Greensburg fourth graders get face time with 'cool' and 'cute' critters
Dec. 17—Spiders, snakes, lizards and a llama were among more than two dozen exotic animals that were a highlight of Friday's school day for a group of fourth graders.
The students from Nicely Elementary in Greensburg judged some of the animals they encountered next door at Greensburg Salem High School to be "cute." Others were "cool."
A Dutch rabbit, a chinchilla, a bearded dragon and an eyelash crested gecko numbered in the cute category during the 13th annual Critter Cruise hosted by Andrea Redinger's plant and animal biology class.
Students learned that the gecko's "eyelashes" are actually just projections of skin above its eyes.
Cricket, a female bearded dragon, was fitted in a tiny Santa cap and suit for the pre-holiday occasion.
High school junior Shelby Frick invited the younger students to gently touch the docile reptile's belly, noting Cricket might be pregnant and on her way to laying a clutch of about 20 eggs.
"We won't know until March," Frick said.
Nearby, Elaine Overly of Hempfield's Rolling O Ranch, introduced the students to her llama, 9-year-old Westin.
While there was no reason for alarm at the critter exhibit, Overly told the kids Westin provides a great service on the ranch — as a security guard.
She explained that llamas "give an alarm call when there's some danger. It has a real high pitch. I call it a combination of a donkey braying and a turkey gobbling. When you hear that, you know that something's going on and you'd better go check on it."
Many of the students were fascinated by snakes that were on display.
A female albino Burmese python, coiled in a glass case, grabbed plenty of attention. It was among reptiles exhibited at the event by Mike Pearce of Pearce's Pet Place in Indiana.
Though not yet mature, the python measures at least 10 feet from head to tail, Pearce said.
"She can get a lot bigger," he said. "I had one that was 23 feet long."
Students were able to get closer to a smaller ball python.
"They're really interesting, how they eat," fourth grader Sam Moffatt, 9, said.
"They only need to eat once a week," high school senior Paige Massey explained. "Their bottom jaw is disconnected, so when they eat, they can just eat the whole thing, they don't need to bite into it."
Nolan Smolka, 9, said he'd like to have a ball python to add to the many pets at his Greensburg home — which include three dogs, a bunny, a gecko, a tortoise, a beta fish and two goldfish.
"It's cool how they roll into a ball if they're scared," he said of the python, noting the trait that gave the snake variety its name. "It was so gentle."
The Critter Cruise provides an up-close experience with animals that dovetails with life sciences lessons at Nicely. Redinger said it also demonstrates how well her high school students are versed in their knowledge of various species.
"I could swap the kids around to any station, and they could talk intelligently about any of these animals," Redinger said.
Special needs students visited the critter exhibit before the rest of the Nicely students arrived.
"Some of them were completely engaged," Redinger said. "Some of them may have been non-verbal students, but their faces lit up."
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .
