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Students tune in to televised classes By VICKI GUARINO Students in Southern Oregon and Northern California can close their texts and turn on the television for special lessons in natural science. And if youngsters have any questions, all they have to do is reach for the telephone. The Jackson Education Service District�s "Animal Tracks," for students in third through eighth grades, is an interactive broadcast that puts kids in their classrooms in contact with guest specialists in the television studio. The program finished its second school year Friday with a visit from the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory, Ken Goddard. On air, Goddard used cases from the Ashland lab to explain how staff members employ scientific method to solve poaching and other wildlife crime. "Everyone loves a mystery," says "Animal Tracks" host Allyson McCauley, who also coordinates youth programs at Southern Oregon University. "This seems to be real popular with kids." Indeed, studio phones rang nonstop during the hour-long broadcast. Dylan and Steven at Jackson Elementary School wanted to know more about mammoths. How big were the ancient elephant-like creatures and isn�t the body of one now being exhumed? Reid at Oak Grove wanted to know if her pet cat was marking her with a scent as it affectionately rubs against her. "Yes, yes," Goddard replied. "You�re being marked. You�re being taken into possession." "Animal Tracks" is broadcast live from the ESD studio in Medford. It goes out on cable to schools in the greater Medford area, Rogue River, most of Josephine County, Klamath County and Northern California. Topics in the natural sciences have included reptiles, turkey vultures and wildlife babies. McCauley says guests have brought in a menagerie of wildlife. Goddard hauled in all sorts of wildlife parts � an elephant-foot table, a leopard-skin coat, the mounted head of a sea turtle and pieces of ivory. A class in Mount Shasta, Calif., had a slew of questions about wildlife poaching, including what motivates the crime. Goddard talked about the economics of poaching. He held up a rhinoceros horn for the cameras and said the artifact sells for $30,000 to $40,000. In a poor country, the temptation was clear. Goddard�s lab staff work as detectives to first identify suspected contraband animal parts, then to tie a suspect to the crime. They use everything from the latest in genetic research to simple tools familiar to students, such as rulers and protractors. But solving criminal mysteries and making arrests won�t resolve the threat poaching poses to species already struggling to survive, Goddard told his young audience. As long as there is a public demand for the animal pelts, the turtle shells, the colorful coral, criminals will continue their illegal harvests. Goddard also tried to encourage students to consider further study in science, and perhaps someday a career. "We�re looking for people who study very, very, hard, learning biology, learning chemistry,�� Goddard said. "We look for people who love solving puzzles. "It�s not easy, but it�s tremendous fun." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA