Class at the Zoo

I helped with a class at the Zoo today.  This was a much better behaved group of 4th graders than I had a couple of weeks ago.  Sure, they were rowdy at times, but they were controllable, and quieted down when instructed to do so, unlike the other class.

 I handled a box turtle and a Tegu.  The picture at left is one I got off the computer and is not anyone at the Zoo, but I wanted a picture with people in it so that you can see the size of this creature.  The one I handled today was a little smaller, but the Tegu is one of the world's largest lizards.  It is from South America and 'tegu' is an Argentine word for 'lizard'.  He was a hand full at times, but stayed fairly still when I took him around for the kids to touch.

I wanted to show this picture because I think one of the most fascinating things about this lizard is the tongue.  He has a very large, long  forked pink tongue that he is constantly sticking out to 'smell around'.  And, this close-up gives you a good look at how colorful he is and how his scaled skin looks like it's beaded.  I haven't researched this, but I would imagine because of his pretty skin he was used for many purses, shoes, and belts. 

I can't believe I've already gotten close to 60 hours volunteer time in since I became an official Docent the first of December.  And this is the slow time of year.  I don't think I'll sign up for much coming up.  I'm already signed up for an outreach this month and one in March.  With the class I'm attending in a couple of weeks on the Dinosaurs that we'll have again this summer and those two outreaches I'll be close to 70 hours by the end of March.