Here I am, just hanging with Chewy, my Yangchuanosaurus friend at Dinos Alive! He's got cone shaped teeth, great for tearing out bites of his animal prey, a fact which I passed on to anyone who wanted to know, telling them to guess the dino's diet from the shape of their teeth. Chewy was the first true dinosaur on the dinos path, and he was my best friend! His motion sensors were very sensitive to me, resulting in many loud conversations when no one was around and I happened to breathe. And then when there were actually people in the area--- nada. Fail, Chewy, fail.Dinosaurs Alives! ran for one season while I was a Roving Naturalist at BZ, and it was fascinating to explore the world of dinos, and connect people to creatures that have never coexisted with humankind.
Until now.
Did you know that the western world didn't believe in the existance of giraffes until one was physically walked through France in the 1400's? It's weird to think of, as they're such staples of zoos all across the country. But they were thought to be mythical beasts, described as a creature with the long neck of a camel and the coloration of a leopard, which gives the giraffe its scientific name, G. cameleopardis. Weird, right? That's the start of my Giraffe chat, a ten minute presentation designed to engage zoo guests and teach them about the animals they came to see. We also hoped to inspire further interest in guests, especially children.
My chat went on to compare giraffes with mythical creatures like Big Foot (big feet and good camoflauge), unicorns (horned herbivores) and dragons (long necks and tongues). Not technically scientific, but fun nonetheless.
And who knows? Maybe dragons, unicorns and Big Foot really do exist. After all, the western world didn't believe in the existance of these lovely creatures until 1904! Westerners pulled another "oh no, half zebra, half giraffe, impossible!" And then they met the okapi.
I also had the honor of interpreting Brookfield's Bactrian camels, or the world's ultimate backpackers. I borrowed the prompt, but I think I made the speech very much my own. One of my friends became known as the camel girl at her college after she shared some of the knowledge she learned from my zoo chat!Just so you know, two humped camels are called Bactrian camels (turn a B on its side, you get two humps), and they are Gobi desert natives. So if you're watching a movie about the Gobi desert and you see one humped camels (Dromedary camels, and once again just turn the D on its side- one hump!) just know that they are lying to you. I'm talking to you, filmmakers of Flight of the Pheonix.
While at Brookfield I had the priveledge of working at their seasonal exhibit, Stingray Bay. A marine biologist, I loved educating Chicagoans about the marine world. I especially loved the seafood conservation initiative we were all a part of.
While at the Bay, I interpreted the stingrays and educated people on the proper handling of the rays and the best way to feed them (as demonstrated by my friend Kim to the left, and myself below). And of course, I kept an eye out for people who subconsciously wanted to take a dip.
While at Brookfield I had the priveledge of working at their seasonal exhibit, Stingray Bay. A marine biologist, I loved educating Chicagoans about the marine world. I especially loved the seafood conservation initiative we were all a part of.While at the Bay, I interpreted the stingrays and educated people on the proper handling of the rays and the best way to feed them (as demonstrated by my friend Kim to the left, and myself below). And of course, I kept an eye out for people who subconsciously wanted to take a dip.
I also spent a lot of time in the butterfly garden, teaching guests all about butterflies- identification, caterpiller host plants, body parts, and habits. It's official- I'm bug crazy--insect crazy, that is!
Being a Roving Naturalist taught me how to interpret animals for others. I learned a lot about the many species that call Brookfield home. And I learned that my favorite thing in the world is seeing the spark in a young child's eye when they make the connection between themselves and the creature beyond the fence. When we starts to emcompass more than just people, the world becomes a better place.
Photos courtesy of Mary Z. and Colleen Cannon-Ruffo
Photos courtesy of Mary Z. and Colleen Cannon-Ruffo
