April+16th

=April 16th: Mr. Wignall Catches Three Snakes and No Mammals =

===Good morning Lionsgate Academy! Due to some unforseen internet difficulties last night I only had time to upload some videos and pictures before the entire system slowed to a halt. Enjoy the videos and pictures! Instead of ANSWERING my questions today I'd like each student to ASK me a question. Your classroom teacher can collect the questions and turn them in to Ms. Osen at the end of the day for her to enter. If you know how, you can even ask me questions from home!===

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===Today we are going to check the traps one more time at this site and then move them to another site a few miles away and reset them. We will remove all the old bedding and food, check for mold, add fresh bedding and food, and place them in the woods again. Do you remember how we space them out?===

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=__SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT!! __=

===Lastly, I would like you, the wonderful students of Lionsgate Academy, to visit the sites of the other Earthwatch Team members. If you think of a question for someone on my team, send me a PRIVATE wiki message with the name of the team member and your question, I will videotape them answering your question and using your name!===

[|Earthwatch Team Site] Click on the "Meet the Team" tab to see their profiles and links to their sites

=__STUDENT QUESTIONS __=

" Was it realllyy good picking up a vole?" (Corinne)

//You're so fast, Corinne, that I don't even get time to finish my pages before you're editing! Picking up the vole was pretty exciting, but catching the large rat snake was the best experience so far, and it doesn't even have anything to do with mammals! (Mr. Wignall)

how come you are not answering my questions (Tyler Olson)

Sorry, Tyler! Our internet was terrible last night so I waited until today to get to your questios. (Mr. Wignall)

(hello Mr. Wignall did you cach any pokemon ) no realy have seen any otters yet. ( Avery Chapman)

I caught a Pikachu and two Nidoqueens, but that's about it. I almost caught a Magneton but it got away. And no, I haven't seen any sea otters yet. (Mr. Wignall)

"Why are you trying to catch the voles and mice?" (Nick O.)

Hopefully I answered your question yesterday with the video conference. If not, let me know! (Mr. Wignall)

"Is it really cold up there?" (J.P.)

It was the first two days and nights, but now it's pretty nice--around mid/high 50s. (Mr. Wignall)

"Do the voles bite?" (Alena)

No, but it's possible if you really back them into a corner and they can't get away. We were very careful not to stress them out too much, though. (Mr. Wignall)

"What are all the animals you have seen now?" (Ari)

Hmmmm, let me see here.....beaver, muscrat, red-backed vole, deer mouse, various birds including a few loons, smooth green snake, garter snake, unidentified large snake (turns out it's not a rat snake. The scientists are really interested to send the pics off to an expert to find out), porcupine, chipmunk, and white-tailed deer. (Mr. Wignall)

"How many animals have you caught?" (Hunter)

My trapping group has struck out so far and found no animals in our traps, but I've caught three different kinds of snakes so far. Too bad this expedition isn't called "The Reptiles of Nova Scotia!" (Mr. Wignall)

"Did you have to take any other vaccinations before you went out there? Because you are touching alot of stuff..." (Mrs. Hawkingson)

Great question! (Mr. Wignall)

"How is the food there?" (Tony W.)

The food is good, but that might be just because I'm so hungry after hiking around all day. (Mr. Wignall)

"Do you want to do this trip again, and if you do where would you like to go next?" (Joey P.)

I would love to do this trip again. I'm allowed to be in two Earthwatch trips, so if I ever go again I might like to study dolphins in Greece. That seems like a really fun one. I love the water and I could also explore the country a little bit either before or after the trip. (Mr. Wignall)

"Are any of the snakes aggressive that you have caught?" (Andrew)
 * From Ms. Dougherty's A3 History Class:**

Nope. Garter snakes can be aggressive but the one I caught was very docile. It didn't even secrete that nasty-smelling stuff that garter snakes usually do. The most aggressive animal we've caught so far were the chipmunks. They freak out and bite anything that moves when we're trying to get them out of the plastic bag. (Mr. Wignall)

"Are you going to study the mysterious snake that you found in the woods?" (Michael S.)

Absolutely! As soon as I'm done editing this wikipage I'm going to send the movie and picture files to some experts at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Zoo. As soon as I find out, you'll find out! (Mr. Wignall)

"Are you guys studying only on land or in the water?" (Stephen S.)

We're studying only terrestrial mammals this time, meaning mammals that live on land. Good question though! (Mr. Wignall)

Request from Tyler O. Please give your next animal a kiss from me. Thank you. P.S. Please put it on the video.

