Every year our Herpetology Class goes to Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, an AZA accredited zoo that focuses on reptile and amphibian diversity. We get a warm welcome from Mr. Peeling himself, get a behind the scenes tour, and then marvel at the intricate exhibits that are designed and fabricated by Clyde’s sons. A wonderful Zoo! And who would have thunk one could see courting Komodo dragons in Pennsylvania!
Maybe you already knew this, but our winters are looong, so it makes it even more special to witness the salamander migration to the breeding ponds. This is the real sign that winter has lost its grip on Ithaca!
Our Herpetology class has been waiting for this for weeks! And sure enough… it happens on the Friday before Spring Break when most students have left campus. Tonight Jordan, Nicole, and KZ took the few Herpetology students and Cornell Herp Society members that are still on campus to Bull Pasture Pond. We saw a bunch of Ambystoma jeffersonianum and A. maculatum, learned about sexual interference by spermatophore capping in spotted salamanders, and instagrammed the hell out of the salamanders making their way to the pond. It’s our own special herpetology ritual 🙂
Zamudio Lab 