As many of you know, our beloved Komodo dragon, Drogo, passed away unexpectedly overnight on April 6 – 7, 2022.
Drogo, 01/19/13 – 04/07/2022
On the morning of April 6, animal care staff noticed Drogo was lethargic and generally not acting like himself. By early afternoon, Drogo was unresponsive to both audio and tactile stimulation. He was quickly taken to the GSC’s Shearer Animal Hospital where the vet team drew blood, took x-rays and performed an examination, which revealed no causative pathology. Drogo was brought back to his behind-the-scenes holding area to recover and was conscious and responsive. Sadly, he was found deceased by members of our animal care team on the morning of April 7.
A necropsy (animal autopsy) was performed and tissue samples were sent off for histopathological testing. The histopath results show that his death was due to a systemic bacterial infection, which caused hemorrhaging and necrosis of his liver. Introduction of this infection is attributed to a lesion within his lower gastro-intestinal tract. Unfortunately, because Drogo did not begin showing symptoms until a late stage, it would have been difficult to impossible to detect and hence prevent the infection. By the time he was showing clinical signs on the morning of April 6, the progression of disease would have been too far along to stop.
Drogo, 01/19/13 – 04/07/2022
As an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited institution, with excellent and compassionate animal care and veterinary staff, we have and will continue to follow all best practices for animal care and welfare.
“Drogo had been a centerpiece of the Greensboro Science Center since his arrival in September of 2016 and was loved by all who knew him, especially his dedicated care team.” Jessica Hoffman, VP of Animal Care and Welfare.
The GSC team is grateful for the public’s continued thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
CONTACT INFORMATION Bekah Robinson 336-288-3769 x1305 rrobinson@greensboroscience.org
The Greensboro Science Center (GSC) and the Battleground Parks District (BPD) Prepare to Bring Top-5 NC Tourism Status to Greensboro and Guilford County
GREENSBORO, NC — The Greensboro Science Center (GSC) is revealing details of two projects designed to position Greensboro at the forefront of science-based tourism in North Carolina, including the goals of 750,000 guests and $100M of recurring economic impact annually. City leaders have agreed to allocate $20M of the upcoming $70M Greensboro Parks and Recreation Bond towards the GSC’s Gateway vision. GSC leaders will seek to repeat the private fundraising success of its 2016 – 2018 Think BIG! capital campaign to complement bond funding.
GSC Staff and Board of Directors are excited to unveil Expedition Rainforest: Greensboro Biodome and The Aquatic Rehabilitation and Care Complex (ARCC).
Glenn Dobrogosz, the GSC’s CEO, said, “Our GSC team learned a lot while working to sustain basic operations and build Revolution Ridge during the peak of COVID-19. Thankfully, with the enormous attendance success sparked by Revolution Ridge, it has become abundantly clear that GSC members, local citizens, donors, and hundreds of thousands of tourists now expect us to generate big ideas and build even bolder projects. Expedition Rainforest and the ARCC are not only bold ideas, they will transform Greensboro’s role in science education, tourism, and species conservation at state and global levels.”
About Expedition Rainforest: Greensboro Biodome
Expedition Rainforest: Greensboro BiodomeExpedition Rainforest: Greensboro BiodomeExpedition Rainforest: The Oasis
Designed as an interconnected biodome complex, Expedition Rainforest will offer students, families and tourists an immersive, ‘under the dome’ journey into our planet’s most diverse ecosystem. The biodome will include up-close encounters with sloth, toucans, clouded leopards, caiman, capybaras, giant tortoises, birds of Amazonia, and creatures of the understory, showcasing diverse and colorful reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Rockscapes, waterfalls, and lush tropical foliage beneath a sunlight-penetrating roof will surround swinging bridges, replicas of ancient art from South America, Africa, and Asia, and inspirational graphics that will connect stories of life, science, diversity, conservation, art, and culture from across the world.
About The ARCC
The ARCC
The GSC’s Wiseman Aquarium was NC’s first-ever inland aquarium, a visionary project that dramatically advanced tourism and economic development in central NC. The ARCC will build on that success by providing students, families, guests, and universities with a conservation and research “Ocean Lab” designed to propagate and/or replenish wild coral, sea horses, jellies and other aquatic animals in need. The facility will also serve to rehabilitate sea turtles and isolate, treat, house or quarantine sharks, rays, and other fishes. Guests will be able to explore all sections of the ARCC while interacting with aquarists, biologists, and veterinarians as they work to care for and conserve ocean life.
Dobrogosz said, “As I reflect back on the past 19 years and the many times we were told that Greensboro could never support building an aquarium or an expanded science museum or zoo, I am incredibly proud that we stayed true to our original mission and vision. Greensboro’s bright future will be built around leaders and organizations that ‘think big,’ innovate and follow through. The Gateway Project is a true gateway to economic growth and smart growth that brings all people together to learn and to experience common ground in life and science.”
Artificial light pollution has robbed us of the beautiful star-filled night skies that thrilled ancient stargazers. But the technology of our times has also given back at least as much as it’s taken away. While peoples of the past could see many more stars in their much darker, clearer skies than we can, they had no idea what they were looking at. But we do! That’s an advantage anyone can grasp and hold onto, literally, in the palm of their hand. Smartphone apps, like the brilliant “Sky Guide,” give us advantages that would make the Roman and Greek gods of traditional sky lore green with envy. Standing in your yard and holding your phone outstretched to the heavens, these apps overlay an Augmented Reality view of the contents of the sky you’re seeing, so you can touch, identify and learn about each constellation, star, planet, or satellite you might see. There’s no better way for a contemporary stargazer to get a grasp of what’s up there than with an app like this in hand.
Messer 42 (The Orion Nebula) as captured by Ron S.
And if you want to get the kids in your household enthralled with star stories, why limit them to the old lore of the past? For example, Orion was seen as a hunter- warrior locked in a life and death face-off with Taurus, the bull. But how much more exciting it is to tell our kids the TRUE tales of what we NOW know about the real life and death struggles in the region of space bound within those same two constellations. In Orion lies a stellar nursery where hundreds of new stars are just now being born, while, in Taurus, the remnant of a dead star is still literally spinning in its grave thirty times a second and a thousand years after blowing itself up as a supernova. Everywhere you turn, these are the kinds of scientific star tales an app like “Sky Guide” gives you.
With nothing more than a smartphone, your eyes, and, if you have them, a simple pair of binoculars, your backyard can become a launchpad for boldly going where you’ve never gone before.
Written by Ron S.
To learn more backyard stargazing tips, check out the Redfin post below.
Greensboro Science Center 