I realized that I have not at all talked about some of my major projects! I said a while ago I was going to go back in time and explain them but as you can see I have not really done a good job at that. I really need to work harder on these blogs. Last year I did a study on Southern Hairy Nosed Wombats known as Lasiorhinus latifrons. I conducted a study seeing if wombats preferred behavioral enrichment or companionship. My study ended up inconclusive due to the unfortunate death of one of my marsupial companions. I know there is so little about wombats and if they prefer to live in isolation or with more wombats in a warren. Luckily, I met Sandy Mann from the Brookfield Zoo Women's Board, I met her at the Brookfield Zoo Women's Board Scholarship Luncheon. She happened to know Dr. Rod Wells from Australia. He is the world's most famous wombat expert. I chatted with him through emails and he told me, "We are still a long way from fully understanding the social structure however as you might expect the males are more intolerant of one another and although they may range over similar or overlapping areas they tend to use olfactory markings to space themselves temporally. This is particularly evident in the breeding season." I was very interested in this and have since done further wombat research in my free time. Dr. Rod Wells gave me a list of references of books which he had written or been a part of. I am currently reading, "The Secret Life of Wombats," By: James Woodford- it was a gift from Isabel Silverstein who was also a Science Track student with me in the YVC and she knew about my passion for wombats and got me this book during her recent expedition in Australia. Thank you Isabel for your gift. I hope to talk to you all a bit more about Wombats and perhaps someday I can visit the land down under and do a study on them! Wouldn't that be exciting? As for now I am very thankful for my connections to the Outback and the Brookfield Zoo. ~Wildlife Katie
No comments:
Post a Comment