Cami & Ben’s Trip to the

Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

3-12-04

This is Shasta, and she is a Liger (half Lion, half Tiger).  You have to admit, Liger has a better ring to it than Tion.

 

There actually quite a few stuffed Black Footed Ferrets in the Museum.  On a (hopefully)

un-related note, the Black Footed Ferred is the most endangered animal in Utah.

 

In a fight between the Buffalo and this Black Bear, I’d put my money on the

Buffalo.  I was kind of surprised to find that black bears are actually pretty small.

 

This Antelope-like creature is called a Gerenuk.  Perhaps it should be called a Gereneck.

 

Here’s a full-shot of a Gerenuk.  Boy, and I thought Giraffes had a monopoly on being long-necked mammals.

 

This tiny little Antelope-like animal is called a Dik-dik.  Yep, it’s fully grown!

 

This fish really is a Dolphin.  According to Cami, “What we generally call Dolphins

are actually Porpoises.”  Well, that changed my perception of reality…

 

Cami said this bird was kind of gross looking.  Pretty close, it’s called a Grouse.

 

These tusk-like objects are actually the teeth of a Hippopotamous.  I dunno, I guess I got the impression from

cartoons that Hippo-teeth are small and flat, like the kind you can play the Xylaphone on.

 

We’re going to let you decide for yourself, but we think that someone’s been switching the signs.  The sign for the bird on the right said

 that it’s a common barn own while the sign for the bird on the left (you know, the horn-less one) says that it’s a Great Horned Owl.

 

On the left is the largest land carnivore in the world (a Kodiak Bear).  On the right is the cutest land omnivore in the world (a Camius McKuneus).

 

On  the left is the Long Eared Owl, on the right is the Short Eared Owl.  He has his

 head cocked up as if to say “What??  I can’t hear you, my ears are too small.”

 

I thought this buffalo was really small.  As it turns out, it’s a Muskox.

 

 

This is a Televangelist Phesant.  Okay, not really.  It’s called a Golden Phesant.

 

This is a Peacock in all its long-ness.

 

This Badger had claws that were as large as any bear at the museum.  Its scientific

name is Taxieda Taxus.  I wonder where they got the idea to Taxidermy it.

 

This porcupine didn’t have any quills.  Just long fur.  Like the “Dolphin” it changed

my perception of animals.  I’m still getting over that Dolphin thing, mind you.

 

This is a Pronghorn, the fastest animal in the western hemisphere.  It can run at 70 mph

for up to 4 minutes.  I’d love to see one of these in a foot-race with a Cheedah.

 

This photo is interesting because it kind of shows how taxidermy works.  They

 just take these molds of animal’s heads and put the skin and fur right over them.

 

An average sized man, with an average sized Elephant tusk.  I had Cami be in so many pictures that I thought it was only fair that I should take a turn.

 

This is a Black Bear.  Okay, so technically it’s a white Black bear. It turns out, that on a the Canadian

 Island that this bear is indigenous to, 1 out of every 10 Black Bears comes out white.

 

 

This is Cami’s hand petting a California King Snake.  Incidentally, did you know that the

difference between venom and poison is that venom is injected, while poison is swallowed?