January - Lynches River County Park

E NVIRONMENTAL D ISCOVERY
C ENTER N EWS
Nature in the heart of Florence County
www.lynchesriverpark.com
Hibernation vs. Torpor: Do Bears Really Sleep in
the Woods?
As we head into the colder months, we
are beginning to see wildlife settling down
for their long winter’s nap. Bears, squirrels
and snakes all look for a nice quiet spot to
sleep away the winter and not wake up
until spring, right? Well, not exactly…
First, what is “true hibernation?” Hibernation is defined as a state of inactivity in
an animal brought about by shorter day
lengths, colder temperatures and limitations of food. This inactivity can last for
weeks or even months. Hibernation is a
survival strategy that can be very successful in environments in which food is scarce
or just difficult to find during a long, cold
winter season.
When an animal begins hibernation its
body temperature drops very low, almost
matching the outside temperature. The
animal’s heartbeat and breathing slow
down as well. Since they are using very
E NVIRONMENTAL
D ISCOVERY C ENTER
N EWS
J AN -M ARCH 2013
1110 Ben Gause
little energy during this time, the animal is
able to use the fat stored up during the
Road
fall, to live off of. If there is a shortage of Coward, SC 29530
food during the spring through fall
(843) 389-0550
months, the animal might not live until
spring when it can find food again.
Hours of
A very secure hibernating den is needOperation:
ed to protect the inactive animal because
it is quite defenseless when it is in a deep
hibernative state. Bears might find a
Tues - Sat
cave, while some turtles and frogs will
9:00am-5:00pm
burrow under the soil. Some sea turtles
can even hibernate under water for severSundays
al months at a time.
1:00pm-5:00pm
Other animals exhibit a less profound
inactive state called torpor. Torpor may
be very short-term (the cold hours of the
night, for example) and involves only a
slight drop of the animal's body temperature to no less than about 60 °F.
(Continued on page 2)
Upcoming Events
Go to www.lynchesriverpark.com for more information about all the exciting activities happening at the Park and to join our mailing list!
January 26-27 — Kids Jamboree at the Flor- Sat., February 2 — Bluebird Box Workshop
ence Civic Center
Learn about the issues facing bluebirds and then build
The EDC has been invited to
do live animal presentations at
this year’s Kids Jamboree
event at the Florence Civic
Center. We’ll offer five shows
throughout the weekend and
will feature animals from our permanent collection, as
well as many new animals.
Kids Jamboree will be held Saturday, January 26
9:00am-6:00pm and on Sunday, January 27 from
10:00am-5:00pm.
For more information, please visit http://
www.florenceciviccenter.com
your own bluebird box to take home. Workshops will be
held at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. This event is free, but
registration is required. Space is limited to 10 participants per session (limit of 1 nest box per family). To
register, please call us at (843) 389-0550.
Saturday, March 2 — Canoe Excursion
Enjoy a scenic five mile guided paddle of the
Lynches River from Lynches River County Park
to the boat landing at Highway 52. Trips will be
offered at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
This excursion is free, but space is limited. Registration is required and will be accepted beginning February 20. For more information or to
register, please call the EDC at (843) 389-0550.
E NVIRONMENTAL D ISCOVERY C ENTER N EWS
P AGE 2
(Hibernation, cont.)
An animal in in torpor is also capable of relatively quick arousal, waking up in times of warmer
temperatures to search for food or to defecate.
These animals may also store food in their
caves and burrows to eat during times of arousal. They may walk around a little, and eat before
going back to sleep.
So which animals go through which process?
True hibernators include bats, skunks, woodchucks (groundhogs), shrews, some snakes,
some turtles and frogs and toads (in colder climates). A few animals that enter a torpid state
are chipmunks, wild hamsters, nighthawks, door
mice, polar, grizzly and black bears, badgers,
and raccoons. Voles, red foxes, wild turkeys and
grey squirrels are active throughout the year
and don’t experience either process. In South
Carolina, we do not have as many true hibernators as they do in the north because of a much
milder climate.
While there are a few significant differences
between hibernation and torpor, both states allow an animal to use their body's energy reserves at a slower rate than they would if they
were maintaining themselves at their typical basal metabolic rate. This could mean the difference between life and death for many animals.
Photo of the
Month
Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints
The Environmental Discovery Center is looking for nature
photographers of all levels to submit their best nature photos for the photo of the month contest. Every month, a photo
will be featured on our Facebook page as well as in our
quarterly newsletter.
Submissions are open to anyone, any age, and any experience level. Your photo should be taken within Lynches River County Park and can feature any of the landscapes or
wildlife.
Please email all submissions to [email protected] and
include the following information: your name and your city
and state of residence. Also, please remember to specify in
your email that your photo is for the contest!
Unselected photos are still under consideration for future
months.
Weekend Programs
Are You Connected?
Join us every Saturday and Sunday
for live animal meet-andgreets! We’ll introduce
you to one of our animals
and allow you the opportunity to meet that animal
up close. Animal presentations are
every Saturday at 11:30am and
3:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm
Stay in the loop and learn the latest Environmental Discovery Center scoop!
Join our online community to keep in
touch with the latest news, tidbits, events
and opportunities. Subscribe to our mailing list at www.lynchesriverpark.com or
follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Stop by and say hello to your favorite
critter!
Please help
the EDC with
items on our
wish list:


Large Tetra Whisper Filter Cartridges
Tetrafauna ReptoMin Floating Food Sticks For Aquatic Turtles,
Newts and Frogs


Birdseed and deer corn
Aquariums with lids (any sizes)
E NVIRONMENTAL D ISCOVERY C ENTER N EWS
P AGE 3
Animal Spotlight: Eastern Box Turtle
The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene
carolina) is one of two species of box
turtles found in the United States and
are the most common terrestrial turtle in the eastern United States.
The Eastern Box Turtle ranges
throughout the southeast and north
to Michigan and southern Massachusetts. Box turtles are highly variable
in shell shape, pattern, and coloration. They are small-medium sized
turtles, attaining a maximum length
of about 8 inches. A key characteristic of box turtles is their hinged plastron (bottom shell) that can be shut
completely to protect themselves
from predators.
Box turtles are amazingly versatile animals and inhabit a wide variety of habitats from wooded swamps
to dry, grassy fields. And, although
not aquatic, box turtles will often venture into shallow water at the edge of
ponds or streams or in puddles.
Box turtles are omnivores and will
eat almost anything, animal or plant,
that they can fit in their mouths. Interestingly, box turtles are even able
to eat many mushrooms that are
toxic to humans.
Box turtles
commonly reach
25-30 years of age
and there are welldocumented cases
of them living to 40
or even 50 years.
Although box
turtles are still fairly common over
much of their range, their future is uncertain. The impact of taking turtles
from the wild can be devastating to
local populations. Over the span of
their lifetime, female turtles will lay
hundreds of eggs, but only 2-3 of these offspring will survive to adulthood.
These offspring will eventually replace
their elderly parents, allowing the population to remain at a stable size. But,
if box turtles are removed from the
overall breeding population (whether
from being taken
from the wild or being killed by human
activities), the number of offspring
drops, and the overall population declines. Additionally,
box turtles have a
homing instinct that
causes them to try
to return to the
place of their birth if
they are moved. As a result, when
box turtles that have been taken as
pets are returned to the wild, they will
try to return to familiar areas. This
journey causes the turtles to encounter many dangers, such as roads,
predators, and humans. For these
reasons, if you are looking for a pet,
you should try to find a captive-bred
animal or consider a different pet.
Source: http://www.bio.davidson.edu/
Join the Fun: Volunteer!
The EDC relies on the help
of dedicated volunteers for
many aspects of the center's
operations, including animal
husbandry, trail maintenance,
landscaping, assistance at special events, and interaction with
our many visitors.
The EDC has many exciting
and rewarding volunteer positions. You will have the unique
opportunity to be a part of our
ever-expanding and dynamic
educational facility. Volunteers
will also receive: an invitation to
our annual volunteer appreciation banquet; after completing
20 hours of volunteer service,
you will receive an EDC t-shirt;
and, after completing 40 hours
of volunteer service, a leaf with
your name will be placed on
the Benefactor Tree at the
EDC.
Saturday events, and many
more!
Volunteer Job Descriptions:
Animal Husbandry - Assist
with the maintenance of habitats, food preparation and care
for the EDC animals.
If you enjoy the outdoors
and sharing your love of nature
with others, then you will definitely enjoy volunteering at the
Environmental Discovery Center! Come and volunteer there's room for everyone!
Learn about nature, gain experience, and build your resume.
Come once a month or
once a week — the sky's the
limit!
Docent - Assist with providing
educational programs to visitors.
Landscaping - Assist in
maintaining native plant gardens and landscape plantings.
Roving Naturalist - Roams
the EDC and answers questions about the animals, exhibits and Lynches River County
Park.
Special Events - Assist with
events such as Earth Day celebrations, River Jamboree, First
Exhibits - Assist with exhibit
design and construction.
E NVIRONMENTAL D ISCOVERY C ENTER N EWS
P AGE 4
Visiting the Environmental Discovery Center
and Lynches River County Park
Do not depend on
M a p Q u e s t ,
Google Maps or
GPS units for driving
directions.
These sources often provide alternate routes to the
park, which may
not be accurate.
1. How many teeth
does a bear have?
2. How many muscles does a cat
have in each ear?
3. How many species
of animals are considered extinct or
critically
endangered.
4. On average, how
many eggs can a
hen lay in a year?
5. Which three mammals lay eggs?
1) 42 2) 32 3) 81 4) 19
dozen; 5) Duckbill platypus, short and long-beaked
echidnas (anteaters)
Lynches
River
County Park is
open everyday except Thanksgiving,
Christmas
Eve
and Christmas day
from 9:00 a.m. to
sunset.
Fun Facts
Education Programs
The environmental education dents with the costs associated
programs offered at the EDC
actively engage students in
learning about nature and the
environment and are correlated
with South Carolina Science Academic Standards.
Teachers are encouraged to
bring their public, private and
home school classes to the EDC
to engage in standards-based
activities, including an off-trail
nature hike, that will further their
knowledge of the natural world
while they have fun outside the
classroom.
To see a list of programs offered,
with traveling for field trips.
please visit our website at
Programs range from one to
www.lynchesriverpark.com. There,
two
hours in length.
you will also learn about grants
that will assist you and your stuWe are also very happy to an-
nounce the addition of our new
Reptile Rodeo Outreach program where we can bring the
EDC to your classroom with
this one-hour program for all
grade levels. This program features live reptile species common to South Carolina and
teaches your students about
the role and importance of reptiles in the ecosystem (only
available within Florence County during the months of November, December, January and
February).
There is no charge for our
programs; however, specific
times and dates must be reserved. Call the EDC at (843)
389-0550 to schedule a field trip
experience.
This promotional item was funded by the Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau