Check out this really cool video about Tardigrades…the only creature on Earth that is able to survive in the vacuum of space (without a space suit)! VERY COOL!
Knowing that these little critters exist opens up a universe of possibilities if you put on your thinking caps and open your mind…think about it.
Recently Earthshine Nature Programs Executive Director Steve O’Neil was awarded a very special award known as the “Turtle of Change”
This award is a small bronze statue of a sea turtle.
It is special because it is the only one in the USA and it is traveling all over the world visiting people who are working to make a good and lasting change in the community or the planet.
The turtle called “Turtle Grupo Tortugero” was presented to Steve by the previous recipient of the turtle Alan Cameron. Alan is also known as “The Salamander Whisperer” because of his ability to find endangered Green Salamanders where no one else can find them. Alan has been volunteering with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission for many years and has helped them find thousands of Green Salamander sites all over WNC.
Alan presents Steve with the Turtle of Change.
Steve wrote the following in the Blue Turtle blog:
After receiving Turtle Grupo Tortugero (TSN004) first I took it to meet the education and turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge and Nature Center (see last photo). I found four of the turtles who were interested in meeting the turtle–the other seven did not want to have their photo placed on the internet 🙂
Three of the Earthshine turtles are Eastern Box Turtles and one is a Redfoot Tortoise. All of our turtles have either lost their homes due to development, are ex-pets or were badly injured due to unfortunate meetings with vehicles, lawn mowers or dogs. Tripod–on the bottom left–is our mascot. She lost her right rear leg after she was hit by a car in 2007. The turtle to Tripod’s left is Lucky. She was also hit by a car and suffered severe trauma to her left rear leg and shell but she has recovered nicely. The turtle to Lucky’s left is Crash. She was hit by a car and had such severe injuries that I did not think she would survive. After a visit to our veterinarian Dr. Coleman, I patched her up with epoxy, gave her some antibiotic injections and fed her loads of box turtle favorites and she has made a full recovery! The final turtle is Charlie. I found her at a reptile show and felt sorry for her so I gave her a great home at our nature center. Sadly, all of the turtles at Earthshine Lodge and Nature Center cannot be released due to their circumstances. They are however wonderful education animals that help teach people about the wonder and beauty of nature and why animals like the Eastern box turtle need understanding and protection.
After visiting with the turtles at Earthshine Lodge the Turtle of Change traveled with me to a local Veterinary Clinic–Sweeten Creek Animal and Bird Hospital–where I met up with Dr. Lee Bolt and Dr. Ron Davis to assist with the radio transmitter implantation surgery on a Timber Rattlesnake. Take a look at the photo of the turtle on the operating table with the rattlesnake, Dr. Davis (in yellow) and Dr. Bolt. The surgery went flawlessly and the snake has recovered and has been released back into the wild. Dr. Davis will track the snakes movements over the next few years in order to learn as much as possible about the life of the Timber Rattlesnake. The knowledge he gains will be imparted to his students who will become future wildlife biologists, conservationists and naturalists.
The next stop for the turtle was at a remote rock outcrop known as the “Secret Place” on the side of a mountain near Brevard, NC. USA. This rock shelter was used by the Native Americans as evidenced by the petroglyphs on top of the rock. I teamed up with my friend (and didgeridoo virtuoso) John Vorus to play didgeridoo (yidaki) over the turtle in this amazing power place. We first played our yidaki to the turtle on top of the rock then moved down under to the rock shelter and recorded a video. Take a look at the photo on top of the rock and video of our time at “The Secret Place.” View the short video of our concert for the turtle of change here.
The final stop for the turtle (so far) was when it followed me to the office of Dr. Coleman DVM. Dr. Coleman is a wonderful veterinarian and lover of all wildlife and my wildlife vet. I snapped the photograph of Dr. Coleman and the brass turtle while he was treating a wild box turtle. Thank you Dr. Coleman for all that you to for wildlife and for Earthshine Nature Programs!
THANK YOU Alan Cameron for presenting me with this great honor.
View the Turtles of Change website to learn more.
More to come!
