This keepsake tabloid will be devoted solely to this exhibit & The Anniston Museum of Natural History
A product of the Marketing Department of The
Anniston Star
2 Welcome to “Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly,” a complete traveling Reptile zoo, exhibiting some nineteen live, exotic species of reptiles from around the world. In this exhibit, visitors will learn the answers to questions like: • What is a reptile? • Why are reptiles important to the ecology of our planet? • What and how do reptiles eat? and much more. See these amazing animals up close, and challenge your preconceptions about these often misunderstood creatures.
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Exhibition Facts
Exhibition Highlights
1. Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly is the largest traveling reptile exhibition in the world. 2. Visitors get eyeball to eyeball with high-profile species of living reptiles from around the world including cobras, vipers, pythons, alligators, crocodiles, snapping turtles, gila monsters, a giant water monitor and many more. 3. Hands-on, minds-on adventure! Visitors can touch a live snake; “milk” venom from a model rattlesnake; open and close the jaws of a deadly Gaboon Viper; guess the length of giant snakes; listen to the grunts, hisses and bellows of crocodiles; test their reptile IQ with “Lizard Wizard” and “Turtle Trivia;” and learn how to tell alligators from crocodiles. 4. Reptile habitats are set into an exhibit island that provides a secure, climate-controlled service area where a professional keeper cares for the living collection. This exhibition is a fully equipped moveable reptile house. 5. The exhibition presents the four major groups of living reptiles; turtles, crocodilians, lizards and snakes. Each section answers fundamental questions, like “What is a turtle?” and explores the structure, habitats, and survival strategies of each group. Visitors leave with a broad understanding of how reptiles fit into the animal kingdom, their native habitats and the ecology upon which we all depend. 6 . The exhibition is full of spectacular close-up photographs by world-renowned wildlife photographers Joe and MaryAnn McDonald. These stunning images are used both in backlighted panels and in a twenty-minute multi-image show.
Curious Reptile Facts
• What is the difference between venom and poison? Venom is injected. In the case of snakes, venom passes through grooved or hollow fangs. Poison is either ingested or comes in contact with the skin. • What snake has the longest fangs? The fangs of the Gaboon Viper from Africa are the longest; up to two inches in length. • What is the longest snake? The Reticulated Python. One specimen was measured at 32 feet, 10 inches in length. • How many species of crocodilians are there? 22 or 23 depending on which authority you ask. • How many sounds can crocodilians make? Over 25 distinct sounds have been identified and each has a particular meaning. • How many venomous lizards are there? Two. The Gila Monster from the southwestern United States and the Beaded Lizard from Mexico. • What are the two main types of venom? Reptiles produce two main types of venom, and most have a combination of both. Neurotoxins attack the nervous system, and hemotoxins attack the circulatory system. • How is anti-venom produced? Small quantities of venom are injected into a horse or other animal over an extended period. Antibodies in the animal’s blood are then used to make snakebite serum. • How is snake venom potency measured? It is measured in “mouse units”. LD50 is the amount of venom (lethal dose) required to kill 50% of the individuals within a study group of mice. Each mouse is injected with exactly the same quantity of venom.
Exploding Myths
• Snakes are not slimy. • You can’t tell the age of a turtle by counting the rings on its shell. • Alligators and crocodile jaws do not hinge differently. • Rattlers do not always rattle before they strike. • Black snakes and rattlesnakes do not interbreed. • No snake has a stinger on its tail. All venomous snakes inject venom with fangs. • More people die from bee stings each year than snakebites. In the United States, about 8,000 people receive venomous snakebites. Only nine to fifteen of those people die. • When a snake molts, it does not “crawl out of its skin.” The molting process is more like a sock being pulled off. A snake sheds by rubbing its lips against a rough surface, like a tree or rock. This helps to start the epidermis or outer skin rolling backward. The snake then wriggles out of its epidermis by peeling it backward over its body, turning inside out as it goes.
• There is no surefire way to tell from a distance whether a snake is venomous. While it is true that vipers usually have triangular-shaped heads, this has little meaning in as much as some harmless snakes flatten their heads into the same shape when angry. The eastern coral snake has dangerous venom, but there are many harmless milk snakes that mimic its coloration. Fortunately only in the coral snake do the red bands touch the yellow bands. As the old adage says, “red touch yellow kill a fellow; red touch black, venom lack.” • There are no sea snakes in the Atlantic Ocean. About 50 species are found in the warm and temperate waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. • You can not determine the age of a rattlesnake by counting the number of segments on the rattle.
Did You Know?
• Snakes have no external ears and are deaf to airborne sounds for all practical purposes. The snake charmer does not charm the cobra with his flute music. The cobra sways to the motion of the snake charmer. • A Diamond-back Rattlesnake can strike the entire length of its body, but a half or two thirds of the length is more common. • All rattlesnakes in the United States give live birth. • Rattlesnakes vibrate their tales rapidly- approximately 50 cycles per second. It often sounds more like a hiss than rattles clicking. • Both the Gila Monster and the Beaded Lizard have extremely powerful jaws and can crush small prey animals. • The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard and males can exceed ten feet in length.
