FINDLAY, OH (WLIO) - The Hancock Park District put on a display of bones to teach people just how much we can learn from them.
The public was invited to the "Skulls, Bones, and More: Open House" where they could check out bones as common as deer and woodchuck, and some rare specimens like a wooly mammoth. Many of the pieces on display were collected right from Hancock County Parks and preserved by their staff.
Bones can reveal a lot of information about an animal, such as its age and diet. When a new species is discovered, this is the only way we can learn about the animal, and the skull is one of the most useful pieces to look at.
"How many teeth they have, what type of teeth we can tell, we can tell from their eye sockets if they're more of a predator, if they're more forward seeing, have binocular vision. More to the side of the head for that, more of a stereoscopic vision, helps them see around them, see movement a little bit better. A lot of animals have a special crest on the top of their skull, it actually allows a better attaching point for muscles in the jaw bone," explains Tim Kleman, a program specialist for the Hancock Park District.
Kleman adds that if you are interested in collecting bones, you should be aware that it is illegal to pick up the bones of all birds and endangered animals.
