Top Photo: A panoramic view of the wetlands from the boardwalk. We have a new black bear in our Black Bear Enclosure which brings the number of ursine occupants at the museum to four. That includes Mimi, Gus, Little, and now an approximately 9 month old male cub (not yet named) in residence. You may see him pacing back and forth in front of the overlook in Explore the Wild. Don’t fret, there’s always a period of anxiety when newRead more
Posts filed in: Mammals
Bovine Identity
Top Photo: Who or what is this animal? I usually occupy myself with matters natural, studying the “wild” animals and plants in our outdoor landscape. But as I walked through the Farmyard the other day I realized I had ignored the two cattle we have here at the museum. Oh, I knew there were two of them, and they had names, Dusty and Dallas, but I hadn’t devoted a lot of time to which was which, how to tell themRead more
Looking for Adeyha
Top Photo: Taking a peek at Adeyha on the in-den camera at Red Wolf Enclosure. If you’ve visited the red wolf exhibit lately you might have had a difficult time finding both of our wolves. Oak, our female is usually not too hard to locate. She may be walking along the fence at the top of the enclosure, or trotting by at ground level, or lately, reclining behind a pair of mahonia shrubs near the kennel area of the enclosure.Read more
Squirrels, Kinglets, and Sapsuckers
Top Photo: Eastern gray squirrel stares from railing. Gray squirrels are all over the campus of the Museum of Life and Science, and they’re quite tame. If you have a bird feeder in your yard you’re probably all too familiar with gray squirrels. Despite their frustrating ability to eat most of what you put out for the birds, you have to hand it to them, they’re crafty beasts and can be fun to watch. Small, frenetic and always on theRead more
Oak
Top Photo: Oak, female red wolf. Our new wolf Adeyha has been getting much of the attention lately, but at present, our female, born April28, 2014 is the one you most often see when you visit the Red Wolf Enclosure. Here she is in a series of photos taken a few days ago. On occasion, Adeyha, her potential mate, has been curled up out of view inside the den, directly in front of the overlook. I was able to getRead more
Adeyha
Top Photo: Adeyha’s shaky first steps into our Red Wolf Enclosure. Born in May of 2014 our new red wolf is a nine year old male. He arrived onsite from Naibi Zoo in Coal Valley, IL. to his new home here at the museum Tuesday night October 24 and was placed in the kennel area of our Red Wolf Enclosure. The gate to the kennel was opened Thursday morning and out he came. He spent most of the morning cautiouslyRead more
Gus Bear in the Water!
Top Photo: Rare sight in Black Bear Enclosure. It’s not often you see Gus Bear in the pool below the waterfall. He just doesn’t like to get wet. Mimi, yes, a frequent swimmer. The heat of the past few days has apparently altered Gus’s thinking. Though, the look on his face is not one of total commitment or enjoyment. Cool, but very wet.Read more
Turtle Nest
Top Photo: Eastern painted turtle heads back to water after laying eggs. Painted turtles come ashore each spring and summer to lay eggs. They deposit 2 – 6 eggs in a hole dug by themselves. The eggs take from 70 – 80 days to hatch with some young remaining in nest until the following spring. The turtle’s eggs, like the other aquatic turtles in our wetlands, are frequent victims of predation by terrestrial mammals, raccoons, foxes, and even squirrels. WhenRead more
More May Sightings
Top Photo: Common snapping turtle contemplates its next move. The snapping turtle pictured here was heading towards our wetlands. It may be a new arrival, having come up the creek which lies a dozen or so meters behind it. The creek is where our wetland drains. There’s a substantial drop where a large pipe delivers our wetland’s overflow into the creek. The drop keeps creatures like this snapping turtle from continuing their journeys via a direct route to our wetlandsRead more