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Posted by Kate on January 10, 2003 at 22:27:24:
In Reply to: NY Press: Without power, captive 'herp' succumbs to the cold posted by W von Papineäu on January 10, 2003 at 21:05:04:
I live in Ithaca. I've been worried about the power outages, but everything has been fine at my house. We did lose power, but only for about 15 minutes early one morning. It's a good reminder for all us northerners to keep back-up heating around in one form or another. Fortunately it seems like our power is back to normal for the time being.
:Dear Iggy-philes: The following was lateralled to me by Desiree Wong as part of the BaskingSpot.com news posting initiative.
:But, after reading it, it occurred to me that this item has farther reaching implications than just the one unfortunate turtle. Having gone through similar temperature trials during the big ice storm that hit both of our east coasts about 5 years ago; I thought the item an unfortunate reminder that we must have special arrangements in place for providing alterate heat in case of power loss for our cold-blooded friends. If I've overstepped myself by posting a turtle item here, please forgive the intrusion. Cheers, Wes
:ICATHA JOURNAL (New York) 10 January 03 Without power, captive turtle succumbs to the cold (Jennie Daley)
:Ithaca: Woody the wood turtle has become a casualty of the cold.
:Sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning the 41-year old turtle succumbed to extreme temperatures at the Cayuga Nature Center.
:"He will be sorely missed," reads a press release from the center.
:Woody joined the nature center's animal collection in 1988, following a history of human interaction.
:"Back in '66, Woody was collected as a pet in someone's backyard until they realized that he bites a lot. Then he was given to an elementary school as a classroom pet until they realized the same thing," said Ali Higgins, Animal Curator at the nature center.
:Upon his arrival at the nature center Woody began participating in numerous programs, including Pee Wees, Girl Scout outings, classroom visits and the adopt-a-wild-child program. Campers participating in Critter Camp also interacted with Woody and other animals as they took responsibility for cleaning and caring for them one week each summer.
:Friday night's power outage is cited as the cause of Woody's demise. As cold-blooded animals, Woody and other reptiles are susceptible to extreme changes in temperature. Without electricity, heating lamps normally regulating the animal cages lost power, causing temperatures to drop. None of the other seven reptiles or 11 snakes seem to have been affected.
:In anticipation of possible power outages in the future, the nature center has provided a gas-powered heater as a back-up in the room where the animals live.
:Woody was a wood turtle and the only example of the local species at the center. The wood turtle is an omnivore, eating meat whenever possible but also indulging in fruits and vegetables. In the wild they are found near rivers and streams, though they spend most of their time, when not hibernating, on land.
:Woody and his kind are a threatened species in New York but not listed as such in the state registry. Instead, they are listed as a game species with no open season. Higgins claims this is due to a sudden realization that the turtle's habitat was disappearing so quickly that researchers could not keep up. In need of a quick protective measure they categorized the turtles as a game animal.
:"The numbers were dropping so fast that they couldn't keep track of them," said Higgins.
:Other animals at the center are still available for viewing and live feeding demos are scheduled throughout the winter.
