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Gator Finds Home at Museum

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Photo by Bradly Gill

Surprise!  An American alligator can now be seen at the Turner Neal Museum of Natural History.

   Now thanks to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the museum has a new resident: an American alligator. Wildlife officer John Paul Greer donated the animal after it started to outgrow its former home in an aquarium.

   "He decided to see if we wanted it and I said sure," said Jim Edson, museum director and professor of geology.

   Under Arkansas law, alligators are a protected species. Edson had to obtain a written letter from the chief of wildlife management in order to legally house the 5-month-old reptile. Once obtained, Edson and student worker Randal Wilson adapted one of the museum's current aquariums to make it more 'gator friendly.

   "I think the alligator will bring more visitors. People only seem to come here when they have to do the planetarium with Mr. Geunter," said Wilson.

   But the gator isn't the only wild animal you'll find, though it is one of the only live ones. In the late '60s, avid big game hunter Turner Neal of McGehee donated his collection of trophies to the museum. Later came the collections of Fred Johnson of Hutting and Albert Garrison of Fordyce. Now a host of wild cats and other creatures line the walls of the museum. The giant elephant head ordaining one wall is especially stunning.

Photo by Bradly Gill

Foreshadowing? -- This polar bear does not worry about ice caps melting.

   The museum was built in the mid '70s. Since that time, expansions include the Pomeroy Planetarium and the UAM Herbarium. A butterfly house containing various Arkansas native species of butterflies is also currently being constructed.

   Meanwhile, the museum is open Monday through Friday at various hours.

    "We don't have a full-time staff, so it's only open when Dr. (Eric) Sundell, Mr. Geunter or I can unlock it," Edson said. For more information about the Turner Neal Museum of Natural History go to http://www.uamont.edu/Math_and_Sciences/museum/museum.html.