Blog Archives

Wildly Successful: Thor’s Hero Shrew

7/28/2020

Written By: Jim Knox
Curator of Education at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

When I deliver presentations and the topic of discovery comes around, I invariably ask audiences “How many new species do you think we humans discover each year?”

It’s a simple question. Yet whether it’s an elementary school, a community library, or a research university, the answers are both surprisingly varied and similar.

Contemplating, the audiences respond cautiously. A timid “25”, a questioning “100”, even a bold “500” fall far short of the mark. Would you believe, on average, 20,000 new species are discovered each year? Please do, because it’s a figure that astounds me as well!

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Wildly Successful: The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab

7/27/2020

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Written By: Jim Knox
Curator of Education at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

My happiest memories are family memories. Among them, water seemed to be our family theme, and the beach was our special place. Whether walking the edge of the salt marsh at Sherwood Island, swimming in Cape Cod Bay or wading the tidal creeks on the Cape’s Atlantic side, my wife, kids and I explored together. Frequently accompanied by their cousins, they would engage in a morning or afternoon of scanning, searching, digging, scooping and catching.

Our rules were simple; empty shells, feathers and other natural items could be collected. Living creatures could be caught, briefly observed and gently released. This informal biological survey yielded amazing discoveries. Not a search would go by when the kids wouldn’t find a new variety of feather or shell, a new species of fish or a new sight concealed around the next bend of the salt marsh.

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