Connor McCarthy is a 2020 graduate of the Rubenstein School, where he majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology.

Connor writes, “I drew four species that we learned about in class, the spotted salamander, the painted turtle, the timber rattlesnake, and the wood frog. Spotted salamander, wood frog, and painted turtle were selected because I have seen them more than any other species this spring and timber rattlesnake was selected because it was the species I did my. 5-minute presentation about. “

“I included a short haiku describing some of the life history of each since the images themselves do not say much about species range, diet, or life cycles. Haikus seemed like the simplest way to get information across without filling the page with text.”

“The drawings were inspired by Zentangled designs along with indigenous art form the Pacific Northwest and much of my mother’s artwork.”

“I suppose this was one upside to the pandemic, if that had been under normal circumstances I would not have had the time to draw much more than stick figures.“