In her mission to educate children in all things in nature, FRES teacher Donna Mathias made arrangements to have Coastal Wilds, a Delaware branch of Louisiana’s Barn Hill Preserve, visit the students in a very special assembly in January.
Rachel Howell and Laurin Beasley drove from Delaware, bringing 5 of their favorite animal ambassadors from Coastal Wilds for a morning assembly. A long drive, but the creatures were quite calm as Rachel walked each one around the circle of very attentive students.
The elementary school students had been cautioned before the program, to stay quiet, raise their hands, or do jazz hands instead of clapping, to avoid upsetting the creatures.
Maleficent, the bearded dragon, was first out. She calmly sat on Rachel’s arm, as Rachel walked around the circle of students. She explained where bearded dragons live, what they eat, and some of their habits. She took the time to ask the children questions and quietly raise their hands if they knew the answer. Among other things, they learned that the Australian native bearded dragons are very territorial, their only enemies are predator birds, and Maleficent has a “third eye” scale on her head to help her be aware of any danger above. Maleficent is the only female of the 5 dragons at the Preserve.
Next up was the 3rd largest skink in the world, a Blue Tongued Skink, appropriately named Blue. Blue was a bit squirmier than Maleficent, the kids asked great questions, and Rachel’s calm demeanor made her an excellent teacher! They learned that Blue’s blue tongue flicks in and out, catching scents that she brings back to the Jacobson’s or vomeronasal organ in the roof of her mouth. Also interesting was, like her smaller skink cousins, Blue’s tail would detach if a predator pounced on it! Kids were amazed to learn the skink could live to be 10 and 20 years, in captivity.
A tiny little nocturnal creature was up next – it looked like a hedgehog, but was, amazingly, more closely related (believe it or not) to the elephant! A native of Madagascar, the lesser hedgehog tenrec, semi-arboreal, with at least 1,000 keratin spikes, was named Salt. Unlike porcupines, tenrecs do not “throw” or release their spines. She could cling upside down to Rachel’s arm, which elicited oohs, and aahs from the audience.
Ambassador #4 was also nocturnal, and Pickles, the armadillo, under the school’s bright lights, was clearly not going to unroll from the tight little ball she rolled herself into. A mammal and omnivore, these little armadillos originate from Brazil and can live to be about 16 years old.
The final and most impressive ambassador, and nocturnal, emerged from her dark travel case, on the heavily gloved arm of Laurin Beasley. Marta was a juvenile Spectacled Owl, already huge at 4 months old. An apex predator, these owls are South America’s largest owl. As she grows, Marta’s downy white feathers will shed out to a darker adult plumage. Her huge eyes truly epitomized the look of a wise owl. She will have a long life as an ambassador, since these owls can live to be 35 years old.
After the program, the children who had made reservations in advance, had their choice of being photographed next to the bearded dragon or the owl, and received a backpack with a stuffed animal, and an honorary certificate of “adoption” for the animal represented by their stuffie.
Both an entertaining and educational program, Rachel and Laurin were equally wonderful with their animal charges and the children! It was obvious they love their job and the animals.
If you would like to visit the animals in person, both preserves are open seasonally, beginning in April. Barn Hill Preserve is in Ethel, Louisiana. The sister preserve, Coastal Wilds, is in Frankford, Delaware. According to their Facebook pages, “Barn Hill Preserve creates extraordinary, personalized, and engaging experiences that ignite a lifelong passion for wildlife and conservation.” “Coastal Wilds is home to many species of animals including otters, two toed sloths, red kangaroos, and more!”
To contact:
barnhillpreserve.com/barn-hill-louisiana
11342 Highway 955 E, Ethel, LA
225-286-3003
office@barnhillpreserve.com
coastalwilds.org
34215 Peppers Corner Rd, Frankford, DE
302-829-1548
info@coastalwilds.org
