Featuring DINOMAN

Saturday, January 31st    11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

At the STAR ECO Station

$5 Admission - Kids 3 and Under are FREE!

4465 Granite Drive, Suite 700

Rocklin, CA 95677

How mobile are our exhibits? Well, on April 3 we visited Bowers Elementary school in Santa Clara, California to put on one of our mobile rainforest exhibit. We took along some of our amazing animals for the kids. Rufus (Tegu), Gennessey (Burmese Python), Twister (Carpet Python) and Cutey (Green Iguana) all made the trip with us. Also in attendence were some of our bigs to help us teach the children about the nutrient cycle. The children loved all the animals, especially Rufus, which was no suprise as he often gets a big reaction from kids with his huge puffy cheeks and his docile demeanor. It was a great trip out to the bay and we look forward to making many more trips just like it.

Paco Grande: This loud and endangered animal came to the ECO Station in January of 2007. He is named Paco Grande because he is the second Paco to come to the ECO Station and is much larger than Paco Taco. He can wave and say “Hello” “No” and “Paco-Paco-Paco.” Military Macaws inhabit the northern parts of South America. In the wild they can live in pairs, in families, or in flocks as large as forty. They prefer to roost in the highest outer branches of trees, and are easily identified even out of sight by their loud screeching and croaking. Military Macaws do not have to hunt for their food, they eat fruit and nuts that are available in the area. The name “military” may have been given to the birds when they were first imported into Europe by military personnel.

Chinese Water Dragons: Stumpy and Skippy are siblings that have been at the ECO Station since they were 6 week old and weighed lass than 5 grams. That’s the same as a penny. Although one of them (Stumpy) is missing part of his back right leg, they have thrived with the care of our naturalists. Full grown, they can reach 3 feet in length. These animals are excellent swimmers and can submerge themselves for up to 30 minutes. When chased by predators, these animals have been known to raise up on run on their two hind legs.

Dog-faced Puffer: The puffer is a unique fish in that he recognizes his care givers and will become visibly excited when they enter the room. This Asian species will often get transported as juveniles to pet stores, but some will grow up to 16 inches in length during adulthood. A puffer fish’s body contains a type of poison called a tetrodotoxin. If large enough amounts of this poison are ingested, it can cause paralysis or even death. Special care needs to be given the puffer, due to their dentistry. If their teeth get too long they have to be clipped.

This sort of story represents the biggest of warm-fuzzies regarding wildlife education and children.

Heartbreaker, a middle aged female Green Iguana, was diagnosed with a large bladder stone. If your kids haven’t explained it to you yet, Green Iguanas make terrible pets. Their large size, sharp claws, small brain, and propensity to poop from high places make them animals that even their own mothers abandon. Rescued Iguanas usually arrive with a series of maladies brought on by neglect, and in this case improper diet compounded with time reared a bladder stone. Read the rest of this entry »