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ZION NATIONAL PARK INTERPRETIVE DROP-IN PROGRAM PLAN

Program: Pool Pondering Date: July 22, 2014
Interpreter/Educator: Preston Wood


INTERPRETIVE AIDS (e.g., skins, skulls, rock samples, etc):
Beaver Pelt
Beaver Skull
Tarantula
Tarantula Hawk
Ringtail Pelt
Rattle of a Rattle Snake
Laminated Images
o Beaver
o Beaver Dam
o Tarantula with Tarantula Hawk
o Lizards
o Rattle Snake
o Ringtail
o Prickly Pear
o Sacred Datura and the Moth

THEME AND/OR CENTRAL IDEA:

Animal evolution and adaptation in the harsh desert environment.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning everyone! I have some cuddly and creepy animals for you to take a look at. We will
explore these animals and how they live in Zion National Park we will also explore some of the
plants in the area.












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LOCATION OF STOP (walks) or TALKING POINT (talks):


Resource/Tangible

Concepts and Other
Intangible Meanings

Interpretive Methods Used

Emerald Pools / Virgin River Wildlife and Plants in the
Area
Images and Pelts, Adaptations
of animals in the river,
Questioning, and Comparing,
etc.

MAIN TALKING POINTS (Body):

Beaver:

How Zion Beavers are unique
o Bank Beavers vs. Building Lodges and Dams
o Nocturnal
Chew on trees to file their teeth down and eat food

Tarantula:

Docile, but can bite when provoked
Rarely seen, more visible in late August Early September
Can get up to 11 inches
Large fangs can penetrate skin
Venom is milder than honeybee
The back legs can throw hairs which can send people into anaphylactic shock if they are
allergic to bees
Life span Female 30 years, Male 7 years
Female Tarantula is larger
Feeding Female eats the male after mating. Primarily Insects, some feed to Frogs or small
Lizards. Venom paralyzes the pray, fang kills it, digestive enzyme liquefy the body and
Tarantula sucks it up with he straw-like mouth.





Tarantula Hawk:

Docile
Eats nectar the rest of the year
Painful sting if provoked. Worst sting of any Insects
o First three munites are the most intense.
o Only female is the one that stings.
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o Distinguished by the curled antennae.
Female paralyzes tarantula, Lays an egg on the abdomen of the tarantula, developing larvae
eats into the tarantula and then all of the inside organs saving the brain and the heart for last,
If larvae does not develop, then tarantula can survive.

Ringtail:

Park Trouble maker, gets into trash and of course our park buildings
Related to Raccoons, ergo not a cat
Tail gives a lot of balance and stability
Can do cartwheels to escape predators very agile
Nocturnal
Live in a den for only about 3 days
Will attack squirrels and steal their burrows cute and cuddly, yet not so friendly

Snakes:
Explain the different between Venom and Poison. Snakes are Venomous.
Talk about whatever specific snake they want to talk about.
Morphological differences between venomous snakes (VS) and non venomous snakes
(NVS).
o VS have split pupil and NVS have round pupil.
o VS have blunt tail and NVS have long pointy tail
o VS have diamond shaped head to give more space for the venom glands and NVS
have smaller heads.
o VS snake scales after the anal opening has a parallel arrangement. NVS the scales
overlap like a braid.
o Venom is a high concentration of complex protein and can be stressful to the animal
to make. It can take weeks to produce venom. Most venomous animal uses its
venom as the last resort to protect themselves.
o One third of rattle snake bites are dry.
o Snakes shed their skin to grow and and remove any parasites.
o Rattle of a rattle snake is accumulation of dead skin. Every time the snake sheds its
skin, little bit of it gets caught in the back of the tail and thats what makes the rattle.
They are not born with it.