Credit: Allie Wilkinson

Happy New Year!  I’ve settled into my new job and I have a few weeks until I have to start thinking about school again.  With Science Online ’10 quickly approaching, it seems like the right time to pick up the blog, dust it off and begin writing again.

Starting things off slow and easy, I wanted to share this photograph of an arctic fox I took at the Denver Zoo (during my trip for the Defenders of Wildlife Carnivore Conservation Conference).  These little guys are much better adapted to stand the cold than I can–they can survive frigid Arctic temperatures as low as -58℉ (-50℃)!  I can’t even stand it when it gets cold here in New York….these winter months have me daydreaming of laying on a beach surrounded by palm trees.

Greetings from Denver!  After spending most of Saturday traveling, I landed in Denver in anticipation of the 2009 Carnivore Conference: Carnivore Conservation in a Changing World, sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife.

Yesterday started off with a group trip to the Denver Zoo, which was a winter wonderland after the snow we had overnight.  I will definitely blog more about the zoo after returning home.  [Unfortunately I left my camera cable in New York and want to wait to write about it until I can do the day justice with photos.]

This morning officially kicked off the 7th annual carnivore conservation conference.  The theme of this year’s conference addresses the conservation challenge of climate change, and the implications that is has for the conservation of ALL carnivore species, not just those in the polar regions.

The day began with a representative from HawkQuest showcasing one of their captive-bred Harris hawk, which flew directly over my head.  HawkQuest is an organization that educates the public about carnivores, especially raptors.  ”Educating our youth, is paramount to this process,” said an employee of Defenders of Wildlife, whose name I failed to catch.

Next up was a representative from Wolf Park, a non-profit organization located in Indiana, to award the second annual Erich Klinghammer Award, named after  Dr. Erich Klinghammer, the behaviorist who founded Wolf Park in 1972.  This year’s recipient was Nina Fascione, the Vice President of Field Conservation for Defenders of Wildlife.

Eventually we got to our plenary session, “Ecological Consequences of Large Predator Removal: A Comparison of Five U.S. National Parks”, led by Robert Beschta and William Ripple, both of Oregon State University.  After reading about both of these men and their research in “Where the Wild Things Were” by William Stolzenburg on my way to Denver, it was a delight to hear them speak in person about their research on trophic cascades in Yellowstone National Park.  [More on this later!!]

However, it is now time for me to go back to my sessions….

Credit: J.L. Maher / ©WCS

I just may have to take a drive over to the Bronx Zoo to see these cuties…

Cranwell’s horned frog, Ceratophrys cranwelli, also known as the Pacman frog, is a terrestrial frog native to Argentina.

The Colorado river toad, Bufo alvanus, is a terrestrial frog native to the American Southwest and northern Mexico.  It has bufotoxins, which make it venomous.

The Golden mantella, Mantella aurantiaca, is a terrestrial frog native to Madagascar.  Although it is not toxic, it looks that way because it mimics other toxic species’ coloration.

The Aruba island rattlesnake, Crotalus unicolor, is a venomous pitviper subspecies only found on the island of Aruba.  It is critically endangered, with less than 230 adults in the wild.

The lace monitor, Varanus varius, also known as a tree goanna, is Australia’s second largest lizard, and one of the largest lizards on earth.  It is somewhat venomous.