Who Should Win?

by James Bow · 1 year ago

Our second match of Round 2 is a battle of the reptiles. Our defending champion, the Turtles of rare, barely fended off a spirited challenge by the Jefferson Salamander in Round 1, winning 11-10. The salamander has its defenders, as Ontario Streams presenter Madeline Michaud showed during her Conversations for Conservation last month (look for a video of this seminar soon) But the Turtles are ever popular at rare, from Top Hat our mascot, to the 10,000 turtles our Turtle Team have rescued from nests, incubated, hatched and released over the past several years. This past year, we were able to add rare Blanding's Turtles to our list of rescues. Ever the underdog (we haven't had a contest with hares yet, but we should), our Turtles win hearts everywhere. To learn more about the Blanding's Turtles, check out this site: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/animals-we-protect/blanding-s-turtle/ The Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) itself won a squeaker of a match with the Spring Peeper in Round 1. What is it about these non-venemous creatures that we like so? Snakes in general are fascinating to many, and the venemous ones certainly command a lot of respect. Is it possible that, if we take that venom away, the snake becomes another underdog, like our turtles? To learn more, be sure to check out this site: https://www.canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Eastern%20Gartersnake This promises to be another well-fought match between two popular animals at rare. It's almost a shame to send one of them home, but only one can advance, with your votes. Cast your ballot below.