In the meantime, I have a unique, but severely limited opportunity. The details are below. However, I ask that if you or your family do not qualify, please don’t ask for an exception to this one. I know it sounds like an exciting opportunity, but because of safety reasons I cannot allow anyone who is not old enough to participate. Yes, I know the eligibility requirements eliminate almost everyone (and the description may keep others out), but that’s just the way it has to be this time around. Thanks.

So here is the event information and how to register:

What:

Nature’s Classroom Pronghorn Capture

The pronghorn in this particular area (near Prescott) are doing quite well. For this project, we will be capturing some pronghorn to relocate them to another part of the state where the population needs some assistance. During the trapping, pronghorn will be herded into a large temporary enclosure. At which time, Department staff, volunteers, and Homeschool participants will enter the enclosure in teams of two and physically catch the animals. Yes, you will basically wrestle the pronghorn to the ground. The antelope will be blindfolded and looked after by trained vets and staff. Appropriate ones will be carried to a transport trailer where they will then travel to the predetermined location to be released. There is a chance of injury. The last time this was done, three people were injured. One sliced open his hand, another broke his thumb, and a third was poked in the bottom. I say this because I want you to be aware of what you are in for. It is a great opportunity, but it is not without risk.

Date:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Time:

Likely meeting time of 6am. Plan to be gone most of the day.

Who:

Spots are extremely limited. Only 10 spots available. Must be 18 or older to participate. Parents cannot participate by themselves. In order to participate, they must have a child who is eligible (18 or older). In addition, as a participant you should be in good health, physically capable of doing the activities described above. This will best prevent injury to yourself or the animals. It will be a rough, tough, and fun experience.

What you need:

You will need to bring gloves and eye protection. Shatterproof/non-glass sunglasses would be sufficient. You should wear a long sleeve shirt and pants. Since the weather in February can be unpredictable, you should bring a jacket. Please do NOT wear fleece. Antelope hair comes off the animal’s body really easily but is nearly impossible to remove from fleece. You will need to bring your own food and drinks.

Additional Information:

If it rains, there is a possibility that the event will be cancelled. In fact, last year, it did not take place because of weather. Therefore, it is possible that a last minute cancellation may occur. If you are accepted to participate, additional information will be provided.

How to register:

Since this event is happening very soon, registration, whether all the spaces are full or not, will close by 3pm on Friday, January 23. However, spaces are extremely limited so do not wait until the last minute. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis according to availability. So, if there is one spot left and the next person to register signs up for two people, then I cannot take them and will move to the next person with only one registration. If all of the spots are filled up, a small waiting list will be started and an additional email will be sent out notifying everyone that spaces are filled.

To register, please send an email to eproctor@azgfd.gov with the following information (please note if you are registering more than one person, you need to include the information for each person):

·         Name

·         Age

·         Email

·         Contact Phone 1 (Please indicate if it is a work, home, or cell phone)*

·         Contact Phone 2 (Please indicate if it is a work, home, or cell phone)*

·         How late to call on each of the phones*

* Note: Most correspondence for this event will take place via email. The phone numbers are being collected in order to notify you of any last minute changes (i.e., cancellation) to the event.

Good luck and hopefully I will see some of you at this event. As I said, if you cannot participate in this one, stay tuned because other registrations are going to open up very soon.

It has been only a short time and we have over 100 people that have registered for the Elk Trapping event. As of right now, this is much more than we will be able to accomodate. So what does this mean for you?

First, I will be working with the biologists to see if we can add some additional dates. This way, we can take more people. We did this for the crayfish event during the summer.

Second, once the date (or dates) are established, we will go down the list in order of registration. Each person will have the oppportunity to confirm their participation. Once we have our full list, we will inform all those who registered about their acceptance or not.

Third, because of the above circumstances, if you have not registered but are interested in participating, I encourage you to still do so. Although it is unlikely that we will be able to accomodate all, there is always a chance, particularly if people cancel.

Check back for more details.

ELK TRAPPING

• Location: South of Flagstaff (likely meeting at the AZ Game and Fish Flagstaff Office)
• Date: Sometime during the first two weeks in December.
• Time: Early morning meet time (probably 6am)
• Who can participate: Homeschool families are encouraged to participate. We do ask that all participants are at least 7 years old and do not require a car seat.
• Information: We have been radio collaring a number of elk along I-17 in order to track their movements through and around this major highway. During this event, we will (hopefully) find an elk in one of our traps. This elk will then be collared and released for use in this research study. It should be noted that we are dealing with wildlife. There is a chance we will NOT catch any elk. However, if we do, you will get an up close view of this majestic animal and see first-hand what our researchers do once an animal is trapped, in order to reduce or eliminate injury to the animal or the biologists involved.
• Cost to participate: Absolutely free!!

Unfortunately, this is all we know right now. As the date (and other details) get set, we will update the information. If you are interested, it is recommended that you register now. We will likely have people on a waiting list. As people cancel, we can add others in.

How to register: Complete the form at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pixviqYWWomWkOhcwXJQTJw. Once more details are determined, you will receive more information.

Wow, what a night we had! Not only was it a ton of fun, but we learned a lot as well.

First, a quick recap of the logistics. On July 22, about 7 homeschool participants (parents and children) joined the Department for a long night of driving the remote roads outside Wickenburg in search of reptiles and other animals that might cross our path. Not only were we joined by Randy Babb, a great biologist and educator with the Department, but we were lucky enough to have Tom Brennan, co-author of A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona, as well. And he even signed copies of his book!

Unfortunately, our first lesson was not fun. In fact, it was tragic. We learned to be incredibly flexible with the timing of these programs, particularly when you are dealing with traffic. Our main route out to Wickenburg (the Carefree Highway) was blocked all night due to a triple fatal accident. Humbling!

