BY CARLOS FINLAY

ON Wednesday, June 22, the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester welcomed animal expert Russ Copsey to their science department to teach pupils a rather special lesson.

The wildlife enthusiast presented his diverse throng of snakes, geckos and tarantulas to students aged between 13 and 18.

However, this visit was not a simple showcase of unusual animals to be stroked by an enthused teenage audience, but rather an ode to the significance of teaching zoology and animal conservation through the use of live specimens.

Equipped with an assortment of the sort of fascinating and gruesome facts that are bound to travel in the wake of such distinctive creatures, Copsey – who delivers his unique brand of wildlife education to people of all ages – proclaimed the idea to be “fantastic”.

He said that the use of real animals is an unparalleled teaching method for students to apply their knowledge of animal adaptations to living specimens, as opposed to the dry and uninteresting pages of a textbook.

Animals are complex and what can’t be easily shown through a projector or whiteboard is a tangible demonstration of the movement and morphology of the creatures at hand, from snakes to spiders.

Students at the Thomas Hardye School were presented with a performance of corpulent, serpentine slithering only centimetres from their eyes.

Comprehensive and mesmerising analyses of physiological features reiterated Copsey’s ideology and validated the fact that one must see a physical embodiment of biological principles to truly understand how they function.

Now more than ever before, conservation is essential in ensuring that species are available to be appreciated by future generations.

Therefore, giving students a glimpse of the animal kingdom far surpasses the monotonous stroking and petting of wildlife, allowing them to better comprehend the biodiversity of life on Earth and understanding – through the basic desire to see these creatures – the need to protect them.

Russ Copsey and his unique menagerie will be returning to the Thomas Hardye School on Saturday, October 8 as part of the Family Festival of Science, alongside a variety of other exciting scientific activities.