Reptile and Amphibian Scavenger Hunt This is a list of potential scavenger hunt questions to be used by students while exploring the Day Exhibits at Woodland Park Zoo. You can draw from this list to create scavenger hunts for your students based on their grade level and abilities. The questions are divided by suggested grade level and answers are listed on a separate page by the corresponding number or letter. Depending on the visibility of the animals on the day of your visit, students may or may not be able to answer all the questions fully. Grades K-1 1. Where does the Chinese crocodile lizard live? 2. What color are the bands on the mangrove snake’s back? 3. What color are the poison dart frogs in the Day House? 4. Why do you think red-footed tortoises were given their name? 5. What color is the tip of the southern copperhead’s tail? Draw the shapes outlined in dark brown on the snake’s body. 6. How many toes does the smooth-sided toad have on each foot? What are some of the things you might see in the smooth-sided toad’s natural habitat? 7. Compare the black-breasted leaf turtle to the yellow spotted side-necked turtles – how are they similar and how are they different? Grades 2-3 A. Is the Madagascar tree boa an endangered reptile? B. The Blair’s kingsnake is immune to the venom of which type of snake? C. How many babies do female prehensile tailed skinks give birth to at one time? D. Take a good look at the desert rosy boa and the Louisiana pine snake. How are they similar and how are they different? E. How many claws do western pond turtles have? F. Describe the exhibit of the New Caledonia giant gecko. G. What does the eastern blue-tongued skink use its blue tongue for? H. Where do red-footed tortoises go to hide from predators? I. Is the Taylor’s cantil venomous? J. When does the Dumeril’s boa come out to search for food? K. How many eggs do female smooth-sided toads lay each year? Grades 4-6 a. How long can dwarf crocodiles live? b. Which rattlesnake exhibited in the Day House is found in Washington state? c. What predators have affected western pond turtles? d. What does the temperature of the leopard gecko’s egg determine later on? e. The king cobra looks for other ___________ to feed on. f. I’m an iguana over two feet long: who am I? What do you see down the middle of my back? g. Why is it called the eyelash viper? What color are the eyelash vipers? h. Why is it called an inland bearded dragon? Where do inland bearded dragons live? i. Name two characteristics that make European legless lizards different from snakes. j. Why is the red-footed tortoise considered a scavenger? k. Where does the Taylor’s cantil live? l. Where in North America can you find the desert black kingsnake? Is this snake venomous? m. What is the difference between an axolotl and most other salamanders? n. Why do you think the speckled rattlesnake is called the speckled rattlesnake? How is the spectacled rattlesnake similar to the Northern Pacific rattlesnake? Grades 7-10 I. What is another name for the tentacled snake? Why do you think these snakes have this other name? II. Which lizard at the zoo has enough venom to kill a person? III. What is the biggest threat to Chinese crocodile lizards? IV. Why do people hunt red-footed tortoises? V. Why is the Louisiana pine snake very rare? VI. How long is the zoo’s reticulated python? How long can it get in the wild? VII. What does the zoo’s reticulated python eat? How large an animal can the reticulated python eat? VIII. Why do you suppose there are different sized rocks in the Trans-Pecos rat snake’s exhibit? IX. Why are the snakes in the cornsnake exhibit different colors? X. The false water cobra’s venom is not dangerous to humans, but is used to paralyze what animals? XI. Why are the red-footed tortoises vanishing quickly in some areas? XII. What is the scientific name of the Gaboon viper? Does the Gaboon viper “sit and wait” for its prey, or chase after it? XIII. Why do you think yellow spotted side-necked turtles are bred in captivity? Reptile and Amphibian Scavenger Hunt Answers Grades K-1 1. (China) 2. (yellow) 3. (green and black) 4. (they have red coloring on their legs and feet) 5. (brown) Second question—students illustrate their observations 6. (four toes on front feet; five toes on back feet) Second question (logs, branches, rocks, plants, water) 7. (leaf turtles are smaller, more orange in color, live on land and the back ends of their shells have points) Grades 2-3 A. (yes) B. (rattlesnake) C. (one large baby) D. (the Louisiana pine snake is bigger, has black patches and lives in the pine forests of the southeast United States; the desert rosy boa is smaller, has pink and light gray stripes down its body, and lives in the deserts of the southwestern United States) E. (20 total; five on each foot) F. (bamboo perches, ferns, bark, branches) Second question (multiple acceptable answers, but will most likely be clinging to the wall or on one of the many branches) G. (to frighten away predators) H. (under the cover of bushes and vines) I. (yes) J. (at dusk) K. (10,000 eggs) Grades 4-6 a. (50 years) b. (northern Pacific rattlesnake) c. (bullfrogs) d. (whether or not it will be male or female—eggs kept above 90 degrees Fahrenheit will hatch as males) e. (snakes) f. (a ridge of small spikes) g. (named for the spiny scales above each eye) Second question (they can be yellow, orange, brown or green) h. (spiky, beard-like throat pouch) Second question (Australia) i. (a European legless lizard has eyelids and can lose and regrow its long tail) j. (red-footed tortoises eat carrion, the flesh of animals that have died) k. (northeastern Mexico) l. (In southeast Arizona and in Mexico) Second question (no) m. (Axolotls never give up their aquatic existence, do not go through metamorphosis, and breathe with their gills throughout their lives.) n. (it’s coloration is speckled) Second question—students describe their observations Grades 7-10 I. (the fishing snake) Second question (because these snakes spend most of his life in water eating fish and other small aquatic animals) II. (gila monster) III. (overcollection for the pet trade) IV. (to eat the meat) V. (loss of habitat—the Louisiana pine forest is being cut down) VI. (18 feet) Second question (over 30 feet) VII. (rabbits) Second question (animals the size of a deer or a pig) VIII. (the rocks afford it shelter from predators, and shade when the temperature is extreme. These rat snakes are often found near rock outcroppings in northern Mexico and west Texas.) IX. (some are missing one or more of the color pigments [red, yellow or black], a hereditary condition called partial albinism) X. (fish, frogs, toads, birds and small mammals) XI. (they are prized by humans for meat; they reproduce and mature very slowly) XII. (Bitis gabonica) Second question (the gaboon viper ambushes its prey, meaning it “sits and waits” for its prey to come within striking distance) XIII. (to keep their population numbers at a healthy level; they are endangered because their meat and eggs are highly prizes as human food) Note: This scavenger hunt is current as of March 2008. The zoo’s collection is subject to change. Questions about your zoo visit? Please call 206.548.2424. .