Maryland
Discover the 9 Official State Animals of Maryland
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The state of Maryland is located within the Mid-Atlantic space. Baltimore and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. are dwelling to metropolitan areas within the various state of Maryland. The state additionally options a considerable amount of rural and agricultural terrain. On the western fringe of the state, the Appalachian Mountains proceed into Pennsylvania. The geography is wealthy and various, as is its animal inhabitants. The wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay and the forests additional inland host a variety of bugs, mammals, reptiles, and crustaceans.
There are a variety of state animals of Maryland that may be discovered within the wild on this coastal state, from blue crabs to the diamondback terrapin. Let’s check out a few of these unimaginable state animals of Maryland!
Maryland State Reptile: Diamondback Terrapin
Classification: Malaclemys terrapin
The diamondback terrapin is an aquatic turtle with a shell lined in distinctive rings within the form of diamonds. It’s present in and close to the brackish tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay, together with rivers and marshes.
The diamondback terrapin is the one turtle on the planet that solely dwells in brackish water. In Could, diamondback terrapins usually mate within the water at night time. Females go to seashores after mating, the place they create little nests within the sand. They lay round 15 eggs which can be pinkish-white in shade. Whereas mollusks like clams, snails, and mussels make up the vast majority of terrapins’ diets, they may also eat fish, worms, bugs, and a few species of crustaceans.
The diamondback terrapin’s carapace, or shell, can vary in hue from brownish or greenish to gray or virtually black. Their black patches or stripes cowl their scaly, grey, or white pores and skin. The rings contained in the plates that make up the carapace can have a definite shade from the remainder of the shell and are usual like concentric diamonds.
Maryland State Crustacean: Blue Crab
Classification: Callinectes sapidus
Crustaceans have a spot as one of many state animals of Maryland, which is fairly uncommon amongst different state’s animals. The blue crab is a swimming crustacean with vivid blue claws and an emerald-hued shell. It is without doubt one of the most simply acknowledged species in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.
Nearly any meals supply, together with oysters, mussels, smaller crabs, and lifeless fish, may be consumed by blue crabs. They’re additionally recognized to be often cannibalistic. Giant fish together with rock fish and croakers are among the many blue crab’s predators.
The carapace of the blue crab can measure as much as 9 inches broad and ranges in shade from azure to olive inexperienced. All sides of the carapace bears 9 marginal enamel, the ninth of which is a robust backbone. It has vivid blue claws, and mature females’ claw suggestions are crimson. The again swimming legs of blue crabs are paddle-shaped, they usually have three pairs of strolling legs. The stomach of males is very tapered and formed like an inverted T. Females who’re immature have a triangular apron, whereas grownup females have a broad, rounded apron.
©Jen Helton/Shutterstock.com
Maryland State Canine: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Classification: Canis familiaris
The breed of canine generally known as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a water canine employed to hunt and get better waterfowl within the frigid chop of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. This canine is ideal for the job due to its sturdy structure, thick coat, endurance, and power. They’re nonetheless considered glorious searching canine as we speak, they usually make supreme companions for energetic, seasoned canine house owners who can present them with the construction and exercise they require.
The utmost weight of a male Chesapeake Bay Retriever is 80 kilos. A wavy, touchably slick coat is the defining function of the breed. These canines are all chocolatey brown or sedge in hue. They’ve shiny yellow-amber eyes that go properly with their coat. In comparison with the everyday searching canine, they’re extra emotionally difficult.
It’s not surprising that Chesapeake Bay Retrievers like being within the water given their ancestry. Younger pups which can be uncovered to water playtime become sturdy, highly effective swimmers who use their straight or barely curled tails as rudders. These canine may be impartial thinkers, however they’re typically sociable, outgoing, and obedient.
Maryland State Chicken: Baltimore Oriole
Classification: Icterus galbula
Baltimore orioles are orange and black songbirds. They’re the official state hen of Maryland and make summer season journeys to the Chesapeake Bay space commonly. You’re more likely to encounter a number of these birds should you occur to journey to this state’s coast.
Baltimore orioles weigh round one ounce and vary in size from six to eight inches. Their wingspan measures 4 inches. Males are considerably greater and extra clever than females. Though females are an olive-brown to yellow hue with white wing bars and a grey beak, males are black with vivid orange on the breast, tail, and wing bars. Till they’re a yr outdated, younger birds can have the lighter feminine coloration.
Baltimore orioles principally eat fruit and bugs. They’ll hunt for bugs within the vegetation and even within the air. The forest tent caterpillar is without doubt one of the quite a few dangerous bugs that orioles eat. Orioles are preyed upon by a variety of animals, together with greater birds like crows and screech owls in addition to mammals like squirrels and home cats. Predators normally go for eggs or fledglings.