Visit Earthshine Nature Programs at: www.earthshinenature.com
Visit John Vorus at www.johnvorus.com
A bunch of great photos from the Summer of 2012 with Earthshine Nature Programs and Earthshine Mountain Lodge. Thank you all for staying with us, please come back next year and tell all your friends about Earthshine and Earthshine Nature.
Enjoy!
Both Zoe and Utsanati are in remote locations far from human habitation and activity areas. However, if you are lucky enough to share habitat with them and you decide to take a walk to the waterfall–keep your eyes open for Zoe. Her last location on 8-15-12 was a few hundred yards NW of the waterfall at the edge of a clearing near a trail. I found her sheltering under a jumble of logs and limbs in an exact same location where I had founder her earlier in the summer. This just shows that the Timber rattlesnake, like the Eastern box turtle, knows exactly where they are in their environment–and they do not need a GPS to navigate.
Take a look at a photo of Zoe before she moved to the waterfall location. Notice the small inch-worm on her face. Photo by Steve Atkins.
Here’s is another photo of Zoe–this time she has a spider on her head. Photo by Steve Atkins.
Me and Zoe–can you find her? Photo by Steve Atkins.
I found Utsanati sheltering under some thick vegetation in the middle of the power line access-way. He was pre-molt as evidenced by his opaque eyes. He was uncomfortable with my presence and moved off to hide under a nearby log.
Take a look at this photo of Utsanati. The opaqueness of his eyes indicate that he will be shedding soon. The bright spot on his head is a droplet of water reflecting the flash.
For all the details of this snake hunt take a look at the video below. This video covers three locate days: 8-10, 8-15 and 8-19.
I am not paid to do this research–this is a volunteer project that I am undertaking to learn all that I can about these amazing animals to further educate you about their beauty, uniqueness and value to a healthy forest ecosystem. If you would like to support the Snake Tracks Timber Rattlesnake wildlife conservation, research, and education project and/or Earthshine Nature Programs please feel free to donate using this link. Receipts available upon request. THANK YOU!!
Utsanati’s field update for 8-3-12.
Sorry it is late–technical difficulties again.
Utsanati resting on the leaf litter.
Today I found Utsanati deep in the forest around 110 feet NE from his last location in the power line access-way.
In this special tracking video–the longest I have ever produced–I show you exactly what I do–mostly uncut–for an entire Timber rattlesnake radio tracking excursion.
Seen in this video:
lots of shots of walking through the woods.
lots of plants.
lots of shots of me eating wild blueberries (aka: buck berries).
lots of sounds of me panting, grunting and groaning as I climb up steep slopes and over logs.
the sound of thunder in the distance.
more vision of me walking through thick bushes and vegetation.
lots of shots of Utsanati the Timber rattlesnake resting on the leaf litter.
shots of me collecting data with my instruments.
commentary by me on the importance of preserving snakes.
an unexpected encounter with other humans in the forest.
more shots of me walking through thick vegetation.
a bit more of commentary by me on the importance of preserving snakes.
the end.
If you are truly interested in learning what I do on a snake hunt then this video is for you. If you are looking for adventure, excitement (a Jedi craves not these things:-) and a grand musical soundtrack then look for another video because you will not find it here. This is just the facts of what I do to help conserve, preserve and understand the beautiful Timber rattlesnake.
Enjoy.
Video and editing by Steve O’Neil
Music by The Steep Canyon Rangers used with written permission. http://www.steepcanyon.com
Special thanks to Dan Schreiman for the use of the GoPro camera.
A couple of days ago I hiked to a remote waterfall in the middle of Zoe the Timber rattlesnake’s habitat for a unique photo shoot.
My goal was to get a photo of me playing my didgeridoo under the waterfall. Accompanying me was my friend Steve Atkins. Steve is an outstanding nature photographer and he was able to take several amazing photos of me sitting in the cool waterfall playing my didgeridoo. The water felt great and it was really hard to hold the didge up in the current and breathe under the column of pounding water–but it was sooo worth it. It was a wonderful experience and now I want to play my didge in as many waterfalls as possible. But that is another story for a different day.
