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Slithering through.........
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by AquaHerp on April 22, 2006
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Spring is in the air.....the serpents are indeed slithering in many of the States right on queue.
I figured I'd take a second to say hey to all. It's been a little while, good to see many of the usual suspects still basking about and a few new added to the collection.
I get by every great once in a while, but I never seem to have the time to stick around and get into the fray like the old days. But good to see some good conversation still abound.
Here's an update on what's up on our end:
We finally broke ground for the new Front entrance/Gift shop/and Education facility. A 3.4 million dollar undertaking. We hope to have this completed by Spring of '07. It will be really quite the project when done.
Scott Deloney (Crotalus_Catcher) and Larry Lemon (whatever the heck he goes by nowadays in here) have been busy with planning a plethora of new exhibits including South American Trails, the Wetlands (alligators), and most notably; the new Herpetarium that looks to start construction in June if all goes well with our 1.1 million in Zoo upgrade money from the City Bond election next month. Either/or, the herpetarium will proceed. “Herpetarium” is a bit of a misnomer as the facility will also house inverts like insects, bugs, arachnids, and even cephalopods. Now if I can just somehow convince those two that we can't keep every single rattlesnake we find on zoo grounds or gets brought to us in a bucket I'll be okay! Geeeeze!
Seriously though, anyone coming to the IHS in San Antonio can get a sneak preview via Larry's super cool computer imaging stuff he's been putting together.
While it certainly won't be the biggest or the best in the country, it will be the most conservation focused one going.
So there you have it....no rest for the wicked. Or the dedicated. Take care all.
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RE: Slithering through.........
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by Cro on April 22, 2006
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Doug: Good to see you back. I sure hope to visit all the new exhibits at the Abilene Zoo sometime later this year.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Slithering through.........
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by Rob_Carmichael on April 23, 2006
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Congrats Doug, it sounds like you are going to have an incredible exhibit when its done. I drool at medium-large zoo budgets. And while I realize how quickly $1.1 million goes, I'm sure you have some pretty cool things planned. The Shedd Aquarium just spent well over $1.5 for a temporary lizard exhibit (2 years max)..unbelievable; I'm envious. We had to construct a new rattlesnake/venomous herp exhibit with a whopping $75K, but, we made it work and we developed a unique conservation education program for school groups (the exhibit is called "The Grass Is Rattling") in addition to a beautiful exhibit on a shoestring budget with over 30 species/subspecies of rattlesnakes on public display plus quite a few other exotic venomous herps. This past year, over 3500 middle school students have completed our one day program and its a great feeling to see so many kids and teachers go away with a profound interest in wanting to save rattlers. Are you planning any educational components to your new exhibit? I'd be interested in hearing about what you have planned (always looking to steal, er, borrow a few ideas). Wish I was going to IHS this year to see your place; instead, I'll be leading a field herp college course but next time I'm in your neck of the woods, I'll give you a shout.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation
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RE: Slithering through.........
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by Sal on April 24, 2006
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Sounds great! It looks like I'll be making a trip up there soon to check things out.
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RE: Slithering through.........
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by AquaHerp on April 26, 2006
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Thanks Sal, hope to see you here soon.
Rob, I wish all that budget was going towards the herpetarium. Fortunately the infrastructure is already in place so that cost is negligable. But, fun will still be had by all!
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