©Agami Photograph Company/Shutterstock.com
Maryland State Shell: Ecphora Gardnerae
Classification: Ecphora gardnerae
This animal is without doubt one of the state animals of Maryland, however don’t anticipate to see it snailin’ across the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Ecphora gardnerae, an extinct snail, is the official fossil shell of Maryland as of 1994. One of many earliest fossils from the New World to be proven in a scholarly publication in Europe was this specific fossil snail.
Across the conclusion of the Miocene period, some 5 million years in the past, the Ecphora lived within the tidal seas off the East Coast. Most of modern-day Maryland was submerged throughout that point beneath the Salisbury Embayment, a piece of the Atlantic Ocean. When the ocean was increased and hotter, a wider vary of marine life, comparable to crocodiles, sharks, and whales, doubtless lived within the space. Ecphora specimens that have been buried in silt by retreating waves have been discovered on cliffs all through Maryland.
Maryland State Insect: Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly
Classification: Euphydryas phaeton
The black, orange, and white Baltimore checkerspot butterfly is the official state butterfly (not state insect) of Maryland. It inhabits the entire Chesapeake Bay space and is a butterfly that’s significantly frequent all through the state of Maryland.
There are three distinct life phases for the Baltimore checkerspot, every with a novel look. The Baltimore checkerspot as a caterpillar has a black head and physique with spine-like protrusions positioned alongside the alternating bands of black and sensible yellow strains. The Baltimore checkerspot has an orange-yellow, black, and white chrysalis as its second life section. The grownup Baltimore checkerspot butterfly has 4 wings, every with two broad, banded borders, an interior border with white checkers, and an outer border with orange to yellowish-orange checkers. The wings have a black basis with orange spots.
White turtlehead is the primary plant that Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars eat when they’re younger in the summertime. Grownup Baltimore checkerspots eat nectar from blooming crops like milkweed that bloom when they’re in flight.
Maryland State Marine Fish: Rock Fish
Classification: Morone saxatilis
The Atlantic coast alongside the US is dwelling to the favored fish generally known as the rock fish, often known as the striped bass. This species could also be discovered from northern Florida to southeast Canada. There are additionally some landlocked lakes the place this particular species has been launched all through the Midwest and on the Pacific coast alongside the US. Naturally, they’re frequent alongside the Maryland coastlines and within the Chesapeake Bay.
Striped bass thrive in broad stretches of clear, deep water. Inshore, in estuaries, and in freshwater habitats are the place grownup fish could also be present in Virginia. Relying on the time of yr and site, the majority of fish can be discovered 5 miles or much less from the shore. As rivers are a significant spawning habitat, they continuously host younger fish.
Striped bass are fish with huge mouths, conspicuous dorsal fins, a flat total physique, and quite a few steady lateral stripes on each side of the physique. The venter of the striped bass is commonly white or silver iridescent, whereas the dorsum is continuously pale inexperienced, olive, metal blue, black, or brown.
©Steve Brigman/Shutterstock.com
Maryland State Horse: The Thoroughbred Horse
Classification: Equus caballus
In 2003, Maryland declared the thoroughbred to be the official state horse. The everyday thoroughbred horse weighs 1,000 kilos and measures 64 inches tall on the withers. A thoroughbred can have a coat that’s chestnut, black, grey, and even roan in shade.
Thoroughbred horses are in a position to preserve tempo over lengthy distances and might run as much as 40 miles per hour. Thoroughbreds are employed by mounted police forces, pleasure riders, present jumpers, dressage groups, and as racehorses and polo mounts. The thoroughbred horse is most recognizable as being utilized in horse races. Although mainly any purebred horse breed is also known as a thoroughbred horse, the time period strictly completely applies to this breed. Thoroughbreds are considered hardy horses and are prized for his or her nimbleness, quickness, and vitality.
As a way to create a breed that would preserve velocity over a major distance, thoroughbred horses have been bred through wild horses. Since then, the thoroughbred has been rigorously bred for its speedy and hard traits.
Maryland State Cat: The Calcio
Classification: Felis catus
Official state cats aren’t precisely frequent! In 2001, the calico cat was declared the official state feline of Maryland. Furthermore, the states of Maine, Massachusetts, Colorado, Tennessee, and California designate cats as a part of their state animals.
The calico cat coloration, which consists of strange shades of orange, black, and white, will not be a particular breed of cat. A male calico cat is a genetic abnormality, usually infertile, and has a shorter lifespan than a feminine calico cat. A calico cat should be a real tricolor, not blended colours like a tortoiseshell cat, with three colours showing in separate patches. Some requirements outline the minimal quantity of white that should cowl the physique, whereas others allow tabby striping inside the shade patches.
Calico cats, significantly in Southeast Asia, are traditionally thought to deliver good luck and even cash regardless of the large variations in patterns and colours.