The reason I wanted to get the photo is because I wanted to enter a unique photo in an online photo competition to win a $1500 didgeridoo from Didgeridoo Breath in Perth Australia.
Below is a sampling of Steve’s great photos.
As you can see Steve took many great photos but below is the photo I chose as my entry in the contest.
Now, I would like to ask you to please help me win the contest. It will only take a few minuets of your time and it is totally free. If you are on Facebook simply go to this page , click on my photo, then click the “like” button. If I receive the most likes by September 14, I will win the didgeridoo! It is that simple.
If you are not on Facebook but would still like to help me win the didgeridoo then please email this information to any of your friends that are on Facebook and ask them to like my photo.
Every little bit helps.
If you would like to help me receive even more likes after you like my photo please feel free to post it on your own wall and/or pass the competition link and this description on to all your friends and colleagues and ask them to like the photo as well.
I greatly appreciate the likes on my personal page but please be sure to click on the pic and “like” the photo on the competition page–that is where it counts toward me winning the didge.
If for some reason the links do not work then do a search on Facebook for the “Didgeridoo Breath” page and you can find the “2012 Didgeridoo Breath Tshirt Photo Competition” link on their wall and get to it from there.
If you help me win this didge I will use it in future nature/music/cultural/wildlife education and conservation programs at Earthshine Nature Programs, Earthshine Mountain Lodge, schools, camps, librarys and beyond!
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Take a look at this short video of our photo shoot at the waterfall. It is really very hard to play a didgeridoo while under a waterfall:-)
Thank you all!!
Thank you STEVE ATKINS for the great photos!
Snake Tracks Field Report for Zoe 8-3-12
I apologize that this post is a bit late. Again this was due to technical difficulties beyond my control (sick modem).
Due to the length of both Zoe and Utsanati’s locates and videos on this locate day I will be posting their locates separately.
On August 03 I started my snake hunt near Zoe’s last location in the field. Her signal showed me that she had seemed to have moved up above the waterfall so I decided to drive around the mountain and drop in from the top. I thought that this route would be easier–boy was I ever wrong. After arriving near the top of the mountain and realizing that I had no signal I decided that I would hike down to the waterfall and find her signal on the way down. I started on what was a well groomed trail but it quickly closed in and disappeared entirely giving way to thick laurels and chin high shrubs–thank goodness for snake chaps.
After awhile I came out on the old trail to the falls. It was easy going and after awhile I arrived near the top of the falls where I explored the rock outcrops and rock shelter before making my way to the bottom of the falls. After cooling off in the creek I again picked up Zoe’s signal and headed off toward her location. I was a bit miffed at myself because her signal led me once again to the field–where I had just located her signal about an hour before. Next time I will start from her last location as I usually do.
I followed her signal through the field, past the large maples on the hill, and into my friends Dave and Christina’s yard! Zoe’s signal put her in a deep gully just below a trail. I was unable to physically access her location due to the steepness of the slope and the obvious danger of falling on a rattlesnake! I needed to collect my data so Dave and I rigged a rope to a large tree and I used it to lower myself down the steep embankment to get closer to Zoe.
I found her coiled on the surface in a resting coil. She looked very healthy and never moved or rattled despite the fact that three noisy humans were only a few feet away.
It is very interesting to note that Zoe has visited Dave and Christina before! About a year ago Christina took a video of Zoe only about 15 feet from where I found her today. This just shows that Timber rattlesnakes, like box turtles, are creatures of habit and they follow the same paths year after year!
I collected my data, climbed back up the mountain and said goodbye to Zoe the Timber rattlesnake.
Zoe’s Danger Level is a 5 due to her close proximity to human habitation.
I again located Zoe on 8-8-12 and she was in the same position as on 8-3-12.
For all the details of this snake hunt take a look at the video below. Keep in mind that it is the extended version of my trek. I wanted to show you some of what it takes to keep track of these snakes in their native habitat. Also keep in mind that I am not paid to do this research–this is a volunteer project that I am undertaking to learn all that I can about these amazing animals and to further educate you about their beauty, uniqueness and value to a healthy forest ecosystem.
