American Prairie, in partnership with ZooMontana, is pleased to announce the return of “ECO-Critters” to the National Discovery Center in Lewistown. On Saturday, July 5, from 10am to 4pm, educational staff from ZooMontana in Billings will return to Lewistown with live animals from around the world in the third of five scheduled visits in 2025.
ECO-Critters, designed for everyone interested in Earth’s living creatures, is one of several free educational programs developed by American Prairie’s National Discovery Center staff. Visiting on July 5 will be a western hognose snake, three-toed box turtle, and blue death-feigning beetles. The plains hognose snake is native to the Central Montana prairie. When threatened, it will flatten its neck and raise its head off the ground, similar to a cobra, and hiss. This behavior has earned the hognose snake several nicknames, such as "blowing adder", "flathead", "spreading adder", or "hissing adder". To protect itself, it may also “play dead”!
Three-toed box turtles are a subspecies of the eastern box turtle. They are named for having three toes on their hind feet. They are exclusive to North America, ranging from Maine to Florida and from Michigan to Texas. They live in open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows. These turtles are omnivores, meaning they eat plants, as well as animals. Their diet includes snails, insects, berries, roots, flowers, fish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, birds, and eggs. They have even been observed munching on a dead cow!
Blue death-feigning beetles are native to the Sonoran Desert and parts of Mexico. They are black in color, but are covered in a waxy coating that gives them a blue hue. The coating also protects them from the sun. When threatened, these beetles pretend to be dead, hence the name “death-feigning”! They are also omnivorous and consume dead insects, lichen, fruits, and other plant material.
During this free event, visitors can explore multiple stations and learn about the natural world the animals live in and how they are cared for at the zoo. Visitors can also tour the National Discovery Center exhibits and learn even more about prairie plants and animals. ZooMontana Education and Outreach staff will be on hand to answer questions and handle the animals.
The American Prairie National Discovery Center is located at 302 W. Main Street in Lewistown, and is open Thursday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Visit americanprairie.org/national-discovery-center to learn more, and follow American Prairie on Facebook for updates on upcoming events and programming.
