Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
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Blog

Member Spotlight: Charlotte D., Age 8

3/25/2021

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​We're very grateful to the many people who make up our Zoo community. Beyond our animals and staff, the Zoo family comprises volunteers, students who engage with us in Conservation Discovery Corps and Explorers, members, and many more who make the Zoo the vibrant place that it is.

We want to share some "Friends of the Zoo.” Today, meet Charlotte D., 8, of Westport. Charlotte and her family have been members of the Zoo since 2018. 

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Secrets of a New England Spring: Vernal Pools

3/18/2021

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While many of us are looking up and out, watching for trees and flowers to burst into bloom, Zoo Director Gregg Dancho is looking down. His gaze is on the here today-gone tomorrow vernal pools.
​Also known as ephemeral pools, vernal pools appear in woodlands for a brief period each spring. Formed during the fall and winter by snow and rain pooling in shallow depressions, by summer they’re gone. While they’re here in spring, however, they offer a critical nursery for many species: tree peepers, wood frogs, and fairy shrimp, among others.
 
When the weather is about fifty degrees at night and a light rain is falling, the spring migration begins. It’s a march of amphibians, from uplands to lowlands. A steady procession starts with spotted salamanders when ice still covers the pools’ surfaces, but then extends to red back salamanders, wood frogs and others. These are obligate vernal pool species, “obligated” to use a vernal pool for a part of their life cycle. 

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Wildly Successful: The Loggerhead Shrike

2/26/2021

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Written by: Jim Knox
Curator of Education at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Would you believe me if I told you there is a pretty little songbird–an occasional visitor to Connecticut–which preys upon snakes (more than twice its size) and fellow songbirds alike? I know…it sounds like a bad sci-fi movie. As outlandish as it may sound, it’s absolutely true. This animal causes us to rethink everything we thought we knew about wild creatures. Overlooked due its small size, and similar in appearance to a common native species, it is simultaneously baffling and amazing.

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Wildly Successful: The White-tailed Deer

1/29/2021

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Written by: Jim Knox
Curator of Education at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
When we think of November wildlife, our thoughts turn to the living icon of Thanksgiving, the Wild Turkey. Yet, the colonists’ first harvest feast celebrated in the new world likely included far more than the large game birds. Historians believe the first feast menu included: sea ducks, geese, clams, mussels, lobster, fruit, berries, squash and a gift of five deer from the Wampanoag Tribe.

 These deer would eventually come to be known as White-tailed Deer, for their signature white tail-flagging, displayed as a warning to other members of the herd when fleeing danger. They were a mainstay of the Native American diet and would enable the very survival of the new world’s European colonists.
​
The White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, was a welcome sight of sustenance for both the Massachusetts Bay and Virginia colonists. In fact, the deer could be found throughout the Atlantic seaboard and far inland, inhabiting diverse habitats from woodlands to palmetto groves. Like the North American Bison and Passenger Pigeon, it was the deer’s ubiquitous nature that led to its unregulated hunting. Reaching lengths of 7 feet and weights exceeding 200 pounds, the tan colored creature was a large and curious target.

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An Interview with Zoo Vet Tech Jenny Gordon

12/7/2020

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Written By: Lorraine Hillgen-Santa, Guest Writer
Zoo Member and Freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall
My name is Lorraine Hillgen-Santa, I am a freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford. I grew up being involved with Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, from having my birthday parties there to having the Zoo set up educational programs at my school. Since the age of four, I was extremely interested in becoming a Veterinarian. Education Curator Jim Knox and Zoo Director Gregg Dancho have always seen my love for animals and veterinary care and helped foster it from a very young age. In 2013, Mr. Dancho toured me through the Zoo’s Vet Hospital which showed me realistically what it was like to work with animals.

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Wildly Successful: Thor’s Hero Shrew

7/28/2020

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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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Beyond Memories & Making Donations

6/11/2020

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Written By: ​Melissa Sheketoff, Guest Writer
Host of WICC's Melissa in the Morning | Weekdays 5AM-10AM
I was born and raised in Fairfield County, so it's a no-brainer that the Beardsley Zoo was a staple in our household. When you are one of five kids, like me, it's hard to go anywhere where you can entertain everyone and it's not a far drive to endure a bunch of screaming kids in the back seat. The zoo was a perfect answer for my parents. I can recall many times pressing my face against barriers to get a closer look at the tigers or the many hot afternoons we opted to stay inside and hitch a non-stop ride on the merry go round. ​

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Wildly Successful: The Wood Frog

4/21/2020

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Written By: Jim Knox
Curator of Education at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
As winter’s icy silence reluctantly yields to spring’s chorus in southern New England, we recognize the choir by voice, if not by sight. Before the Red-winged Blackbirds fill the marsh with song, before even the famous Spring Peepers fill the air with their bell-like symphony, there is another call. Neither melodic nor recognizable to most, the duck-like quack we hear before the final ice has left the swamp, is that of Rana sylvatica, also known as the Wood Frog.

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Welcome to the Zoo's New Blog: The Hidden Zoo!

3/16/2020

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Dear friends,
 
For some time, plans have been in the works to launch a Zoo blog. In addition to all the ways we speak to you as a non-profit, Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited member facility, we want to share more in-depth stories from time to time. So, in addition to our monthly e-newsletters and social media accounts, we’re adding a new feature to our website.


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1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610
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​Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.

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© 2022 Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Press
  • Guest Info
    • Accessibility
    • Calendar
    • For Kids >
      • Coloring Pages
      • Zoo Patrol
      • Zoo Tots
    • Our Animals >
      • Eastern Rat Snake
    • Our Plants
    • Parents
    • Zoo Cams >
      • Outdoor Red Panda Cam
      • Indoor Red Panda Cam
      • Outdoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Indoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Otter Cam
    • Zoo Etiquette
    • Zoo Map
  • Membership
  • Education
    • Zoo to You!
    • Digital Programs
    • Kids & Teens
    • Field Trips
    • Cool Blue Bridgeport
    • Educational Resources
  • Support
    • Animal Sponsorship
    • Appeal
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Gift Guide
    • Honor & Remember
    • Monthly Giving
    • Naming Opportunities
    • Wish List
  • Birthdays, Private Events & Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Private Events
    • Weddings
    • Rates and Details
  • Volunteer
    • Interns
  • Buy Tickets