Watch the video below for details and vision of the last locate day for Zoe.
If you would like to support the Snake Tracks Timber Rattlesnake wildlife conservation, research, and education project and/or Earthshine Nature Programs please feel free to donate using this link. Receipts available upon request. THANK YOU!!
A few weeks ago a mother Opossum was separated from two of her babies at Camp Illahee in Brevard, NC. Vincent, the maintenance director of the camp, found the babies in two different trees so he rescued them and gave them to Chub took them to the nature center and placed them in warm cage. Vincent then set a live trap for the mother Opossum and caught her overnight. The next morning when I arrived at the nature center I found the mother and babies waiting to be reunited. Watch the video for what happened next!
Earthshine Nature Programs is a not for profit 501c3. We work to educate you about the beauty, wonder and interconnectedness of all things–especially the more misunderstood creatures such as snakes, salamanders and Opossums. Let us come to you and your class, group or party and introduce you to our amazing animals. We are also licensed wildlife rehabilitators that specialize in reptiles and opossums. We are a 100% volunteer operated organization that is totally funded by donations from people just like you. If you would like to donate to our cause please do so using this link. Receipts available upon request. THANK YOU!!
Please watch this video and then you decide if rattlesnakes are “the most dangerous animal in the world” as the promoters of Rattlesnake Roundups and Animal Planet states that they are.
Rattlesnakes are not the evil, vicious killing machines that the Roundups, TV shows and movies make them out to be. They just want to be left alone so they can live and do their part in rodent control.
Please do all that you can to end the senseless killing of rattlesnakes.
If you are on Facebook please consider joining the Rise Against Rattlesnake Roundups group to help spread the word against Rattlesnake Roundups.
I apologize that this post is a bit late. This was due to technical difficulties beyond my control. Unfortunately, due to these issues I have not been able to locate Utsanati and Zoe as often as I would have liked over the last few weeks.
On July 20th I started my snake hunt rather late in the day. Finding Zoe was a bit difficult because of a bouncing transmitter signal. I finally located her only a few hundred feet to the southeast from the collapsed barn where I had found her sheltering on the previous locate day. She was coiled in a resting coil under a small Mountain Laurel shrub at the edge of the forest/field. She looked very plump. It is possible that she had recently eaten a large meal but also possible that she is gravid (pregnant). Only time will tell.
I then drove around the mountain to look for Utsanati. When I arrived at my parking spot the clouds opened up and the poured the rain for about 15 minuets while I waited it out. By the time the rain ended it was getting quite dark but I needed to find Utsanati so I headed into the dark, wet forest. Utsanati’s signal was leading me toward his last winter’s hibernation site…but he was not there. I trekked over the steep north side of the mountain through dense rain-soaked undergrowth and slick moss covered logs. Finally, I located Utsanati in the power-line access way that bisects the north slope. He was coiled under some low growing vegetation in a resting coil. He had moved a great distance over the last few days and seemed to be doing well. I believe that he was in the access-way because it offers plenty of sun during the day for thermo-regulation and excellent cover for reptiles and rodents because of the piles of cut limbs and saplings left by the power companies pruning foray back in the spring.
After locating Utsanati I had an interesting trip up the mountain through the saturated dark forest and when I finally arrived back at my truck it was close to 10pm and I was exhausted but glad to know that both snakes were doing well.
For all the details of this snake hunt take a look at the video below. Keep in mind that it is the extended version of my trek. I wanted to show you some of what it takes to keep track of these snakes in their native habitat. Also keep in mind that I am not paid to do this research–this is a volunteer project that I am undertaking to learn all that I can about these amazing animals and to further educate you about their beauty, uniqueness and value to a healthy forest ecosystem.
Watch the video below for details and vision of the last locate day for Zoe and Utsanati.
If you would like to support the Snake Tracks Timber Rattlesnake wildlife conservation, research, and education project and/or Earthshine Nature Programs please feel free to donate using this link. Receipts available upon request. THANK YOU!!
Earthshine Nature 