In 2007, Sonar was discovered in an auto repair shop in northern Connecticut with a fractured shoulder. Unfortunately, this means Sonar cannot be released back into the wild. Instead, he has joined our Animal Hall Education Program teaching hundreds of visitors about the important role bats play in our ecosystem. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 7-19 years
• Insectivores and eat many pests including mosquitoes
• Nocturnal
• Use echolocation to navigate and find food.
• Usually only produce one bat per litter
• Live throughout North America, Central American, and the Caribbean
• Only flying mammal
•  Hibernate in the winter

Cheerio arrived at Earthplace in 2015. She was surrendered by her owner. Cheerio’s favorite thing to do is to take dust baths.

General Facts

• Lifespan: the wild 8-10 yrs, Captivity 12-20 yrs
• Herbivores
• Crepuscular, which means active during dawn and dusk hours
• From South America
• Live in the mountains
• Have the densest and softest fur of any land animal
• Rodents which means their teeth grow continuously
• Predators are snakes and birds of prey
• Parasitic bugs cannot get to chinchillas because their fur is so dense
• Grey fur allows them to blend into the rocks

Chatty arrived in 2005 from Alaska. She had damage to her feet and her left wing had to be amputated at the wrist due to injury. She recovered quickly from her surgery but she is unable to survive in the wild on her own.  She now lives with her friend Cerena, our other rescued bald eagle.

Cerena came to Earthplace as a juvenile. Her head was covered with brown feathers, and we’ve watched over the years as the white feathers grew in. She was three years old and had a wing injury that prevented her from being released into the wild.

General Facts

• In the wild Bald Eagles eat mostly fish
• Lifespan: 20 years in wild, 50 years in captivity
• Native to North America and Mexico
• Largest nests of any North American bird
• Females are bigger than males
• Young bald eagles are born with brown head
• Pesticides have shown links to thinning eggshells (DDT)
• Polarized eyes to see through the surface of reflecting water 

Marble was rescued in Westbrook, Connecticut on August 5, 2012 after he was found next to a highway. Marble is a non-migratory bird. Marble hunts many different types of prey including rodents, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.

Moody arrived at Earthplace in 2013. She had a damaged right eye which needed to be removed in order to prevent infection. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 10 yrs in wild, 25 in captivity
• Satellite dish shaped face that helps funnel sound towards their ears
• Asymmetrical ears
• Have a tapetum in their eye that allows them to see better at night
• Crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk
• Owls eyes take up ¾ of their scull. They are fixed in place so they have to turn their head around to see. They can turn their heads 270 degrees because they have an extra vertebrae in their spine. 

Pecans is our resident artist. His paintings are available in our gift shop. Pecans was skinny, dirty, and sick when he was found in Bridgeport in 2014.

General Facts

• Lifespan: 3-5 years in the wild, 15 years in captivity
• Have been used to send messages, especially during wartime
• Have even been awarded for their service
• Baby pigeons are called “squeakers” or “squabs”
• Trained pigeons can return home if placed in an entirely new place up to 1000 km away
• Pigeons have been shown to be able to decipher between cubist and impressionist paintings and have even acquired numerical skills.
• Seed eaters. We feed him seeds, greens, and fruit

You may notice that Woody is missing part of his front leg which prevents him from digging and living in the wild. Wood turtles can be found mostly in forests, fields, bogs and marshy meadows. His favorite meal is salad and insects. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 40 years in wild, 60 in captivity
• Endangered
• Omnivores 
• Will stomp on ground to cause worms to come to the surface
• Do not reproduce until 20 yrs old
• Semi terrestrial
• Found in Northeastern US and Canada

Banana came to Earthplace after having been someone’s pet. She is a very docile and friendly snake. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 30 years in captivity, 10 in the wild
• Non Venomous constrictor
• From sub-Saharan Africa
• Called ball python because they will curl into a ball when frightened
• Known to be worn as jewelry for African royalty hundreds of years ago
• Called Royal Python in England
• Lay 4-6 eggs

The Bearded Dragon gets its name from the underside of the lizard’s throat, which can turn black if the animal is stressed or threatened. Sage was neglected by his first human owners which is why he is undersized. His rescuers had to move and were unable to take Sage with them, so he now resides in Animal Hall.

General Facts

• Lifespan: 5-8 in wild, 10-15 in captivity
• Underside of their throat and puff up and turn black when they are stressed or for mating rituals
• Spiny scales are used to scare predators
• From Australia
• Goes through brumation
• 3rd eye called the parietal eye that can sense light

As you can imagine, Spotty’s name originated from her many spots! But, in case you are wondering where her spots have gone, these salamanders lose their spots as they get older. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 20 years
• Live in moist dark places
• Only vertebrate to have a mutualistic relationship with a plant 
• Eat insects such as crickets and mealworms

This type of tree frog can be found all over Connecticut. Lichens favorite past-time is to climb walls. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: 7-9 years
• They can change color from nearly black to nearly white, this helps them camouflage with the tree bark
• They have orange on their legs to distract or shock predators as they try to escape.
• They live up in the treetops and only come down to mate.
• The tips of their fingers make an adhesive fluid to help them climb up trees 

Pepper came to Earthplace in 2019.

General Facts

• Lifespan: 10 years
• Found in the American Southwest
• Mostly nocturnal
• They are decomposers who feed mostly on dead material
• May curl into a coil and release a toxic substance that is located on all sides of its body

These are non-native cockroaches. They are popular in our Nature Education Programs as they are big and hiss loudly.

General Facts

• Lifespan: 2 – 5 yrs
• Insect (3 body parts, 6 legs, exoskeleton, 2 antenna)
• Common pets
• Make a hissing noise when disturbed, to impress a female, or as a sign of aggression towards other males
• One of the largest species of cockroaches, but lacks wings
• Eats most anything, we feed them fruits, veggies, dog/cat food
• Give live birth
• Nocturnal
• Baby Madagascar hissing cockroaches are called ‘nymphs’ and they go through seven stages of growth before reaching adulthood
• Have sticky feet that make them really good climbers. Their taste buds are also on their feet.

Aragog is named after the giant spider from the Harry Potter Series. 

General Facts

• Lifespan: Females live 20, males pass a few months after mating
• Native to the Atacama Desert in Chile. This tarantula is known for being able to live in the driest places on earth 
• Females produce an egg sac with 500 baby spiders
• Can kick off hairs when scared that are irritating
• You know they are angry when they put up front legs and present their fangs