Dr. Newman says "I'll make sure he does that!" (Mr. Wignall)

"Are you studying any wildlife or fish in the ocean, lake or sea?" (Michael S.)

We are studying only mammals on the land this trip. (Mr. Wignall)

"What other types of snakes will you be studying throughout the day?" (Tyler P.)

Well, the funny this is, we're not studying snakes at all. It's just when a team member screams "a snake!" I jump over to them and try to catch it. As you probably know, I love snakes! (Mr. Wignall)

"How many snakes have you caught?" (Sacha G.)

I've caught three snakes so far; a smooth green snake, a garter snake, and an unidentified large snake. Check out the pictures and videos! (Mr. Wignall)

"What are the types of snakes you have caught so far, are they venomous, have you named them?" (Andrew S.)

Check out the answer above for the types, but there are no venomous snakes in Nova Scotia so that makes it easier for me to be brave and grab unknown snakes. (Mr. Wignall)

"If you see any marine life, will you take pictures?" (Michael S.)

You bet! We saw muscrats and beavers and I'll post those pictures this weekend. Thanks for following along with my trip, Michael! (Mr. Wignall)

"How are you liking your trip so far?" (Matt C.)

Hi, Matt! I love this trip and I'm learning a ton every day. I enjoy hiking through the woods all day even though it can get hot and tiring. I also like being able to show you guys new things and teach you about the issues I'm learning about up here. (Mr. Wignall)

"Were you scared opening the trap?" (Alex)

No, but a couple of teachers were. Mrs. Tang from California was very scared of the animals in the traps so she finally scruffed one (grabbed it by the scruff of its neck) on the last day. After that, I think a lot of her fear went away although she still won't touch the snakes I catch. (Mr. Wignall)

"Can you show us a cirlce graph of the percentage of where everyone is from?" (Casey)

Actually, I think that's something you could do for yourself. Go to the team site and find out where everyone is from, then just use Excel to make a pie graph. You can do it, Casey! (Mr. Wignall)

"Did you think the rat snake was a new species when you first saw it?" (Mike)

After sending off the pictures to about a dozen experts in the field, it's been determined that the snake is actually a maritime garter snake, although it's an unusually large specimen. The maritime garter snake is common in these areas, but the one we found must have been a very unusual one! (Mr. Wignall)

"What did you name the rat snake?" (Cody S.)

We didn't name it, but if I had to pick a name I'd name it Uso, for "Unidentified Slithering Object." (Mr. Wignall)

"How do you pick up the voles without them biting you?" ( Leah)

Did you watch the video of me "scruffing" the vole? You grab it by the scruff of the neck (the loose skin on the back of its neck) and pinch the skin between your fingers. The rodent doesn't get hurt and it can't bite you. (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you seen Big Foot?" (Mia)

Yes. Yes I have. In fact, Bigfoot helped me video most of the clips that you see on Youtube from the expedition. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Bigfoot is a heck of a video editor. He can really put together a nice film and add all sorts of visual effects. He also smells very nice, like a soft jasmine. (Mr. Wignall)

"What is the liquid that the snake was secreting?" (Mick)

Great question, Mick! Garter snakes have a defensive mechanism for escape that involves secreting a VERY nasty smelling liquid from it's anus. It's kind of light brown/yellow colored and smells almost as strong as skunk spray. (Mr. Wignall)

"Where are you going to study next?" (Sam)

Right now we're studying deer, so that's our focus for the next day or so. We will also continue gathering long-term data on the small mammal population of the other research site, Cook's Lake. (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you gone fishing?" (Dylan)

No, I haven't had time to go fishing. If given the chance, I'd probably go hiking in the woods anyways. I don't know of any good fishing spots around here. (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you gone on any boat rides in Nova Scotia?" (Seth)

Seth, that's a good question. We are planning on going whale watching later in the trip but that will depend on the weather. It's supposed to be cold and rainy Wednesday but nice the rest of the week. (Mr. Wignall)


 * Mrs. Miller's Math class:**

"Have you seen anything cool in Canada?" (Dylan)

Oh my, Dylan...of course I have! Haven't you seen all the interesting pictures and videos I've been posting? (Mr. Wignall)

"Where did you find that vole? P.S. I made a power point of your trip." (Seth)

I wish I could say that I found the vole, but it was actually trapped by another group and they let me get it out of the trap because they pitied me. On our trip we've been calling that a "pity vole." So far our group (Me, Mr. Gasteazoro, and Mrs. Metz) hasn't caught anything in our traps so we've only scruffed pity voles. Oh, and that's great that you're making a powerpoint of my trip! Can I see it when I get back? (Mr. Wignall)//