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Description

Granite and Obsidian enjoy their newly created paddock.

“Granite and Obsidian had begun their long period of recovery well. However it was not only the physical condition of the Dinosaurs that we all had to worry about. As Sarah and Suzanne pointed out there was more to ensuring these creatures were comfortable than just their health. I would see this for myself when going to visit the Triceratops.

Granite had begun to grind her horns on the fencing bars. Initially Lambert thought this was the creature attempting to escape or damage the fences, however Harding disagreed. She pointed out to me as we watched that several other wild animals with horns and antlers will often grind them on objects either to remove their outer layers and stimulate regrowth, or to clean them. She hypothesised that Granite was only doing what was natural to the Triceratops. And the Triceratops were not the only creatures that Sarah was concerned about.

The Baryonyx had also demonstrated a degree of irritation with her paddock. She had made several attempts to dig under the fencing and rangers had been needed to repair the damage. She had also noted that the Baryonyx needed more shade as there was barely any in her paddock.

Thus a plan was put in action. All the current dinosaurs would need their paddocks re-designed. Harding led the efforts and based these around the planting of new foliage for shade, many of which came from the other islands in the chain full grown. These were supplemented by the adding of hard rock features. Many of these large chunks of stone came from Isla Pena, a small slip of an Island with rocky shores and cliffs. In addition the paddocks were replanted with a range of grass and flowering species to benefit the plant eaters.

When Granite and Obsidian were finally able to be added to the Stuthio paddock to continue their recovery, it was clear that the new redesigned area was preferred. The Triceratops eagerly dug into the flowering bushes and shrubs while the bird mimics had already staked a claim to the swampy pond like ground under one of the large wide trees that Harding had planted. The Baryonyx paddock was also overhauled with more shade and more water.

In all we felt better now that the dinosaurs we were saving had better environments to live in. However as I was about to find out, life on the Islands was rarely free of complications…”

Description

Granite and Obsidian enjoy their newly created paddock.

“Granite and Obsidian had begun their long period of recovery well. However it was not only the physical condition of the Dinosaurs that we all had to worry about. As Sarah and Suzanne pointed out there was more to ensuring these creatures were comfortable than just their health. I would see this for myself when going to visit the Triceratops.

Granite had begun to grind her horns on the fencing bars. Initially Lambert thought this was the creature attempting to escape or damage the fences, however Harding disagreed. She pointed out to me as we watched that several other wild animals with horns and antlers will often grind them on objects either to remove their outer layers and stimulate regrowth, or to clean them. She hypothesised that Granite was only doing what was natural to the Triceratops. And the Triceratops were not the only creatures that Sarah was concerned about.

The Baryonyx had also demonstrated a degree of irritation with her paddock. She had made several attempts to dig under the fencing and rangers had been needed to repair the damage. She had also noted that the Baryonyx needed more shade as there was barely any in her paddock.

Thus a plan was put in action. All the current dinosaurs would need their paddocks re-designed. Harding led the efforts and based these around the planting of new foliage for shade, many of which came from the other islands in the chain full grown. These were supplemented by the adding of hard rock features. Many of these large chunks of stone came from Isla Pena, a small slip of an Island with rocky shores and cliffs. In addition the paddocks were replanted with a range of grass and flowering species to benefit the plant eaters.

When Granite and Obsidian were finally able to be added to the Stuthio paddock to continue their recovery, it was clear that the new redesigned area was preferred. The Triceratops eagerly dug into the flowering bushes and shrubs while the bird mimics had already staked a claim to the swampy pond like ground under one of the large wide trees that Harding had planted. The Baryonyx paddock was also overhauled with more shade and more water.

In all we felt better now that the dinosaurs we were saving had better environments to live in. However as I was about to find out, life on the Islands was rarely free of complications…”