Check out this week’s featured specimen!
(Pictured below, really close up!)
Photo: N. Sincero © California Academy of Sciences.
Can you guess what it is? Here are some hints:
- This specimen is native to Mexico and Central America but can now be found on every continent except for Antarctica.
- Different types of this specimen can be from 3 ft (0.9 m) to 20 ft (6 m) tall.
Leave us a comment with your answer! Then come see us in the Classroom on Sunday, Nov. 20th at 2:30 pm for Science Story Adventures to see if you’re right and to learn more about this specimen. Science Story Adventures is our program for children ages 4 – 8 and their caregivers. In the program, we explore the natural world through stories, specimens, games and crafts.
You might see these dark pellets in eastern or southern Africa. They are often found scattered because of the distance they travel while dropping. According to some reports, if the pellets are made by a male of this species, they will be larger than those of a female.
Who pooped?
Leave a comment below with your guess. We will reveal the answer in the comments section on Wednesday, November 16th.
If you have your own natural history mystery (an unidentified animal, plant or other specimen), send a photo or two to naturalist@calacademy.org. We’ll do our best to help out. Please include location, date and any other details that seem pertinent.
Check out this week’s featured specimen!
(Pictured below, really close up!)
Photo: N. Sincero © California Academy of Sciences
Can you guess what it is? Here are some hints:
- This animal can grow up to 7 ft (2.1 m) long.
- It is ovoviviparous.
Leave us a comment with your answer! Then come see us in the Classroom on Sunday, Nov. 13th at 2:30 pm for Science Story Adventures to see if you’re right and to learn more about this animal. Science Story Adventures is our program for children ages 4 – 8 and their caregivers. In the program, we explore the natural world through stories, specimens, games and crafts.
Photo: Broad-leaved willowherb seeds (Epilobium montanum). Frank Vincentz
Click here for the Seeds online handout.
Each week in the Naturalist Center, we take elementary school-aged children on Science Story Adventures. We look at a different theme connected with the natural world and the exhibits in the Academy, and explore it through stories, activities and crafts.
Now you can continue your adventure at home with this online handout. It includes the planned learning outcomes of the Science Story Adventure, which are usually drawn from the Science Content Standards for California Public Schools. Can’t remember the title of the books we read or how to do that craft? It’s on the sheet. We’ve also included a list of resources – books, DVDs or websites – for further exploration.
Photo: N. Sincero 2011, Scat Wrangler: S. Sumrall
This scat generally has a short taper or blunt ends. It may contain animal remains, such as hair and bones, or plant remains, such as berry seeds. Ants are also commonly found in this scat. The animal that made it lives in at least 40 US States as well as Canada and Mexico.
Who pooped?
Leave a comment below with your guess. We will reveal the answer in the comments section on Wednesday, November 9th.
If you have your own natural history mystery (an unidentified animal, plant or other specimen), send a photo or two to naturalist@calacademy.org. We’ll do our best to help out. Please include location, date and any other details that seem pertinent.
Source:
Scats and Tracks of the Pacific Coast, Including British Columbia: A Field Guide to the Signs of 70 Wildlife Species / James C. Halfpenny ; illustrated by Todd Telander. Helena, Mont. : Falcon, c1999. Naturalist Center Reference QL768 .H36 1999
