From the Archives: First Komodo Dragons in U.S. Hatch on Mason Campus

Colleen Rich — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:00:36 +0000

From the Archives: First Komodo Dragons in U.S. Hatch on Mason Campus Colleen Rich Thu, 08/11/2022 - 09:00

This story ran in the October 30, 1992, print edition of the Mason Gazette.

Mason biologist Geoffrey Birchard with five-week-old Komodo dragon. Photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution

In the movie “The Freshman,” Matthew Broderick agrees to deliver a Komodo dragon, a rare and endangered lizard, to Marlon Brando—illegally. ��AV biology professor Geoffrey Birchard has also had Komodo dragons delivered to him—but legally, as part of a joint project with the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.

Birchard, a herpetologist, was called on by the zoo's curator of herpetology, Dale Marcellini, last January to incubate 10 of the 26 eggs that were the result of a monthlong courtship between the zoo's two 10-year-old lizards. The adult lizards had been given to the zoo in 1988 by the ambassador of lndonesia.

During the eight-month incubation period, several eggs died, but on Sept. 13, in one of the university's labs, the first dragon hatched out of his leathery-shelled egg. Twelve others quickly followed their brother's lead. Two more are still to go.

''Everyone here is beaming with pride," says Marcellini.

Marcellini turned to ��AV because he literally did not want to put all his eggs in one basket and wished to avoid potential disasters, like electricity failure or fire, that could destroy the eggs. And George Mason had higher-quality incubators.

The university's eggs hatched first because they were kept at a slightly higher temperature. which accelerated the process.

“Things went extremely well," says Birchard. ''We're looking forward to doing other projects [with the zoo] as well."

This is not the first time Birchard has been involved with the National Zoological Park. Over the past five years, he has served as a consultant for the zoo. And in return the zoo has donated surplus eggs—including those of pythons and milk snakes—to Birchard for his research on the physiology of developing animals.

Baby lizard comes out of his shell with some help from a friend. Photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution

During the dragons' incubation period, he performed metabolic studies on the embryos, recording the gas exchange between the eggs and the environment.

“This proved to be quite an experience," says Birchard. “Every day for the past eight months l had to come in to make sure the eggs were okay. But professionally, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

When born Komodo dragons, whose natural habitat is the Komodo and Flores islands, off the coast of Indonesia, are about 8 to 16 inches long and weigh up to 4 ounces. Their yellow, brown, and black skin is heavily patterned with chevron and circle markings—and yes, they have a forked tongue. Gradually their striking skin turns a uniform gray and eventually they can weigh as much as 300 pounds and reach a length of more than 10 feet, making them the world's largest lizards. The National Zoological Park is the first only other place in North America where place to breed the lizard outside of Indonesia.

At present, all the young Komodo dragons are back at the zoo, happily feeding on mice and insects. A few are already on display at the Reptile House.

"These guys are Iike scaly pandas when it comes to getting people excited," says Marcellini.

Plans are being discussed to send some of the babies to other zoos and to loan the female adult dragon to the Cincinnati Zoo, the only other place in North America where Komodo dragons are kept.

The Mason Gazette, University and Student Publications, #R0128, Special Collections Research Center, ��AV Libraries.

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From the Archives: A History of Mason Mascots

Colleen Rich — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:11:04 +0000

From the Archives: A History of Mason Mascots Colleen Rich Wed, 03/09/2022 - 08:11

Fans of Mason’s sports teams have seen the Patriot mascot evolve from a man dressed in colonial garb to large-headed fuzzy cartoon characters with crazy socks to a dapper, almost superhero Patriot.

The early history of Mason’s mascots is a little fuzzy itself. Perhaps the strangest of all the mascots appeared at the first annual bonfire in 1985—the Mason Maniak, an unidentified animal character with a huge head and a t-shirt bearing the words, “Mason Maniak,” complete with lightning bolt. This furry character wore bright striped pants and was often seen dancing to the cheers of spectators.

George Malenich, who works in Facilities, played the Mason mascot for more than 10 years as several different characters, including a patriot, a gorilla, and good old furry Gunston. “It was the only time I could ask other women to dance and not get in trouble with my wife,” he says with a laugh.

In the early 1990s, Malenich wore the Patriot mascot costume, which had a cartoon head with a two-foot tall hat. That mascot was retired in 1993 when George Johnson, then president of the university, decided that a white male mascot did not fully represent the diversity of the university’s campus. Because Coach Paul Westhead, the men’s basketball coach at the time, liked his players to be fast and strong, Malenich says a search was on for a new mascot that was fast and strong. The result was a short-lived gorilla mascot.

The Green Mask, a mascot based on the Jim Carrey movie The Mask, cheered on Mason sports teams during the 1995–96 academic year. Malenich not only played the Green Mask for the Patriots’ games, he also used the costume for several Washington Capitals games, because the team’s goaltender that year was named Jim Carey.

In late 1996, during a basketball game against Ohio State, the furry green Gunston made his first appearance. Although Gunston’s look changed over the years, the name and concept remained the same. While no one was really sure what exactly Gunston was, he traveled with the men’s basketball team to the Final Four and even appeared on Good Morning America. Eventually Gunston retired from sports and went on to teach children about the Earth and energy conservation with the “Go Green with Gunston” program.

The Patriot, the mascot we know today, arrived in time for the 2009-10 basketball season and has been inspiring Mason spirit for almost a decade.

A version of this story originally ran in the spring 2018 issue of the Mason Spirit.

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From the Archives: First Komodo Dragons in U.S. Hatch on Mason Campus

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From the Archives: A History of Mason Mascots

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