by Akash K.

Did you know Hackley has a lot of wildlife? Do you know what wildlife is? Wildlife is anything that is alive other than humans. Wildlife is something you see everyday, like when you come to school or at recess when you step on the grass. The wildlife in this article is mostly about animals we see at Hackley. So, if you like animals you’re going to like this article! At Hackley the animals we have are deer and many types of birds. Hackley can possibly have a bear as well! Wildlife at Hackley is important, if we didn’t have a garden we would not have learned about planting vegetables or if we didn’t have a forest we would not learn about wildlife.  For this article, I interviewed Mrs. DiStefano, our LS Science Teacher. “How many types of animals are there in Hackley?” According to Mrs. DiStefano,”There are many different types of animals at Hackley, including mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians.¨ Did you know that Red Back Salamanders are the most numerous vertebrate (animal with a backbone) in the Hackley woods? Or that there can be over 10,000 frog and salamander eggs in Peeper’s Pond in a year? There is a species of salamander at Hackley, the Marbled Salamander, that is threatened (in danger of becoming endangered). The ponds also have Fairy Shrimp and occasionally, a species of clam! The clam larvae come into the ponds on the feet of ducks! Then, I asked her, “Are the animals dangerous?” “Lots of wild animals can be dangerous if they feel threatened by humans, and especially if they feel their young are being threatened. We have coyotes and bobcats at Hackley, but like most wild animals, they tend to be more afraid of people than we are of them and they try to avoid interactions with humans. It’s also possible that we have some poisonous snakes in the woods, but I’ve never personally seen any, only garter snakes” she said. Finally, I asked her which is her favorite animal? She replied, “at Hackley I think the Spotted Salamanders are really cool. Bobcats are also beautiful, but I’ve only seen those on the trail camera footage, not in person.” I hope you enjoyed learning about the wildlife at Hackley!

Hackley’s Wildlife drawing by James B.