Category Archives: Mammals

Black Bear Field Guide Update

Last month I posted a field guide to the bears here at the Museum. With the amount of shedding and sun bleaching that’s been going on with the bears’ coats, a quick update on the condition and state of their current pelage, in regards to their identification, is in order. Mimi has undergone a drastic change [...] Read more...

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An Identification Guide to the Bears: at the Museum of Life and Science

As Ranger at the Museum of Life + Science I spend a lot of time in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, and on the Dinosaur Trail. I’m asked many questions on a variety of topics from “Where’s the restrooms?” to “Are there fish in the Wetlands?” While stopping by the Black Bear Exhibit, I’m [...] Read more...

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Flowers, Butterflies, Odes, Birds, Snappers, and the Fox

Dame’s Rocket and Blackberry are in bloom. Butterflies find the early blooming blackberries rather tempting. More species of dragonflies and damselflies have been emerging recently. A first-of-the-season Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) was seen on 29 April as was a new species for the Museum, a Prince Baskettail (Epitheca princeps). I had thought that I spied one of [...] Read more...

Also posted in Birds, Flora, Insects and Other Arthropods, Spring | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buds and Birds

Some pre-spring happenings at the Museum… Get outdoors and have a look around for yourself, and let me know what you see! Read more...

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Spring?

Spring is wound up and ready to pop! Sure, it was colder than usual the first two months of this year. And, it seems as though it has snowed more this year than within memory. It’s predicted to snow today! But, there’s much evidence pointing to a new season springing forth. The days are getting [...] Read more...

Also posted in Birds, Flora, Reptiles and Amphibians, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Day of the Fox

Gray Fox are seen here at the Museum throughout the year. I sometimes see their tracks in the mud on service roads and there is a den in the woods near the Dinosaur Trail. The frequency of sightings usually picks up in mid-winter. Over the past few weeks there have been numerous sightings by myself, [...] Read more...

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Another Snow Day in the Wild

I’ve been working on a couple of new entries to the blog and had hoped to have them posted by now. The recent snow which came to town on January 30 closed the Museum for a few days and I haven’t had the time to complete my work. I did, however, manage to get a [...] Read more...

Also posted in Winter | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Winter Break

Although the temperatures for the day were still below normal for this time of year, January 13 did bring with it a slight break in the cold we’ve been experiencing lately. I was able to shed one layer of clothes for the day. Further proof of a definite warm-up was evidenced by a Groundhog seen [...] Read more...

Also posted in Birds, Flora, Winter | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Getting Ready for Winter

Of the mammals that reside on the Museum property, two have been conspicuously preparing for the oncoming winter season. They are both members of the same family (Sciuridae) but each has a different life style (one is a tree squirrel, the other a ground squirrel) and they have different strategies of how to cope with the cold. [...] Read more...

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Explore the Wild’s Wild Animals

Groundhogs are being seen throughout the outdoor exhibits, especially at the Bird Feeder Exhibit in Catch the Wind. Another less frequently encountered mammal on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Windloop has been seen at the feeders as well, a Gray Fox. On August 28th one was seen directly below the feeders with one eye on the seed [...] Read more...

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Greg Dodge's Portrait
  • Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
  • Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.