At the Herring Festival at the Sawmill in Acushnet on 5/19/18, Rick Roth of Creature Teachers gets some help from a member of the audience to demonstrate the two ways snakes protect themselves from the wild. Both members of the corn snake family, the one on the left uses bright colors to trick predators into thinking it is poisonous, while the one on the right uses coloring that will help it blend into the woodland landscape. Photo by Beth David.
By Beth David, Editor
With an abbreviated schedule of events, and a few exhibits moved under the tent, the annual Herring Festival managed to delight and aw despite the rain and cold on Saturday, 5/19/19. Held at The Sawmill, a property owned and managed by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, the event included nature shows and music by the kid-friendly Toe Jam Puppet Band.
Cassie Lawson, who organized the event for the BBC, said the weather forced them to change around some programming and to cancel others. The canoe rides and fishing demonstration got cancelled, but the animal shows went on.
The birds of prey show was moved to 12:15, and the mammal show was held at 1:30 p.m.
Rick Roth of Creature Teachers, introduced the crowd to Holly the flying squirrel, Junior the groundhog, Magoo the skunk, Otis the porcupine, a gray fox, two milk snakes, a snapping turtle, and a box turtle.
The animals were either rescues, or had been bred in captivity, explained Mr. Roth. He told the crowd about each animal’s habitat, food preferences, importance to the eco-system and daily behavior.
Rick Roth from Creature Teachers explained habitat and behavior of a variety of animals at the annual Herring Festival on Saturday, 5/19/18, at the Sawmill in Acushnet. Magoo the skunk does not have the deep black of his wild counterparts, most skunks bred in captivity do not. Photo by Beth David.
Skunks, he said only spray when they really have to because it takes 24 hours for their glands to recharge. He showed two kinds of corn snake, one that uses camouflage for protection in the wild, and the other that uses bright colors to mimick being poisonous to scare off predators.
The flying squirrel, which actually glides and does not really fly, is important to the ecosystem because it eats seeds and spreads them around the forest.
“These are fascinating creatures,” said Mr. Roth, while the little critter “Holly” ran all around his body, in his shirt and up his arm.
Woodchucks, aka ground hogs, aka whistle pigs because of the whistling sound they make, are the nemesis of vegetable gardeners, he said, while holding Junior, a young ground hog. They are very quick, he said. They can climb, they can dig, they chew, and they WILL get in your garden if they are determined.
He cautioned against messing with snapping turtles, even if you see them crossing the road. The best thing is to stop traffic for them and let them go at their own pace. If you poke at them, they might put their heads in and not move, although they are not able to completely pull their heads in like other turtles. Worse, it might grab that stick with its mouth and not let go. They are very aggressive and not to be trifled with. Whatever you do, do not pull the tail, he said. You cold hurt it enough that it will no longer be able to survive in the wild.
Rick Roth from Creature Teachers explained habitat and behavior of a variety of animals at the annual Herring Festival on Saturday, 5/19/18, at the Sawmill in Acushnet. Otis the porcupine has long sharp claws that help him climb trees. Photo by Beth David.
Magoo the skunk and Otis the porcupine are also unlikely pets. Magoo’s color was not black and white, but more brown and white. Mr. Roth said that skunks bred in captivity generally lose the dark black color. He is named Magoo after the old cartoon character because they share poor eyesight. Otis turned out to be quite a loveable pet, rubbing against Mr. Roth as he spoke, and nibbling at his arm. As long as you don’t pe him the wrong way. Mr. Roth pointed out . Magoo’s sharp claws that help him climb trees.
Rick Roth from Creature Teachers explained habitat and behavior of a variety of animals at the annual Herring Festival on Saturday, 5/19/18, at the Sawmill in Acushnet. Holly the flying squirrel runs along Mr. Roth’s arm. Photo by Beth David.
To learn more about the animals, visit www.thecreatureteachers.com. To learn more about the BBC, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org
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