handling easier. Cobb's face is peeking out from under Maize's body. Cobb has the regular coloring for a corn snake, but Maize is actually an albino. Neat!
Boss is the smallest snake at the center and cute to boot. He's also pretty laid-back, but super curious. He likes to investigate as soon as you open his tank.
Right above his tank is the home of the legless lizard, Legolas. He escaped in December and then randomly showed a few days ago. He is already planning his second escape.
We have two rabbits at the nature center. Jenny is by far the friendlier of the pair. I think I just got on her good side though. How you may ask...treats!
Yeah, this is her most common position. She is super adorable, but very temperamental. The kids do love her though!
These are the female eastern box turtles housed at GVNC. They are sweet and put up with a lot of shenanigans from Franklin (the male box turtle). Shelley is on the right, Lola is back to the left. Sadly, Lola is blind, so I'm glad she has a safe home.
Enter Franklin the trouble maker. I mean, look at him...you know he's ready to make a mess. He has been separated from the girls for awhile now - couldn't keep his claws to himself.
On a related note, meet Tsar. He's a lean, mean, eating machine! He goes to town on those greens as soon as the plate hits the floor. Tsar is adorable, especially nomming away.
The crickets and Madagascar hissing cockroaches we keep are right below Tsar's tank.
Spike Jr. - bearded dragon
Spike is a pretty awesome animal. He is super chill and loves his crickets. We had a little bonding time over the summer!
Curry - ball python
Curry is probably my favorite snake. She is sweet and laid-back, so I enjoy handling her. We did some bonding as well!
Boz is the other ball python that lives at the center. He's a bit feistier than Curry, so I steered clear of him.
There are two other snakes housed at GVNC, but I don't have any photos of them. Ebony is the black rat snake and Baron von Pine is the pine snake (quite properly named).
Those are all of the animals we care for at the nature center. Wait...I mentioned something about birds, right? GVNC's Bird of Prey Center houses permanently injured raptors. Since they can no longer survive in the wild, we care for them. They are beautiful birds, but also really intimidating. Most of these birds are pretty large, even the smallest of the birds of prey (BOP) are fairly big. And have you seen their talons?! It was a very interesting experience to handle these creatures. A thick leather glove was a must, but even though I was protected against the sharpness of the talons, their grip was strong enough. And catching them was a bitch! Let's meet the BOPs!
Broad-winged hawk
One of the smallest of the BOPs at GVNC.
*Note - None of the BOPs have names because they were never meant to be pets. These birds came to us from the wild, therefore no names.
This guy is probably the largest bird at the center and the most intimidating, but still magnificent.
She is my favorite bird and the one I handled the most. She is also the only fully flighted bird at GVNC (no injures). Being born at the center with both parents unable to teach her the ways of the wild, she would be unlikely to survive on her own.
There are two of these owls at GVNC. They are pretty cool and I love their fluffy feet!
These falcons are about the size of the broad-winged hawk, so they are on the smaller end. Don't let that fool you though! A pair of these beautiful raptors live at GVNC.
These guys (there are two) have the classic owl call. One of the barred owls at GVNC is missing an eye, making his chances of survival in the wild quite low.
Vultures are pretty big birds with a "don't mess with me" face!
There are three red-tailed hawks at GVNC. Two of them have the classic coloring of red-tails while the third is leucistic. Instead of just missing melanin (which would cause albinism), this hawk is missing all skin pigments. So the last red-tailed hawk is bright white. Absolutely beautiful though!
Those are all of the animals I helped care for this summer. The summer of 2014 absolutely flew by. While I was sad to see summer end and the nature center quiet down a bit, I am always ready to welcome autumn. I am also excited that my time at GVNC has been extended and I will continue my experiences throughout the fall (which I'm already enjoying so much!), but more on that later. Over and out!
