The Science of Monsters

Lexi Ames: “‘Scavenger’ is probably the most accurate descriptor for what I am! I am constantly on the lookout for a good specimen, and while the woods and riversides are particularly good places, even cityscapes can have excellent bone caches. Window wells tend to trap rodents and rabbits, while nesting birds of prey regularly push bones out of their nests, scattering little treasures all over the ground. I keep plastic baggies and gloves in my car for just such situations.

People love to tell me about dead animals they find. It hit a peak during my bird specimen days at Lawrence. I would patrol the grounds at five each morning to find birds that hit windows the evening before, but I found that the best information came from friends and strangers aware of what I was working on. I’d get a message and sprint out of class mid-lecture to make sure the birds were as fresh as possible, tag them, and bring them straight to my advisor’s freezer! My friends and family still love to tell me all about a particular dead thing that they saw, or send a text with a heartwarming “thinking of you” featuring a dead bug or vole their cat dragged into the house. I find it very sweet!”

Meg:“How thoughtful! And I love that you’re prepared at all times! What is a wet specimen?”

Lexi Ames: “A wet specimen is simply an animal or organ preserved with fluids in a vessel. This can be done using formalin, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, or another liquid preserve. This process is especially handy for animals with very soft tissues, such as octopus or larval insects, but just about anything can be preserved in a jar! They last very well and it’s much simpler than skinning, cleaning, mounting, and detailing a freestanding piece of taxidermy.

Kelly:“Now I know what all those jars are that we see in so many horror movies! How does the collection of these animals aid in our scientific understanding? Anything surprising you’ve learned along the way?”

Lexi Ames: “At one point, all species described by science required a preserved specimen that ‘proved’ their existence. Collecting samples provides many benefits to science and the public. Collecting city animals hit by cars may, for example, offer valuable information on parasite infestations, food availability, disease concerns, and even minute evolutionary changes! This data can then be used for the benefit of both animal and human residents.”

Kelly:“I just read about this in relation to chronic wasting disease and deer specimens!”

Lexi Ames: “Museums often have drawer upon drawer of these samples, hidden away from public view. Collecting samples over vast periods of time can also show us how animals are adapting to new challenges like habitat loss or climate change, and help us estimate how future populations may change throughout time. Then, of course, there’s the inspiring beauty to these collections. Observers can get very close to the specimens and drink in the detail and structure of the animal in question without worrying about putting the animal into a state of stress. This is especially inspiring to young children, and helps to instate curiosity and wonder of the natural world. Last, it is good to remember that these collections often were taken at a high cost, and that the field of science has greatly expanded its collective opinions on ethicality.”

Meg:“I love how you describe the balance of science and art! What is one piece that you were super excited about? A find that was a big one for you.”

Lexi Ames: “One spring, I was hiking with a friend in rural Wisconsin when we came across an entire skeleton of a massive ten-point buck. It’s highly unusual to find such a treasure; scavengers hadn’t removed any pieces from the site, and aside from the mat of hair he laid on, the bones were nearly clean. He was laid out in a shady, fern-filled valley, with only his antlers visible above the foliage. We gathered up every last bit except for the hooves as they had become too soft, and carried them several miles back to the car in our sweatshirts and raincoats. We call him Heathcliff, and he hangs in my childhood home next to Cathy, the doe skull my father and I collected when I was four years old.”