USA: American Museum of Natural History in New York allows up-close views into the world of lizards and snakes

An engaging, not to mention scaly, new exhibition is about to open at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Entitled "Lizards and Snakes: Alive!", the show features more than 60 reptiles from five continents and even boasts a live webcast of a water monitor. The museum's exhibition, which opens to the public on July 1, allows visitors to get an up-close view of the creatures, while maintaining a safe distance, especially important since some of them are highly poisonous. Showcased in the exhibition are reptiles of all sorts and sizes, from passive geckos to the venomous, and tempered red spitting cobra. Co-curator of the museum's herpetology department, Dr. Jack Conrad said that he hopes the exhibit will change people's attitudes regarding reptiles, which often are images of slimy, scary creatures, according to Conrad. "The nice thing about this exhibit is that we really try to focus on the fact that lizards and snakes aren't a dead end. People think of these animals as being cold-blooded and kind of sluggish and primitive, but in fact this is an incredibly diverse and successful group of animals," said Conrad. One of the monsters on display is a 14-foot Burmese python, which is capable of swallowing whole an animal as large as a deer. But the star of the show is sure to be the water monitor, which will have a camera installed in its case enabling people to watch it live via the internet. Darryl Frost, lead curator of the museum's herpetology department, said he thinks people will enjoy getting to track the daily routine of one of the largest living species of lizard, a sort of reptile reality TV. "I'm probably generationally removed from reality TV, but yeah, you can get on the A.M.N.H. web and you can see what the water monitor is doing that minute. And this guy tends to be pretty active, as a matter of fact," said Frost. In addition to the creatures, the exhibit will also have cameras installed in various other cases, like the geckos' cage, which allow on-hand visitors to zoom in and get a ultra-close look at their favourite critter. "Lizards and Snakes: Alive!" will remain on display at the American Museum of Natural History until January, 2007. And if scaly things get your skin crawling, there's no better thrill than to look fear in eye.

ITN Source | June 23, 2006

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