So, as I think I've said before, while sturgeon touch tanks are now much more common in permanent aquariums like the Toledo Zoo, their origins may very well lie in this yearly festival that has been occurring in my town for a decade. Lake sturgeon grown by conservationists are placed in a touch tank on the beach for guests to touch, then released at the end of the day.
In addition to the sturgeon (of which there were also many youngsters in tanks), this year also had:
6 sea lampreys in an invasive species display. There were pictures of Coyote Peterson of Brave Wilderness sticking his hand into what I think is the exact tank, OUCH.
Michigan Avian Experience:
The same lady as the Goodells Earth Fair this year. She again brought 0.1 American kestrel and 0.1 bald eagle, seemingly more. See my species list for the Earth Fair for the full list of possible birds she brought, as I asked her about her collection last time.
Nature Discovery:
A group that came in with a bunch of native Michigan reptiles and amphibians, most of them in odd mixed-species habitats.
0.1 black rat snake (variously was free to slither over the other terrariums or was held by keepers, calm enough for guests to touch)
Kiddy pool full of turtles, mostly babies except for a tiny adult: red-eared slider, painted turtle, common map turtle, common musk turtle, spotted turtle, and Blanding's turtle
Black rat snake/eastern milksnake/western fox snake
Eastern garter snake/Butler's garter snake/northern ribbon snake
x2 northern water snakes
Bullfrogs/green frogs
Eastern grey tree frog/another gray tree frog that keepers couldn't ID between another eastern and a Cope's/wood frog/western chorus frog/northern leopard frog/pickerel frog/mink frog
Eastern tiger salamander (leucistic, looking just like an iodine-grown axolotl, also HUGE)
Edit: the website for Nature Discovery has a species list for their facility as a whole, if you want the full collection. Nature Discovery About Us
Also, Sea Life Michigan had a booth, but they didn't bring any animals.
In addition to the sturgeon (of which there were also many youngsters in tanks), this year also had:
6 sea lampreys in an invasive species display. There were pictures of Coyote Peterson of Brave Wilderness sticking his hand into what I think is the exact tank, OUCH.
Michigan Avian Experience:
The same lady as the Goodells Earth Fair this year. She again brought 0.1 American kestrel and 0.1 bald eagle, seemingly more. See my species list for the Earth Fair for the full list of possible birds she brought, as I asked her about her collection last time.
Nature Discovery:
A group that came in with a bunch of native Michigan reptiles and amphibians, most of them in odd mixed-species habitats.
0.1 black rat snake (variously was free to slither over the other terrariums or was held by keepers, calm enough for guests to touch)
Kiddy pool full of turtles, mostly babies except for a tiny adult: red-eared slider, painted turtle, common map turtle, common musk turtle, spotted turtle, and Blanding's turtle
Black rat snake/eastern milksnake/western fox snake
Eastern garter snake/Butler's garter snake/northern ribbon snake
x2 northern water snakes
Bullfrogs/green frogs
Eastern grey tree frog/another gray tree frog that keepers couldn't ID between another eastern and a Cope's/wood frog/western chorus frog/northern leopard frog/pickerel frog/mink frog
Eastern tiger salamander (leucistic, looking just like an iodine-grown axolotl, also HUGE)
Edit: the website for Nature Discovery has a species list for their facility as a whole, if you want the full collection. Nature Discovery About Us
Also, Sea Life Michigan had a booth, but they didn't bring any animals.
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