The Prairie Park Nature Center is listed as one of the “Things To Do” in Lawrence, KS. We were not expecting much, so we were pleasantly surprised when it turned out better than expected.

The nature center has more animals and animal artifacts than any other nature center we have been too. The place was just short of being a zoo. The main room was roughly 80′ to 100′ by 30′ to 40′ with a side area for kids, offices and restrooms. There was also a small aviary in the back … and, it was decorated for Halloween, in case you thought Elk wear witch hats in the wild.

Most of the main area was animal habitats and educational information. Not surprisingly, it appears to be focused on educational programs for school children and youth groups. There were at least two more framed educational posters, but they were not legible due to light reflected from the skylights.

The majority of the animals were reptiles and amphibians – frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, and tortoises. There were also some prairie dogs, a rabbit, a few tropical birds (Watch out! They bite!), and some insects. It seemed to be about an even mix of local and imported animals. Some animals might have been abandoned or confiscated pets. We did not think to ask. We are certain that some enclosures were vacate, but the occupants were just hiding or difficult to photograph in some others. These are most of the pictures where the occupants are visible.

The brochure is a bit anemic, but it shows a map of the park. I was disappointed that I did not see a single Woodrat Villa on our hike. Unlike Central American Drug Lords, woodrats must be very good a camouflaging their villas.

There were several sculptures and play areas near the building.

The park is only about 100 acres (.15 square miles), but it has a paved path around the border, dirt paths through the middle, and a small lake. There was an information stand about prairies near the start of the hiking trails.

Unfortunately, the hiking was not as well maintained as the nature center. There were some downed trees and a few well placed death traps for the unwary. Kate took a few pictures of me on the pier, in case it collapsed and she lost me.

At the end of the hike, we found an artistic educational pavilion behind the nature center.

We also found that they wanted their ticks back. A tick check is kind of like a coat check, right?

Ever heard “Red on yella, kill a fella. Red on black, a friend of Jack” or “Red against yellow, you’re a dead fellow. Red against black, you’re OK, Jack.” Based on the rhyme, this snake should be “safe”. As it turns out, this is a nonvenomous milk snake. The nonvenomous scarlet snake and scarlet king snake also have similar coloring when viewed from the top, but …

… it also turns out that the rhyme only works in North America and not reliably at that. The rhyme helps to differentiate a few nonvenomous snakes from the typical coloring of the three North American species of coral snake – Eastern, Texas, and Arizona coral snake. It does not account for abnormally colored coral snakes (e.g., albino, no red, or no yellow), rattlesnakes, copperheads, or water moccasins. It also misidentifies some nonvenomous snakes as venomous. For your own safety …

For more information about this, you can skim these articles.

• http://thevenominterviews.com/2016/06/02/mythbusting-coral-snakes/
• https://www.themeateater.com/conservation/wildlife-management/fact-checker-is-the-coral-snake-poem-accurate
• http://www.wildlife-removal.com/snakecolorrhyme.html

And the obligatory selfie with John’s butt in it.