Conservation Weekend is this weekend at Liberty Science Center! From April 21 through April 23 – coinciding with Earth Day on the 22nd – the building will be packed with labs and special activities based around the need to conserve our planet’s resources.

But even before Conservation Weekend kicks off, we’re holding conservation-focused events throughout the week. Yesterday on April 17, we held our first event, “Meet a Herpetologist,” with the Bronx Zoo’s Collection Manager of the Herpetology Department, Kevin Torregrosa.

Kevin is one of the leading reptile experts in the country – he has worked with every recognized species of crocodilian, is a member of the Crocodilian Advisory Group, and an instructor for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. You may also recognize him from the Animal Planet show, “The Zoo.”

Kevin shared with our guests his vast knowledge of crocodilians: an order of animals which include crocodiles, alligators, and the lesser-known gharials. To showcase the differences between the three groups, he brought skulls which guests could examine and touch.

One of the key ways to tell the groups apart is by looking at their snouts, which have evolved different shapes to accommodate different diets. Kevin also answered questions about working with reptiles and their conservation.

Unfortunately, crocodilians are often threatened by human activity, including hunting and habitat destruction. Gharials, in particular, have had a rapid short-term decline, earning them the IUCN listing as “Critically Endangered,” or close to extinction (the cotton-top tamarins, a guest favorite at LSC, are also a Critically Endangered species). Their distribution is now limited to only 2% of their former range in the wild, and, in captivity, a 30-year history of breeding programs has not been enough. The species still faces an uncertain future, but you can help by reducing your carbon footprint – reduce, reuse, and recycle!

Our next big event of the week will be a scuba diver demonstration happening on Wednesday, April 19, followed by a visit from the Staten Island Zoo on Friday, April 21 to kick off Conservation Weekend!