Reptiles at Risk

Fear of the Unknown

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 28, 2010 at 8:38 PM

Our team has spent the last few days in Pukaskwa National Park, and what a beautiful park it is! We held a program here last Saturday with a great turn out of interested visitors and enthusiastic children. The staff here have also been very welcoming and friendly, and we would like to congratulate a number of them on overcoming their fears to touch and hold the snakes over the last few days. Great job!

While we were in the park the staff also taught us a little bit about living with bears. Bears are more often noticed in the park than snakes, so the staff were more familiar with this species. As a reptile interpreter I know very little about bears, and I would be far more nervous about seeing a bear in the woods than a snake (though in both cases, a wild animal left alone poses very little threat to humans). This firms up a trend we have seen in many programs before – fear and misconception often grow from the unknown or unfamiliar.

Today our program visited the Hornepayne Community Centre, and the group at first was a little nervous with the animals. With a little discussion and observation, however, they learned more about these creatures that seemed so foreign at the beginning. In little time at all they were eagerly lining up to hold all the snakes we had brought with us! One woman there had never held a snake before, and said she would shake any time one crossed her path in the woods. As she watched the younger group interact with the animals she also became more familiar with them, and we would also like to congratulate her for overcoming her fear!

Though fears and misconceptions can grow due to any number of reasons, through our programs it seems that unfamiliarity often plays a role. We are so glad that we have been able to increase understanding of reptiles through these programs, and learn about some of our own fears as well!

- Robin

Poisonous or Venomous?

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 27, 2010 at 11:13 PM

Over the past week the Reptiles at Risk crew has traveled farther into northern Ontario than ever before. After a full day of driving on Saturday we arrived near the Pic River first nations community, where the sun sets at about 10 o'clock - roughly an hour later than at the home base in Orillia. At this point in the journey, we now have eight programs under our collective belts, and we have all gotten pretty good at juggling hoardes of small children, the creatures, and many plastic beads (which usually end up everywhere. A containment system is underway). One observation that I have made during our journeying involves a common misconception about poisonous snakes. That is, many people ask us if our snakes are poisonous. This usually seems to happen when a snake is being handled by an eager five-year-old, and although I am always tempted to be sarcastic, I usually resist the urge to tell the public that we lose three children a day to snake bites. However, sarcasm aside, it is a legitimate question and a very common misunderstanding relating to snakes - many believe that all snakes are poisonous. There are a few things wrong about this, the first of which concerns the fact that no snake on the planet that we know of is poisonous*, as poison is something that has to be eaten in order to take effect. Snakes are instead venomous, as they inject venom into the bloodstreams of their prey. A fun fact about venom is that in theory you can drink it (or eat it?), and as long as you have no ulcers or openings in your digestive tract, you'll be a-okay at the end of the day (although please, never try this. Just trust that what I say is true!). The second is that the vast majority of snakes are not venomous. This is especially true in Ontario, as out of the 15 species that can be found here, only one is venemous. That one is the Masassauga Rattlesnake, and of the few people who have been bitten by this snake (often on the hands or back, in which case, the blame can't really be placed on the snake...) all those who went to a hospital survived to tell the tale. The only place on earth where there are more venomous species of snake than non-venomous species is Australia, which has a surprisingly low number of recorded venomous snake bites each year (or maybe not surprising, as people there are taught to not approach snakes if they don't know what they are. If we all did the same in Ontario, at the very least no one would suffer from being bitten on the back by Masassauga's, as really, the only way to get bitten there likely involves a bit of reckless snake handling...)

Finally, we would not pass around dangerous animals to small children, or adults, or co-workers! It be a stupid thing for us to do, as no one would ever offer us funding, and no insurance company would insure our programs, and we would have to call amblances, and likely sign annoying forms, and potentially go to court...

I like my job just fine without having to deal with any of that.

- Brittany

* We have researched this in the past and were unable to find any examples of poisonous snakes. However, if you know of one, tell us about it! We would love to know if such a creature exists!

Travels continue

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 23, 2010 at 5:48 PM

Hey Everyone! Bryan here.

On the road again and slowly making our from Wahnapitae First Nation to our next program location. We just finished our 5th program since setting out on the road and things are running well! Just a few hiccups here and there, mostly technical.

Our only major breakdown today was when the speaker we have been using to show movies decided to stop working. I think it may have something to do with the bumpy and often jarring roads we have encountered in the past 2 days which may have knocked some major component loose.

Robin, Brittany and James picked me up yesterday after a very well spent day off which concluded with my brother Steve giving me a lift into Sudbury from North Bay. We spent the night at Wavy Lake, a beautiful spot although mosquito filled. Thankfully my tent is well sealed from such attacks. Robin, Brittany and James were not so lucky as the bugs took shelter from the rain in the trailer.
It seems we've been a stones throw from Sudbury throughout the trip so far but that is going to change quickly once we turn our nose Northward.

Happy trails everyone. We'll see you soon!

