Taking Down the Fence

Today the 20th was the final day of our Herpetology project for the year. This means we had to take down the fence of the pitfall traps. The process began by pulling out each pipe. After we pulled out the pipe we laid the fence flat on the ground. Frankie had to pull the fence as far as it could go as well as making it straight so that we could then fold it. We had to make sure that when we folded it, it would stay tight because other wise it would not fit in the trash bag. The way we made sure the fence stayed tight was by holding each end and then lifting it up and folding it over the next section. Once the fence was folded we put it into trash bags.
We used three trash bags on the larger fence and two on the smaller one. Once the fence was in the bag we began to pull the buckets out of the ground. We finally filled in the holes with the dirt around the hole. Finally we carried in all the fences and buckets and shovels. We put them into the back storage room in G209 thus ending the Herpetology 2013 project.

TV Show Troubles

On Tuesday the 18th we filmed our live TV show so that it could be replayed on Hud-TV over the summer. I worked on all the technical stuff such as the green screen, sound, and lighting. We ran into multiple problems along the way. The lighting was spotty that day which caused the green screen to leave a shadow of the presenters on the program. I tried to fix the lighting as much as I could but there was still a slight shadow. We decided to that we would live with the shadow because that was not the important part of the TV-Show. The important part was informing viewers of our project and about the animals we found during the project. The show went on without any other problems and was a big success. I later learned that all I had to do to fix the lighting was turn down a certain setting which would of turned on the light. Despite the shadow the presentation went well. It was very informative and educational so that people will know more about the animals in our ecosystem in the future.

Final Presentation

On Tuedsay June 18, 2013 we concluded our Herpetology 2013 project by making a presentation using the media room; However this was not a simple task. As a group, we had to compile all the data, pictures and knowledge that we picked up over the course of this project. We then took this information and put it into a PowerPoint which touched upon all aspects of the herpetology project including its purpose, history, and parts. Once we had finished our PowerPoint we had our dress rehearsal day. After some technical difficulties in the media room, we had to return to S203 where we practiced our presentation until it moved smoothly. We fixed our PowerPoint as needed, then on Tuesday, headed down to the media room. Before we could start our presentation, Bobby, our media man had to prepare the equipment so that our PowerPoint would be shown behind us. After about 10 minutes of tinkering, and some outside help, we were finally able to do our presentation, and it went extremely well. Everyone knew they're slides, and how to transition between topics and groups. This began the conclusion of our Herpetology project as our school year winds down to its final days.

Turtle and Frog in Captivity

      On Wednesday, June 5th, we found a baby snapping turtle. We decided to keep the snapping turtle in the classroom, so we could show it to the eighth graders, who we wanted to get interested and educated in herpetology. Th first night, the snapping turtle, who was named Kraken, was kept in bucket. The next day, the turtle was looking healthy, and we tried to feed it a piece of a hot dog. The snapping turtle, who should have eaten anything we fed it, because that is what they do, did not bite. That same day, Lucas caught a large bullfrog, who was designated the name Toro. We tried to put Toro and Kracken in separate fish aquariums, which worked for Kraken. The bullfrog, however, wasted all of his energy on getting out of the fish tank, so we had to put him in a less transparent tank. We put him in a giant trash bucket with some water for him to sit in and a rock so he could get out of the water once in a while. We threw about ten crickets into the frog's tank and a small fish. We also put several fish and a few crickets into the Kracken's tank. The next day, all of the crickets and fish were eaten by the bull frog and turtle. Every day that we held the animals, we had to change the water, which smelled of dead crickets, fish and turtle and frog feces. When we left the the animals at school for the weekend, we had to leave a lot of crickets and fish in their tanks, enough to last them three days. When we came back on Monday the frog most of the crickets and fish were gone and the bullfrog looked good. The turtle, however, looked a little unhealthy. Sadly, we had to release the Kracken into the wild. We put him on the side of a pond, and he quickly swam away, never to be seen again. We kept Toro until that Wednesday to so we could show him to the eighth graders. We found ten green frogs the day before the presentation which we could also show the eighth graders. Following the presentation, we released all of the animals into the natural habitats, where they could live and reproduce. After the presentation to the eighth graders, there has been no business in the S203 animal hotel.

This is Toro, the bullfrog we found.

A Digital Struggle

There comes a time in every adventures life where the must settle down and write about his finding. Lest he be forgotten to the ever eroding sands of time. This is why we have decided to write this blog. The importance of our finding is unmatched by any other research currently going on, and to let this info fall into the void of the forgotten would be a sin in it of itself. Here we record the history of the #2013 HHS Herpetology Project and its classified findings. This is the story of the blood, sweat, and tears the members put into recording the vital information obtained from this project.

We have chosen blogger as our means of recording the main events of our mission due to its easy accessibility and the number of people we can reach by making use of the internet. Just in case of a cataclysmic event and we lose the internet, we have also been keeping a more detailed log of our daily activities in a journal. There is a variety of information in there because each member took turns writing the passages, so you can see the different opinions of the each of the highly trained operatives who took part in this operation. If you are reading this and you can find that journal, you will find the greatest treasure ever to be bestowed upon mankind, other than El Dorado.






































This treasure is know as knowledge...knowledge about turtles!

Proper Amphibian Wrangling

As it has been pointed out by my fellow classmate, Franky, I am the "Resident Woodsman" of our crew. I have been nicknamed such because I am not afraid to get down and dirty and handle all the critters we catch. I have grown up and still live right next to a swamp. I spent many of my days as a child catching frogs and turtles near my house, so I suppose one could say I have experience. The most important thing to remember when handling a frog or a turtle is that you are in charge and that unless you throw it on the ground or squeeze it ridiculously hard it is going to be fine. Confidence is key in critter wrangling, as it is in life. When there is a frog on the ground the first thing you should do is cover its eyes with one hand a hold its head, pressing down a little to keep it in place. Immediately after move you hand to get a firm grasp around the body so that it cannot move, but not too tight so that it slips out of your hand or get hurt.

Grabbing the Legs

As quickly as you can get a grip on the legs by wrapping your thumb and pointer finger around the waist of the frog and then using the rest of you fingers to stretch out and grasp the legs firmly. Get a good grip, you aren't going to hurt them. This may take a few tries, they are tricky creatures. Once you have one caught, try petting its stomach with your finger, it calms most frogs down relatively well. Good luck wranglers!!

A Tamed Beast, Named Toro

Woodchuck Incident

A dead Woodchuck was found in the back fields of Hudson High School by the loading dock on the morning of Tuesday May 28, 2013 at roughly 7:30 AM. The body was discovered hidden in the grass by Mr. Antunes while he was on his morning commute to work, along with 2 sets of prints shown in the pictures

below. The prints were isolated to a small area because of a lack of dirt, but they tell the tale of a struggle. Investigators say that the woodchuck was surprised by the assailant and attempted to flee, but was quickly taken, likely by the neck and carried away. There are a few suspects presently, mainly a Coyote or a dog. Authority on the incident Mr. Cody Grimm believes that the crime was done by a large dog who got out of the house late at night during memorial day weekend. He says that because the woodchuck was not eaten, the dog was likely trying to play, and didn't realize that it had killed the woodchuck. The woodchuck has been identified, but its identity has not yet been released to protect the family of the individual. We will continue to report information as it comes in. From the herpetology news room, we thank you for tuning in.