Wildlife Wednesday 10/09/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Today we will learn about a nocturnal animal that wants to be seen, smelled, and recognized…the striped skunk! While many animals use camouflage, burrows, and fleeing to hide from predators, the skunk does not rely on any of these. Instead its strategy is to stand out, showing off the bright white stripes along…
Read MoreStar-Nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole is an amazing little creature. Its most noticeable feature is the 22 fleshy tentacle-like appendages, forming a little star, at the end of its nose. Your first thought might be that these tentacles help the mole to smell, but you’d be wrong. They function more like an eye than a nose. The…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 10/02/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Sometimes referred to as crawfish, crawdads, river lobsters, or mudbugs, today we are talking about crayfish. Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans and Ohio is home to over 20 species. Meaning “shelled one” in Latin, a crustacean is an invertebrate animal with an exoskeleton. Crayfish have 10 appendages that are considered legs, with one pair…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 09/25/2024
The striking luna moth, also known as the American moon moth, spends about a month of its life cycle as a hungry caterpillar. Found in deciduous woodlands in North America where their larval foods occur, the hardy caterpillars spend all of their time eating. Constantly. They munch upon the leaves of walnut, hickory, birch, and…
Read MoreComet C/2023 A3
“Comets are like cats: they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.” Davis H. Levy, Comets: Creators and Destroyers A visitor from afar is in the neighborhood. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas), A3 for short, will be visible by the end of September in the morning sky. Comet names tell us much about the…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 09/18/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! How much do you know about slugs? Let’s learn some interesting facts about them! Slug bodies are mostly made up of water. Since they lack a protective shell, they must produce mucus to prevent drying out. Slugs are most active at night and after a rain. This is also related to helping them…
Read MoreSeptember 2024 Full Harvest Moon
This year’s full Harvest Moon on September 17, 2024, has a lot going on. The Moon will look full when it rises at 7:28PM EDT. However, it won’t be an official full Moon until 10:34PM. This is the exact moment the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth. When a full moon…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 09/11/2024
It’s #WildlifeWednesday and we are talking about bears (oh my!). More specifically, the American black bear. Visitors to The Wilderness Center often ask if bears live in our woods and the answer is…not right now. But they have in the past, and could again in the future. Historically, black bears were abundant throughout Ohio, prior…
Read MorePandorus Sphinx Moth
Some of the most beautiful, interesting and hard-working pollinators are rarely seen. Why? Because they work at night. One of the members of this night crew is the pandorus sphinx moth. Found throughout Ohio, this is a large moth with a wingspan of 3 to 4.5 inches. They have streamlined bodies and wings, their outline…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 09/04/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Monarch migration is underway! Eastern monarch butterflies are currently flying through Ohio on their way from their summer breeding grounds in Canada to their overwintering areas in Mexico. The monarchs will migrate thousands of miles, traveling up to 100 miles each day during the months of September and October, reaching their roosting sites…
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