All are invited to the FREE program being presented by the SPCA of Mariposa County on Wednesday, March 18th, 2015 at the Masonic Hall in Mariposa. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; program begins at 6 p.m.  

Biologist Burleigh Lockwood has bones, skulls and skins, of various animals, on hand, to explain how you can determine what an animal eats by examining its skull and teeth. She reviews what characteristics determine whether an animal is a reptile, amphibian, bird or mammal, as well as how to behave when encountering snakes, frogs, turtles and other wild California native species. Her presentation contains specimens for hands-on comparisons of our Sierra Foothill animals, reptiles, and birds. Of special interest during this talk is how animals change with elevation, and the effect of climate change on the animals in our environment.

Burleigh has been a field biologist since the age of 4. She smashed worms and crumpled caterpillars in inquisitive hands. She pursued biology through high school and into college. While she was finishing her degree in Environmental Biology, she began working for California Fish and Game as a seasonal biologist. It was a career shift to the US Forest Service that brought her into contact with owls. As an official "hooter" on Spotted Owl surveys for the Forest Service, she learned the habits and hoots of the owls in the Sierra. She is currently a biologist for the Education Department of Chafee Zoo in Fresno, California.