Bryan

A Day Off

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 23, 2010 at 5:31 PM

For our first day off of our tour, we took a day to go out into the field with some old friends - James and Geoff! Both are past employees of Sciensational Sssnakes!!, and James was part of Reptiles at Risk during the Western trip a couple years ago.

This summer these two are doing research on reptiles, especially species at risk, in the Sudbury area. Though there were not too many reptiles out that day, it was a great chance for us to see professionals in action. They are looking for any sightings of reptiles in the Sudbury area, so if you are in the area please let them know! We will be posting their e-mail soon.

One species I thought we might have seen was the Eastern Milk Snake. This blotched snake spends most of the day in hiding, as they are a nocturnal species. When they are seen, however, they often fool the predators into thinking they are dangerous. The milk snake will twitch it's tail in leaves and grass, making a sound similar to that of a rattlesnake! These snakes are not venomous, however, and there is nothing to worry about.

The milk snake has also earned its name because of a mistake. People would often see them in barns around cattle, and believed that this snake was drinking milk from cows! This is not really true because even baby snakes don't drink milk, and it would be very hard for a little snake to milk a cow. These snakes do hunt for other food in barns, however, like mice.

Though we did not see any of these snakes in our travels, they do live in many of the areas we are going through. Keep your eyes open for this fascinating species!

- Robin

Why Snakes Bite

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 23, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Yesterday found the RAR crew in Nipissing First Nation for another fun-filled day of reptile education and for the first time, a day without car trouble. Every time the key of the van was turned in the ignition, a delightful car-starting sound ensued. This was followed by our vocalizing our excitement and in at least one case, tears of joy. Because of the cooperation of the van, we arrived in Nipissing on time and proceeded to pass around the snakes to some pretty enthusiastic kids. Some kids (and quite a few more adults), however, were very concerned about being bitten. There are about a half a dozen issues revolving around this topic that could be addressed, but I'll try to stick with the facts: Snakes will generally bite for one of two reasons. The first has to do with food, as yes, they do indeed bite when they are eating. We bite when we eat as well! In fact, we bite more than snakes do when we eat, as we have to crush and tear apart our food in our mouths by chewing it a few dozen times, whereas snakes only have to bite their food once in order to get the swallowing part started up (people are much more dangerous than snakes!). A snake will not bite us for this reason because we just are not something that they are interested in eating. It would be like us biting a tree – trees are not our food, so what would the point be?
Snakes will also bite out of fear. We are often told of 'aggressive' snakes that have bitten people in the wild when picked up. Wild snakes, however, are no different than wild chipmunks or wild raccoons. If you try to pick one up, they will try to bite you in order to protect themselves. As chipmunks and raccoons have wonderful teeth meant for cracking and chewing, this works really well for them. Unfortunately, with snakes, this is a terrible defence as their teeth are so small that they cannot even be seen in many cases. Also, their bite is designed to help them hold onto their food, not tear it apart. As a result, the aggressive wild snakes are really not aggressive at all! They are reacting out of fear to the aggressive people trying to pick them up, who for all they know might be really interested in eating them! Our snakes, however, are very accustomed to being handled by terrifying frightening people, and are not scared of us. Therefore, they will not bite us for this reason either. Besides, being bitten really isn't that bad. In my opinion, mosquito bites are about 100 times worse. As for being pooped on... We can never guarantee whether or not that will happen...
- Brittany

Northern Route, Day 2

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 16, 2010 at 2:36 PM

Hey guys, Bryan here!

We've just hit the road again after spending an exciting night and day at the Henvey Inlet Firehall. Day 1 was spent at the Magnetawan Community Centre where we felt incredibly welcome by the people. Friendly and good listeners, they kept us busy all day and gave us an incredible feeding for both lunch and dinner! We left with full stomachs, smiles on our faces and new T-shirts! Thank You Magnetawan!

We had a small hiccup in the evening when we pulled into a gas station in Grundy Lake and couldn't get our van started again! Fortunately after about an hour's worth of excitement we met an older gentleman who was both experienced with our diesel engine and kind enough to share some of that experience. He had us up and running in minutes!

We arrived at the Henvey Inlet Firehall shortly after with very little energy left after our long day. So after a little bit of set-up for animals we gladly let our heads hit the pillows. We had some excitement in the night when a bear decided to have sniff around our campsite, at one point he even lifted the edge of my tent with his snout before moving on to the garbage can between the trailer and the firehall! It wasn’t until morning that any of us were aware of our "encounter".

Up early, and set-up quickly, it seemed like EVERYONE in the community showed up to greet us as we opened. It also helped that the parents were having coffee next door at the administration office. (I love you Henvey Inlet!).

During the hands on section there were plenty of nervous people but most of them gave in as they saw others having fun. I am extending a particular congratulations to Maurine and her daughter Kayla who were very unsure about the team's sanity at the beginning, but after some coaxing they returned often to make sure they had a chance to hold every snake! Most of the morning was filled with snake handling and kids trying the different activities we had set-up. Needless to say it was a very busy room! We finally got all the kids in the same place for their lunch .The day wrapped up without incident and the van even started the first time! Thank you Henvey Inlet for and awesome day!

