Sand Puppies
Heterocephalus glaber, Pueblo Zoo, City Park, Pueblo; Naked but …
Twenty-seven of the newest residents at the Pueblo Zoo are naked mole rats, a species nicknamed “sand puppies.” They’re natives of east Africa, and compellingly ugly — all wrinkled and embryonic-looking, with buck teeth and less hair than Lex Luthor. Why bother to see one? To be grateful that you’re not a naked mole rat.
Sandy Pause
Great Sand Dune National Park excursions from the La Veta Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, Saturdays and Sundays, La Veta;
Get dune with it.
Passengers on the morning train from La Veta can enjoy a two-hour side trip, via motor coach, to Colorado’s newest national park. A bus meets the train in Blanca to take people to the park, then collects them again for the afternoon return trip over La Veta Pass. Bring your own sand bucket.
One thousand
New ponderosa pine seedlings, U.S. Air Force Academy grounds, near Colorado Springs Taking root.
Back in 2005, U.S. Air Force Academy natural resources staff, volunteers and Academy construction contractors collected ponderosa pine cones for seed. Earlier this month, 1,000 little ponderosas, cultivated from about 100 pounds of collected seed, were planted in four areas throughout the 18,000-acre base, filling out thinly forested areas and offering insurance in the event of a wildfire on the academy campus.