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ACTIVITY PAGE Reptile word search
ARVUPEQZMFQVLDRRBOEIUBSVE HLOPZSEVADFUWENEUEMSDILTL AGLTNWOKXQLMPNADWTSWCJEST FNBIIBQBAESIARASGVTRVYAAR F L Q B G N L F I N V B D D X I Y H I Y H L F E U AGUXWAOYTNSEDAXDQOYATATKT PSVRNHTMOXDKDJLEQPJWOCABD OLIIUGWORDTWLIDDWCAIHEIEE GFMACVBFREGSRIDGKTNTQMLCL UGOENAEAVSTTRKMAEOTJVHEKL UUZOGCGIQLNAOLKRHEJGMSDVE DLDFKOOPLBDAWRCTOBITSLGQH OJOONJLBSEVNPRYEMLTXEZEXS RRHPKMJERTDLOPQRCVOWSACTT EDCSJOGDRAWCDSISZWNCOEKCF TOHVEQLJVGOEHCXNRIGZIJOUO SJHUWNXRCDTOUAKAGALEFRWDS NQLPJGZBIAYWIRMKVTNERVTOL OROTAGILLANACIREMAUCBUBMQ MBNTFLEUFHWVJBEKLIORUKANW AJUNDGCKWGREENTREEPYTHONV LHHESIOTROTRATSWIMOZILPXA I D F B T A J J F P I L R A T T L E S N A K E O J GCKEZFGYPTNGHDPHLDPTXCMRO HDRPMSOLSWRPYHDGNQKWPSHEY
ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLE ASIAN COBRA BEARDED DRAGON GABOON VIPER GILA MONSTER GREEN TREE PYTHON LEAF TAILED GECKO RATTLESNAKE RED SIDED GARTER SNAKE RETICULATED PYTHON SALT WATER CROCODILE SOFT SHELLED TURTLE STAR TORTOISE TRI COLOR MILKSNAKE VEILED CHAMELEON WATER MONITOR
The Anniston 2009 Christmas Un-Parade on Super Saturday!
What?!
Yes, the floats won’t move, The spectators will. Five blocks of Noble filled with floats, choirs, Santa, pageant winners, and live performances. Special Features: Decorate-A-Tree ...kids can decorate a tree the old-fashioned way with popcorn, cranberries, and hand-made ornaments; PLUS, The Official Cafe where elected officials will serve snacks for their constituents.
November 21st, 5pm to 7:30 pm Limited Space: Call 236-0996 for more information, or visit www.spiritofanniston.org for applications. Sponsored on by Th The he Spiritt of Anniston & The Historic c Downtown D Anniston Annisto A on Business Association Ass
7 color these Reptiles
CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL McINTYRE Attorney at Law Former Assistant District Attorney for Calhoun-Cleburne Counties, is pleased to announce the opening of his office for
The General Practice of Law at 502 Church Avenue, SE Jacksonville, Alabama 36265
(256) 782-2080 “No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers�
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UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF SNAKES Snakes are one of the most despised creatures on our planet! Many people have an uncontrollable fear of them. These legless reptiles have gotten “bad press” throughout the ages as symbols of evil and falseness. But whatever the reason for their hatred, they occupy a valuable place in the fauna of our region and do us the favor of controlling cropdestroying rodents. Many myths about snakes have resulted from our lack of understanding of these mysterious and secretive animals. First of all snakes are not are slimy, but actually covered with dry scales. Light does sometimes reflect off their scales to give them an allusion of being wet. It is the amphibians such as frogs and salamanders that are the true slimy ones. In Alabama, there are about 40 species of snakes. Some are constrictors that squeeze their victim to death before they eat them. Others just grab their food with their mouths and begin swallowing it while it is still alive. Others utilize a poison to subdue their prey. Only 6 species in Alabama are “poisonous” and it is these species that tend to make people afraid of all snakes! Our venomous serpents in Alabama are the pygmy rattlesnake, timber (or canebrake) rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, copperhead, cottonmouth (or water moccasin) and coral snake. Many people wonder how to tell the difference between a venomous and a non- venomous snake. There are different ways of accomplishing this task. One way is to learn the banding patterns and color of these snakes. For example the timber rattlesnake has v-shaped bars (chevrons) on its back and the copperhead has hour-glass markings. The coral snake has a distinctive banding coloration. It has a red band adjacent to a yellow band followed by a black band. Many know the rhyme: red touch yellow will kill a fellow! You can also look for a broad, arrow-shaped head, which is characteristic of all of our venomous species except the coral snake. However, there are several non-venomous snakes that have arrow shaped heads, like many harmless water snakes. Statistically in Alabama, only 1 person every 10 years dies from a venomous snakebite and approximately 90% of these venomous bites results from a person picking the snake up. So do not pick up any snake; it’s as simple as that! Many more people die from bee stings than snakebites in the United States. You are actually more likely to be struck by lightning then get bitten by a venomous snake.
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Below are some other fallacies about snakes: 1. There is no such thing as a hoop snake. No snake can put its tail in its mouth and roll like a hula hoop after someone. 2. Snakes do not sting with their tongues. The flicking
tongue is for smelling and used to identify prey, enemies or other things in their environment. The same way a dog sniffs the air.
3. No snake has a poisonous stinger at the end of its tail. Though some snakes such as rainbow and mud snakes will
push the tip of their tails against you, but it doesn’t penetrate your skin.
4. Coachwhip snakes do not whip you with their tails.
The coachwhip is long and looks very similar to the western style whip, but they certainly won’t give you 40 lashes.
5. Milk snakes do not drink milk. They were given their name because some were found in barns with cows. All snakes are carnivores and only drink water.
6. Snakes cannot outrun a human, at least a healthy one. The fastest snake in Alabama is the black racer, which has a
top speed of less than 4 miles per hour. Humans usually can walk as fast a 5 mph.
7. They have backbones and many ribs attached to it;
up to 200 pairs! Snakes do seem to lack a spine because they are very flexible, kind of like a contortionist.
8. Snakes do not dig holes. They need legs to do that and
would tear up there tender noses if they tried. Snakes will burrow under loose substrates such as sand, but use another animal’s burrow or natural cavities for shelter.
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