Maryland is a really stunning state with wealthy wildlife. All of those state animals of Maryland may be discovered all through the Outdated Line State. When you occur to go to, strive trying out state parks and different areas the place you will discover a few of these fascinating animal species!
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Maryland
Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland
![Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland](https://media.nbcwashington.com/2024/09/34199981402-1080pnbcstations.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675)
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Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News
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Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Scott Poland, the director of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention at Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology, talked to WTOP about the action plan he authored with his wife, Donna, who is a career educator.
The “Maryland Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in K-12 Schools” serves as a reference guide to school administrators and the community, and was developed in cooperation with the state health department’s Office of Suicide Prevention.
Poland said one thing that surprises people is that children as young as 8 years old may consider taking their own lives.
“I hear from school personnel all around the country (asking if they) have to take it seriously (if a fourth or fifth grader is talking about suicide). And the answer is absolutely yes,” Poland said.
Among the data points in the action plan is a survey of students in the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey of 2021/2022.” According to that survey, 21% of high school students “seriously considered suicide” in the past year, and 27% of middle schoolers considered suicide at some point in their lives.
Poland said it’s important to talk about suicide with young people, and that the idea that talking about it might encourage a young person to consider suicide is a “myth.”
“When we actually bring it up, it gives someone a chance to unburden themselves, to realize that they’re not alone, that there are alternatives and that there is help available,” Poland said.
But he said young people are most susceptible to imitating suicidal behavior: “It is important that we not glorify the suicide victim.”
Instead, Poland said, the emphasis after a suicide should be on healing those affected and helping them find appropriate ways to deal with their emotions and mental health.
The plan released this week includes providing intervention action plans for a young person who may be considering suicide.
“Part of that, of course, is removing lethal means and developing a written safety plan with them,” he said.
Poland said that can include helping people understand “the importance of calling 988, doing things that can calm themselves down,” and reaching out to the nearest trusted adult.
People can reach the national resource for crisis response services and suicide prevention by dialing 988.
Poland said social media is “wreaking havoc” on children’s emotional well-being, often making them feel “not smart enough, not rich enough, not good enough.” Poland said he’s currently working with the state of South Dakota on developing tools to help “young people be a little more mindful and make better decisions about their screen time.”
Poland said parents can help — when it comes to the hours and hours that many people spend online — by modeling healthy amounts of screen time themselves. And he said adults need to think about how they introduce technology to their kids.
“We’re in too (much of) a hurry to give kids smartphones and 24-hour internet access,” Poland said.
“I really have to compliment Maryland,” Poland said, on coming up with the new plan.
Poland said Maryland does not have an especially high rate of suicide, but “I think we all recognize that losing one young person to suicide is one too many.”
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Maryland
Getting to know Michigan State football’s Week 2 opponent: Maryland
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Game two is coming up for Michigan State football as the Spartans hit the road for an early season Big Ten matchup against Maryland. The Terps have had MSU’s number in recent years, but the Spartans’ new-look team is ready to change that narrative this weekend.
Jonathan Smith and his staff have a lot to work on this week after a lackluster 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic, but we’ve become more than used to slow starts for MSU in their first game so it’s not time to panic just yet.
While the team wraps up their preparations for Maryland, let’s take a quick look at the Terps and see what we can learn about them before the big game on Saturday.
Maryland is off and running in their 2024 campaign and had an absolutely dominant week one performance. The Terps took on UConn at home and came away with an impressive 50-7 win. Sure UConn is an awful football program, but we saw how poorly Michigan State just did against a similar opponent.
Not only was the final score lopsided, but ever major statistical category was as well. Maryland doubled UConn in first downs and rushing yards, threw for nearly 400 passing yards and even won the turnover battle 3-0. The Terps also only had five penalties for 45 yards which is significantly better than MSU’s 12 for 140 yards against FAU.
Sure all of this took place against UConn, but it appears that Maryland is in a very good spot heading into this big week two matchup.
One thing that I thought would be a positive for Michigan State in this game is that Maryland is breaking in a new quarterback as well. The Terps’ quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr., went off against UConn and completed 20-of-27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also is a capable runner and added 39 yards on the ground, so Michigan State will have its hands full on Saturday slowing him down.
The Terps don’t have one standout running back in the backfield, so that does benefit MSU. They do however have two solid backs in Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray who both ran for over 60 yards and one score each.
The one player however that Michigan State needs to pay the most attention to is wide receiver Tai Felton. He had one of the best Week 1 performances in the country as he recorded seven receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Thankfully MSU’s defense and secondary looked much improved against FAU, so hopefully that carries over into this weekend’s matchup.
The opportunity in front of MSU on Saturday is massive. The Spartans are big underdogs in this matchup which they probably deserve, but a win would do wonders not just for the overall perception of the team but for their confidence moving forward.
I’ve got a strange feeling that we’re going to be very happy around 7 p.m. ET Saturday night.
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