| Home | | | Past Issues | |
 |
|
|
 |
January 13, 2005
• See ya later, alligator See ya later, alligator 'Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly’ opens in Pittsfield this weekend The exotic world of reptiles, with lizards and vipers and turtles --oh, my! -- and a host of unusual creatures, arrives at the Berkshire Museum this weekend. "Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly," the world's largest traveling reptile exhibition, will include more than 20 species of reptiles, from rattlesnakes and cobras to snapping turtles, geckos and water monitors, and an array of interactive and educational exhibits. On view at the museum from Saturday through May 8, the exhibit was created by Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland in Allenwood, Pa. In a recent phone interview, Chad Peeling, operations manager at Reptiland, talked about his interest in reptiles and bringing the exhibition to Pittsfield.
"My father founded Reptiland in 1964," Peeling said. "It was the realization of his childhood dream to have a zoo specializing in reptiles. We grew up near the zoo -- our home was attached to the zoo grounds. The zoo was our backyard. It was an exciting place to grow up -- with crocodiles and snakes and other animals just steps from the backdoor. It was hard to get bored.” Peeling may not have been bored, but he has had first hand experience of the dangers of handling reptiles. He said he has been bitten "countless times by small harmless animals and twice by venomous snakes. Those were foolish mistakes that I made and paid for. The first time I was 16, the second time I was 19. They were snakes that have venom that attacks the tissues, causing a lot of pain, swelling and bruising." Both bites called for trips to the hospital. All the animals in the "Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly" exhibit will be kept safely behind glass. "We've created habitats that sit in an exhibit island -- it’s clean, safe and modern," Peeling said. “For people that are squeamish about this kind of animal, it’ll be comforting, and you have a birds eye view of the animals.” Peeling understands why people are intrigued by reptiles. "I think it has something to do with the fact that reptiles are so bizarre, compared with mammals. Instantly there's a fascination just because they’re different. And kids are so interested in dinosaurs, and reptiles fit that bill."
The animals in the exhibit are quite a varied group. "We have an assortment from around the world," Peeling said. "I love the alligator snapping turtle -- it's the largest fresh-water turtle in North America. It has all kinds of folds and projections on its skin that attract fish -- he’s like a giant lure. The fish nibble on the skin and work their way around to the turtle’s mouth. His tongue looks like an earthworm -- and he eats the fish. He doesn’t have to hunt; he just sits and waits for food to come to him." Peeling has a long list of favorites. "There's a snake-necked turtle -- they have a lot of personality. They have long necks, as long as their bodies, and they’re very attuned to what’s happening about them. When kids come up to the glass, the turtles follow them around. "There's a beautiful lizard called a veiled chameleon with a giant casque, like a ridge, behind its head. It can move its eyes independently -- that’s a cool lizard. They have opposable digits, so their little claws are incredibly strong. "There are leaf-tailed geckos that look exactly like tree bark. The outline of their bodies is jagged and the color of their skin is just like tree bark so it's fun for people to try to find them all -- it’s a challenge! "The large monitor lizard is always a hit. These lizards are second only to the komodo dragon in size."
Not all the animals in the exhibit are large or dangerous. "We have red-sided garter snakes that are found in the Midwest. They hibernate in communal dens; in the winter thousands go underground in the same chambers; and they all come out at the same time and mate immediately. They form big mating balls with a female at the center. It's an amazing view of nature to see thousands of snakes. "Lastly, there's the giant python. Burmese pythons are the real giants of the snake world. This one is 16 feet long and weighs from 140 to 160 pounds. We feed it rabbits, but he could eat something the size of a small pig." Some of the snakes are colorful, as well as deadly. "One of the snakes in the exhibit is the black and white spitting cobra which has zebra-like markings. It's a very beautiful snake," Peeling said. "They can spray venom into the eyes of their prey. "But if I had to choose one, the gaboon viper is the most deadly. It has the longest fangs of any snake in the world. They can inject venom very deeply into the body of the victim. It's highly toxic venom and an incredibly fast strike. They’re beautiful -- their skin looks velvety soft, but it is in fact rough. They blend into the leaves on the ground, so that people in West Africa often step on these snakes and are bitten." The environments that visitors will see for each of the reptile species have been carefully researched. "We recreate the environments for each reptile, in temperature, in humidity and in feel. There's a rainforest environment, desert habitats -- there’s a bamboo forest scene for the cobra," said Peeling. Some artificial elements are included in the displays. "Reptiles are pretty rough on live plants. We use some live plants, some fabricated, some silk, some fiberglass." Most reptiles live in warm environments, so transporting these animals in winter is a major undertaking. "It's a big concern," Peeling said. "We fly them up in a private aircraft in a heated cabin in insulated boxes. The museum picks them up by van with our staff, then they’re taken right to the museum and into their habitats. It’ll be an all-day job getting all the animals in. We have long-handled hooks to allow us to lift the venomous snakes carefully. We don’t handle venomous snakes bare-handed."
In addition to the animals, the exhibition includes educational panels, artifacts and hands-on exhibits. "There are a number of interactive devices," Peeling said. "The animals are the draw, but it's not just like the reptile house at the zoo. You see the animals, but there are participatory exhibits. "People can milk venom from a model rattlesnake head that's cut away to show the venom apparatus. There’s also an interactive device where people can open and close the jaws of a viper skull. It’s a model of a gaboon viper, four times the lifelike size, that opens and shows how the fangs fold into the mouth. "There's an interactive exhibit called 'croc talk,’ where visitors can listen to croc sounds and learn what we think the sounds mean. The sounds are almost birdlike. There are scientists that would prefer to see crocodilians classified with birds rather than reptiles." Peeling continued, "There's a giant climb-able tortoiseshell from a Galapagos turtle. There’s a large alligator skull that asks questions about how scientists learn from skeletons. There’s a display that includes an alligator skull and a crocodile skull side by side -- you can touch those -- and see the difference. There are replicated turtle shells that show how to tell a male from a female and there are castings of reptile skins that you can touch." Peeling is understandably enthusiastic about his exhibition. "I'm very proud of it -- it’s a great exhibit." If you go ... |
 |
  |
|
© 2010 New England Newspapers, Inc.
|
