[Nhcoll-l] Display of "roadkill"

[Peter Rauch]

Carolyn,

As Robert C. Glotzhober noted, there are so many more stories to tell behind the "can you identify this?" theme.

Many of them would include the "shock value" of the numbers of road kill. In that regard, preparing a "few specimens" may not be sufficient "shock" to compel the stories.

And, much road kill is not "flattened" but simply dead and relatively intact bodily. They don't present the general public with the same kind of an "identity" problem, but they are nonetheless as much a part of the stories to be told as any flattened specimens.

The Oakland Museum of California is an appropriate location to enlighted the public about "incidental" wildlife mortality problems (just as is, for example, the notable and "inconvenient" annual road closure in your local Tilden Regional Park during the winter (wet) migration season, to protect the local California Newt population (http://www.ebparks.org/news/South_Park_Drive_Closes_for_Newt_Crossings_Starting_November_1_s1_p1185).

 From our abundant Alameda/Contra Costa County deer road kills, to our windshield insect road kills, and about our lack of adequate safe wildlife road-crossing "services", to our local windmill power generation farm bird collision corridor, we do have stories to tell --not only about who, but about how many, how, why, where, when.

Peter

At 14:59 12/11/14, Carolyn Rissanen wrote:
>Has anyone ever done a display of road kill? We are looking to prepare a few specimens as a "can you identify this?" exhibition, and it seems that we can have our taxidermist mount them flat, or collect them pre-flattened and freeze dry them.  Any opinions?
>
>Carolyn Rissanen
>Oakland Museum of California