NHM Avian and Mammal Collections
By Jasmine Regalado, Volunteer Coordinator
California Wildlife Center staff and volunteers recently had the unique opportunity to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the avian and mammal collections department of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum (NHM). The Museum opened its doors in 1913 and has since served as a publicly funded educational resource for the community. California Wildlife Center has had a fantastic working relationship with the Natural History Museum for over 15 years.
Not all patients at CWC survive, and when they don’t, there is an opportunity to donate their bodies to the ornithology and mammalogy collections at the Natural History Museum. It is through this partnership that CWC and these animals can provide one more gift to members of the public–education.
Dr. Young Ha Suh PhD, collections manager of the ornithology department, and Dr. Shannen Robson PhD, collections manager of the terrestrial mammalogy department, invited CWC for an in-depth tour of their collections. Behind the display cases in the Bird Hall exists a network of rooms, offices, and storage areas for the numerous specimens that are accepted, preserved, and logged for future research use. Specimens are preserved to maintain fur, feathers, bones, or tissue. This allows biologists both at NHM and other outside institutions to have a reliable collection of animals for their specific research projects.
Ivory-billed Woodpeckers
Stuffed bird skins and wings on display
Volunteers listen intently as Dr. Young Ha Suh explains the storage system at the NHM
Some of the specimens in this file date back to 1912
CWC groups saw numerous cataloged skins and skeletons of different birds and mammals and learned how their preparation methods for research differ from that of general taxidermy for the public display cases.
“These are the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, these are completely extinct. They were officially declared extinct a couple of years ago, but they haven’t been seen since the 70’s,” mentioned Young. Rare and even extinct species are incredibly important to the collection at NHM. Biologists rely on the study of extinct species to inform practices on preserving current wildlife populations.
California Wildlife Center is pleased to play a role in the work accomplished at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. We will continue to lend our support so that together we can provide resources for education on wildlife coexistence.