“How many of you someone who has killed a snake?” Audience members young and old raise their hands, as they peer at the largest snake in North America. “Scales and Tails” presented by Justice and Seth, Wildlife Biology majors at Frostburg State, present various wildlife animals and their tales of how they ended up with them. At this year’s Appalachian Festival, there were several presentations dedicated to protecting the area’s natural resources.
As the audience members begin to take their seats, Seth pulls out a Great Harvest Owl, a top predator. Its large yellow eyes peer out at the audience, making everyone silent. It can only turn its head 270 degrees, and has large eyes because it is a nocturnal bird and needs to be able to see at night very well. It can live on average 13 years in the wild, and well into its 20s in captivity. The youngest members of the audience begin to get excited, as the owl begins to make sounds and tries to fly away. Justice begins the presentation by asking if anyone can identify what is wrong with the large owl. She tells the audience that this owl is missing a wing. A farmer shot it because it was stealing chickens to feed its family. The Great Harvest Owl is a protected animal, so this was illegal on the farmer’s part. The owl is then put on a post and hooked by a leash because the next owl they bring out is an ideal lunch for the Great Harvest Owl.
As Justice brings out the next owl, the Great Harvest Owl begins to get excited and begins to open its mouth, eager for the possible chance to get a hold of it. Justice asked the audience what type of owl they think the one in her hands is. The owl has brown and white feathers all over, with what appears to be bars on its stomach. That is how this owl got its name. The Barred Owl, also known as the Southern Gentleman for his mating calls, is a native to this area. Nocturnal with dark eyes, this bird is here all year long. It weighs two pounds, which is very surprising because it is very large, but Justice explains that it is all fluff, and without its feathers the Great Harvest Owl would be almost skeleton. This owl came to them when he was very young. He tried to fly too early, and fell out of his nest. Some hikers found him on the ground crying, so they took him back to their home in Baltimore County. They taught him how to tie his shoes, brush his teeth, as well as make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He lost his ability to survive in the wild. This bird made the audience members very curious.
“Do they hibernate?” asked one woman. “No they are wild animals and they stay in the trees and hunt what they can during the winter”, answered Justice. “What is his diet?” asked another audience member. “He has to hunt on his own. Rodents, moles, and all the things we don’t want in our homes. That is why owls are good. He is strictly a carnivore. They eat the bones, fur, everything. They then regurgitate this into pellets. They also eat crayfish. If they eat a lot of them, their feathers begin to turn pink, which is really cool,” answered Justice.
“Can you guys see his red eyes?” asks Seth. “If you want to impress someone one day, you can tell them that only males have red eyes,” replied Justice, in reference to the Eastern Box turtle she pulled out. She then goes on to tell his tale. And then they pull out what seems to be the best for last. A long black snake is pulled out of a bag, and you can hear the audience members respond, with the little boys in the front getting more excited by the minute. The Black Rat Snake is the largest snake in North America. It is nonvenomous, and their jaw is not attached so they can open it and fit the rats in it’s and swallow them whole. These snakes go back to the same den every year in order to mate. Because they do not know what den this snake came from, they cannot release him back into the wild. He would freeze to death. Seth then takes the snake around for the audience members to touch his skin. The tiniest audience members are so excited, as they run up to the snake, which seems to be choking Seth.
“Scales and Tails” was a great presentation, and all the audience members walked away enlightened about the wildlife in the area and the ways humans are hurting the animals.
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