Thursday, August 5, 2010

Story Book Creatures offer a Scientific Look into Prehistoric Times


We loaded up in the vans and headed to an amazing place today....Noah's Landing in Coats, NC. Noah's Landing is a hands on zoo adventure and that is what all our youth enjoyed today. Everyone got to see an animal that they had never seen or even heard of before, as well as some that they had heard of but never seen. Sometimes they even got to feed or pet some of the animals. Have you ever petted an opossum? Or watched a yak suck up for carrots? We saw that and so much more today.
Our day started with an introduction to some of the smaller guests and this nonprofit nature center. A small alligator was the first guest we were introduced to and had a chance to pet. Then we learned the difference between turtles and tortoises, both of which can be found at Noah's Landing as well as many varieties of each species. Then our youth (and yes our adults) were handed handfuls of carrots, dog food and other goodies to feed their first set of animals. The mules, zebra and an emu were awfully glad to see our youth and ran right up hoping for hand outs. We learned which animals likes what and that the emu and carrots were not a good idea but a little dog food went a long way to winning some affection...at least as much as an emu can give.
We were then introduced to a familiar sound but not a familiar sight. The kookaburra bird has a familiar sound thanks to Hollywood that has put the birds call in jungle scenes for decades, however this bird, or king fisher as we learned today is truly an outback animal. The birds can eat all sorts of bugs, rats, mice, snakes, etc. They kill their prey and then eat it.
From there we headed towards a building with a quick stop to say hello to monkeys and lemurs. They were having fun playing and did not notice us too much. We then headed into a building that housed some really interesting animals, many that are nocturnal. The porcupines were asleep on top of their tree, and the armadillo was awakened by our crowd as we ohhed and ahhed over the various types of cats. There was also a gigantic tortoise in this building with another that was not quite as big. Of course the one thing that squeezed our attention was a ball python that everyone got a chance to pet.
We took a brief break for lunch and recycled our plastic bottles, and other things that will help save the environment and a home for our new four legged friends. We were excited to continue our tour and learn more about the animals that live here.
Our next stop introduced us to wallabies, similar to kangaroos but smaller. We saw some interesting birds, we petted a Hungarian pot bellied pig, and then there was Susie. Susie is a yak. Yes, I said yak. She is very sweet and loves attention, so it was a good thing we had so many hands to feed her a favorite snack of carrots. From there we meant some different kinds of porcupines, prairie dogs, really big rabbits, and lets not forget Wilbur. Wilbur is a pot bellied pig that wanders around and acts like a vacuum cleaner eating whatever food the other animals drop. Although he did not seem to get to close to the wolf, I must admit.
Our last stop on this incredible tour was an air conditioned room that housed a variety of animals. Our first introduction was to Teddy. Teddy is a Capuchin Monkey. He is very smart. loves toys and loves to play. During our stay in this air conditioned animal mecca Teddy did his best to still the show and get our attention, which he did frequently. We woke up a Kinajou which hung above our youths heads and pretended to fly and play before climbing back in his hammock which looks a lot like a baby snuggie. The youth got a chance to pet a skunk, a opossum, and a cockatoo. We met a two headed lizard (or a fat tailed lizard) and a two toed sloth (yes, they really exist). It was an incredible day of learning and fun.
We travelled back home with tired and sleepy youth thanks to the heat and excitement. It is hard to believe that we only have one day of bio-tech day camp left. Tomorrow is about building power. Check back to see all the fun we have.

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