Last but definitely NOT least on the "regular" tour schedule of the 2009 HPSS (before the live surgery display in Chelsea): The Kalamazoo County 4H Fair!
We pulled into Kalamazoo at about ten o'clock on Thursday morning and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day for the fair. The fair board was very excited to see us and even offered us a stray kitten upon our arrival (we sadly had to refuse). At first it looked like we were going to set up just outside the rabbit barn . . . but then we found Dr. Rowher and he created an exceptionally great location for us right in the Circle of Life tent! Erin even backed her truck in so that the large animal porta-vet display sat right next to the HPSS tent and the rest of the exhibit. We really think it was our best set-up yet - I guess we saved the best for last!
As soon as Christina cracked open the Pathology bin (maybe its the smell?), a line started forming to check out the HPSS! It took us an extra long time to set up with all of the excitement around us, but we loved your enthusiasm right from the get-go! I think we got some of our very best questions these past few days. Here are a few examples and the answers we came up with:
"Is a turtle shell made out of bone?" Yes, the shell is composed of hard bony plates covered by scutes. The scutes are made of keratin (like hair, nails, and hooves of other animals).
"Isn't there one type of cat that can't retract its claws?" Yes, cheetahs are the only member of the cat family that have non-retractable claws.
"Why is it that dogs and cats get tapeworms after swallowing a flea?" Flea larvae consume the eggs of tapeworms and are then infected with tapeworm larvae. By the time the flea is an adult, the tapeworm is ready to infect a dog or cat.
"I can count eight legs on this tick (under the microscope) . . . are ticks related to spiders?" Yes, all arachnids have eight legs. Arachnids include spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites (as well as many other species).
Wow you guys are smart! Thanks for all of the great questions and for always keeping us on our toes. It was really fun being in the Circle of Life tent because the other exhibits in the tent stimulated even further discussion and new questions for us to talk about. I think the hottest topic at the fair must have been the debate on whether or not goats can see in color . . . sorry we couldn't help you out more with that one!
Unfortunately, we never did witness the "circle of life" in our three days at Kalamazoo. The animals where smart and farrowed/calved/lambed in the early morning when it was coolest. However, we did love coming in each morning to greet the newborn animals. And no, we were not a part of the "udder chaos" when the pregnant cow broke free and bolted toward the midway on Wednesday. We are pretty sure she was just looking for the HPSS exhibit, and wish we could have been there a day sooner!
Thank you to the fair-goers of Kalamazoo for an excellent fair, and for being brave enough to try the bovine rectal palpation demo - you ran Erin clean out of Tootsie Rolls. It has been a great summer, and the student coordinators are really grateful that the "regular season" ended on such a good note!
Until next week in Chelsea . . . we will be practicing our suture patterns! See you there!
No comments:
Post a Comment