As I write this blog we are en route to Garden Village for the night.

Wish us luck and happy trails everyone!

Bryan

Road Trip! Northern Route, Day 1

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 16, 2010 at 2:35 PM

Here we are, 7am, on the road to our first program of the Northern Ontario trip - Magnetawan! Though a little sleepy inside (and a little foggy outside) we are packed and ready to go. We will be spending about 3.5 weeks in Northern Ontario, traveling west to Sault Ste Marie, east to Timmins, and as far north as Moose Factory!

Brittany, Bryan and I make up the crew for this leg of our summer journey. Brittany is a University of Guelph student of wildlife and fine art (quite the combination!) who you may remember from our travels last summer. Her expertise have been invaluable in developing much of our program materials, including our reptiles at risk colouring pages and "Make your own Nature ID Books"! Bryan is another Guelph wildlife student who has joined us this year, with a farmboy background as well as many contacts in northern Ontario. His mechanical skills will be much appreciated in keeping Big Red (our van) and our trailer running smoothly!

The three of us are very excited to be hitting the road with this new program, and you will be hearing from all of us as the trip progresses! Don't forget the rest of the RAR crew at home - they are still working hard to book presentations and displays in Southern Ontario, and will be doing their own road trip to the Long Point, Chatham and Windsor area later in the summer. If any of you have events or venues in Southern Ontario that would work well for a program, please let us know!

Robin

Second program of the summer

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 16, 2010 at 2:33 PM

The second program of the season found the Northern Ontario RAR crew in the community of Rama (which is quite famous for Casino Rama), and we were excited as soon as we walked through the door. This was mostly do to the excitement shared by all those waiting to learn about the reptiles, but also due to the wonderful air conditioning that does not exist at our home base in Orillia . . . I believe Robin jumped up and down with excitement when she realized we wouldn't need to change shirts due to sweatiness half way through the day. Setting up was a breeze, and the presentation was well received (if well received constitutes children who were once very nervous later arguing oer who got to hold the next one). The only tricky part of the day came when it was time for the nature walk, which required us to leave the wondrous air conditioning and go outside in the middle of a heat wave. However, due to some awesome finds, it was well worth it (we were also kindly given freezies, which can help in any situation). There were some crayfish claws near the building, and we were told that seagulls take them to the roof to eat. Thankfully, there were also people who knew far more about botany than I do, as my plant identifying skills are limited. Actually, more than imited, I am terrible at identifying plants. Although, due to the nature walk and the knowledge of others I can now identify sumac trees. I'll even share my new knowledge - sumac trees are the oneswith the dark red upside down pinecone shaped things that don't get very big and kind of look lke a shrub-tree hybrid. Despite that 'fantastic' description, I think I'll stick with the reptiles.

- Brittany

And so, the summer begins . . .

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 5, 2010 at 3:04 PM

What a busy time it has been here at the home of Reptiles at Risk on the Road! Our partner groups Sciensational Snakes and Scales Nature Park have been going non-stop over the last few weeks, first getting ready for Canada Day and now having the centre open every day! You have probably heard a bit in the past about the work being done on Scales Nature Park, and we are proud to announce that we are celebrating our Grand Opening this weekend, July 9th to 11th. If any of our readers are in the area, maybe we'll see you here!

Aside from that, with our funding arrival we have hit the ground running with plans for the summer. Our Southern programming is still in the organization stages, so anyone with an event or venue in Southern Ontario who might be interested in one of our programs, please let us know! Our Northern Tour is mostly worked out, and in addition to our regular presentations our day long programming will include crafts, games and other activities. Our first day of programming took place last week at Moose Deer Point, and there was an enthusiastic day camp group that joined in the fun. Some of our activities still need a little work (our play dough needs a little more flour to actually be play-worthy), but overall it was a fun time had by all!

One of my favourite new games we are trying is called Skink Race! In Ontario there is only one type of lizard, called the Five-Lined Skink. They like to hide under rocks and logs, but if they are discovered by predators they need to run very quickly to another hiding place. If the predator gets a hold of their tail, it can actually drop off, and the skink can get away!

In this game, there are people in the middle who are the Predators, and everyone else holds hands in pairs as the Skinks. When the Predators yell "Skink Race!" all the Skinks must run from one side of the room to the other. If one person from the pair is tagged by a Predator, then the Skink loses their tail! One partner continues across the room as the surviving skink, while the other becomes food (sits on the floor). In the next run by, the Skinks can try to regrow their tail by finding food. If they are tagged again, then the whole Skink is eaten and becomes food for surviving Skinks to collect. The last Skink standing wins!

This is just one of the many activities we will be doing this summer, and I look forward to telling you more as we progress!

- Robin