In the course of our detour, we learned our second lesson…biologists are great in the field, but they can’t necessarily find their way in the city! Numerous wrong turns and dead ends delayed us even further.

But finally, around 8:30pm we got to the remote stretch of Vulture Mine Road, outside of Wickenburg. Our luck immediately changed. Barely outside the town, we came across a HUGE Sonoran Desert Toad just sitting on the side of the road. Also known as the Colorado River Toad, it is the largest toad found in the country, growing up to 7 inches! Like most toads, it secretes a toxin that can be dangerous to dogs and children.

A short drive down the road we found our next specimen…a juvenile Mohave rattlesnake.  Widely considered to be one of the most aggressive and dangerous rattlesnakes in Arizona, this snake is often confused with the western diamondback. Interestingly, the potency of the venom varies around the state. Check out how well this snake blends in with the desert in the picture!

Next, we stopped to observe a male tarantula. How did we know it was a male? Because they are the ones that leave the nest in search of a mate. Sadly, we were probably seeing this one at the end of its life. Males will begin their search for a mate around 5 years old and will likely not survive another year. Females, on the other hand , may live 4 times longer!! Randy informed us that prehistoric specimens of species have been found that were the size of a basketball. Can you imagine? Anyone have arachnophobia? Randy also turned the animal over to allow us to see its long fangs.

I was in the second car. At the next stop, I saw the lead car stop and a couple of the children fling the door open and jump out. They were running after another animal. Once we stopped and caught up with them, we discovered that they had found a western banded gecko. These are native to this area. Unlike the non-native Mediterranean House geckos, these ones can NOT climb walls. They do not have the toe pads that most of us associate with geckos seen around our houses.

Back in the car for another short drive. This time we came across what I think is one of the coolest animals in the desert…a Couch’s spadefoot toad. These animals have adapted so well to the harsh conditions of the desert. Where most frogs or toads may take months or years to move from egg to tadpole to adult, spadefoot toads can go through their entire metamorphosis in days, if necessary. This is because they reproduce in the small, ephemeral ponds (yeah, look that one up) that are created during the monsoon storms.  The pond may only exist for a few days or weeks before drying up. If the animals are to survive, they have to become toads before that happens. Once they are adult, they can burrow into the ground using a small spade-like projection on their foot (hence their name), and remain there for over a year. How cool is that?!

Cruising down the road with the windows down, we were enjoying the night air. Suddenly we heard a call off on the side. Since we haven’t quite figured out how to use the car-to-car radios in our vehicle, we couldn’t get in touch with the lead car. Oh well. We weren’t going to miss this opportunity. We stopped and turned the car around so we could flash the lights into the desert. The calls continued. Sam, our resident birder, knew instantly what it was. The calls of a barn owl. We search and searched the trees on the side of the road with no luck. So we decided to get out of the car. After a few steps, two barn owls let the branched and flew away. No chance for pictures, but a great experience anyway. Click on the following link to get an idea of the sounds we were hearing: Barn Owl Calling

Now it was time to catch up to Randy and the lead car. Just over a small hill, we saw them stopped and surrounding something. Once we got within range, we learned that they had found a red-spotted toad. Now I have seen many of these before, particularly during my crayfish captures at Spur Cross and Seven Springs. But this one was larger, and better fed! I found out that they can actually get to be about 3 inches long. Randy also informed us that this was a male. Wow, it must be “Guy’s Night Out.” Anyway, apparently, males are the only ones that call, and this one was croaking like crazy.

During the course of this adventure, I was experimenting with our new camera. Check out the cool lighting effect with this same toad. Kinda eerie, huh? Is that light coming from the toad itself? Ahhhhhhh! Nope, just the effect of extended shutter time and Randy’s flashlight.

Continuing on, we saw the impact that roads and human encroachment can have on wildlife. In short order, we found 2 dead zebratail lizards and a dead pocket mouse. Eventually, we would find another dead pocket mouse, a dead regal horned lizard, and even a dead deer. All of these animals had been struck by cars. Unfortunately, this is the reality. Many, many animals are killed accidentally in vehicle collisions. At one of our stops, we were talking to some hobbyists who were out for the same reason. They claimed that some research indicates that populations of rattlesnakes along highways may be decreased by as much as 60%. I haven’t been able to confirm that number. It seems like this might be a great research project for any aspiring wildlife biologists out there…

At least we could learn a little about these animals, so their death wasn’t in vain. Randy showed us the pockets found inside the cheeks of the mouse which are used to store seeds.

 Anyway, let’s bring it back to the living. As you can see already, this adventure led us to so much more than just reptiles. Tarantulas, owls, and our next critter showcase the nocturnal diversity found in Arizona.

It looked like a little stick in the road, but leave it to the Randy’s sharp eyes to see so much more. This little millipede was crossing the road. These animals are quite common in the desert, yet rarely seen because they live in the soil and come out at night. While centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, millipedes have two pairs. In addition, the legs of millipedes are usually underneath their body while centipedes stick out from the side. Millipedes are NOT venomous and allowed for a great, up-close experience. They almost feel like velcro when you peel them off of your arm!

Eventually, the evening had to come to an end. But we were still miles (and hours) from the office. We decided to turn around and head back down the road we had just come. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as fruitful as the journey out. But we did get one unusual find..a speckled rattlesnake. One of the 13 species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona, and our second species of the night.  Again, notice how it blends in so well with the desert environment. The band-like blotches near the tail are a good identifier of this species.

If you ask some biologists, it was a pretty calm night for animals. However, by my count, we saw quite a few, and it was a great sample of Arizona’s diversity. But what was your take? Again, I ask you to submit your own comments.

I look forward to hearing from you.