Record-Breaking Little Catfish

Whether big or small, we take every opportunity to learn about all the animals in our collection. When one of our long-time resident Margined madtom catfish (Noturus insignis) recently passed away, we did some research and learned that this little fish was a record holder for the largest individual of its species in Virginia.  It broke the length record by more than 30 millimeters and had a total length of 211 millimeters.  That is just over 8 ^5/16 inches!  It is interesting how a relatively small fish can stand out among its state “school.”  In addition, it is a credit to our aquarists for providing the highest quality of care so the animals can live long and healthy lives and grow to be champions.

Photo of Noturus insignis from PlanetCatfish.com

Five Fun Facts About the Rams

Maymont has caught the Virginia Commonwealth University Final Four fever! Winnie, our Scottish Blackface Sheep at the Children’s Farm, is showing her team spirit for our neighborhood university this week, leading up to the NCAA VCU-Butler basketball game on Saturday. Go Rams!

But what exactly is a Ram? And what makes them so special? Here are a few fun facts about the wooly, four-legged version of the VCU mascot:

1. A male sheep is called a Ram, and their horns serve as an imposing status symbol. A Ram’s horns are used for dominance and weapons during battles for mating rights.

2. Head butting from a Ram can cause serious injury, and they need to be respected.

3. President Woodrow Wilson grazed sheep on the White House Lawn. Will Rams roam the White House nearly 100 years later as NCAA basketball champions?

 4. Rams can be very protective of other sheep and will stomp their feet and put their heads down and even chase dogs out of fields (look out Bulldogs!).

 5. A Battering Ram is a famous weapon of the Middle Ages used to batter, pound, punch and crush gates and walls of conquered towns.

Otter in Action

On Monday, our animal keepers, including Jennifer Williams (pictured in the video), performed some target training practice with our female otter, Pandora. Pandora has learned to touch her nose to a target stick and hold her place for several seconds to receive a reward of fish. This behavior is useful when an animal keeper or the vet needs to get a full look at an animal during a checkup. Check out this clip to see Pandora in action, and find out more during our new training presentations starting this Saturday at 2pm at the Nature Center.

See Virginia’s Official Saltwater Fish

Congratulations to the Striped Bass! The species (also known as Rockfish) was recently designated as Virginia’s official saltwater fish by the Virginia House of Delegates. Come and see more than a dozen of them at the Maymont Nature Center  open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

Scratch and Sniff, Anyone?

Our Habitats team is currently working with a new education animal to highlight some of the more unique animals of Virginia.  The striped skunk seen here was found wandering in a Waynesboro park in the middle of the day.  It was taken to a nearby wildlife rehabilitator where it was observed to be calm and overweight. His nails were neatly trimmed, and he had very little scent.  Likely an illegal pet that was dropped off or escaped, the animal was deemed non-releasable and eventually, a new home was found at Maymont.  He has been put on a diet and is getting some exercise as the staff teaches him to go to a target, so he can be moved around with ease during environmental education presentations.

He has quite the hairdo, huh?!

Introducing Louey and Cotton

Last week, we introduced two new rabbits to our animal collection at the Children’s Farm.  Louey is a chestnut colored lop-eared rabbit, and Cotton is a white and gray lop-eared rabbit.  Both will be introduced to our other resident lop-eared, Nutmeg, in the coming days.  All the rabbits at Maymont are used for environmental education programming and special animal encounters when not on exhibit at the Farm.  To learn more about our upcoming programs, visit www.maymont.org or call us at 804-358-7166, ext. 324. And don’t forget to visit Louey, Cotton and Nutmeg during your next visit to the Children’s Farm barn!

Joe the Icicle

While you’re at home sipping hot chocolate on this cold, icy day, don’t forget to toast our aquarists at the Nature Center.  The cold temperatures don’t stop the work of cleaning the tanks, including the otter exhibit which boasts water temperatures at 62 degrees or lower.  Brrrrr!  The otters’ fur is so thick that water doesn’t touch their skin, but the aquarists have to wear thick wet suits that trap a thin layer of water between their skin and the neoprene outfit.  While the initial plunge is icy, it becomes more tolerable as the aquarists work hard and their activity increases the temperature inside the suit.  When Joe Neel was in the tank this December, the animal keepers used the opportunity to put snowballs in the exhibit for the otters to play with after everything was cleaned. The otters love to see people in the winter and you can get a great view of them (from the warm side of the glass) in the Nature Center, so don’t forget to stop by early and often in the New Year!

Joe takes the plunge into the cold otter tank.

Toadally Terrific

Last week’s photo is a close-up of the skin on our Fowler’s Toad. The toad’s bumps, sometimes called warts, are glands that produce and secrete toxins for defense against predators.  Some skin secretions from amphibians are very toxic while others are mild.  The bumps are not related to human warts which come from a virus. Contrary to popular belief, humans cannot contract warts from a toad or a frog.

Fowler's Toad

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

What in the world is this thing found at the Nature Center? (Answer to be posted next week.)

British Invasion

Wow! It’s hard to believe that summer is over (at least unofficially), and dozens of school groups will be “invading” the Nature Center in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to introduce these eager and enthusiastic youngsters to the wonders of Maymont and the natural world.

This summer, we were pleased to have another type of invasion at Maymont…a British invasion. Laura Howles from London, England volunteered with the Habitats team for two weeks in July.  She had the opportunity to work in animal care and environmental education.  In order to add an international flair to our summer volunteer program, we partnered with one of our colleagues at VCU Life Sciences.

It was a real pleasure to work with Laura and the rest of our energetic team of summer volunteers and interns. Thanks to all of them!

Laura Howles added an international flair to our summer volunteer program.