Featured Animals at East

Monty, also referred commonly as “The Hall Monitor,” is a four-year-old savannah monitor. He resides in a glass cabinet in the science hallway where he spends most of his days sunning himself under the heat lamp and waiting to be fed. This habitat is very different than where his species comes from. The savannah monitor is a large, scaly lizard that is native to Africa; he looks like a mix between a bearded dragon and a baby alligator. Like most reptiles, he is very calm in nature. He enjoys cuddling due to the body-warmth generated from it. Although he may look scary, he is a favorite among environmental education students.

Aldo the great horned owl is the closest thing to a mascot for the environmental education classes. He has been at East for 28 years, longer than many teachers at the school. He sleeps for the majority of the day.  Aldo reaches his peak of energy as teacher Mr. Lockard comes into school for the day, at six in the morning. The oldest recorded age for an owl like Aldo is 34-years-old. At 29-years-old, he has far surpassed the average life expectancy of 25 years. Aldo can be found in the back corner of room 301.  

 East’s tortoise has been here for 10 of its 15 years. He was donated to the school after a former student passed away, his pet tortoise then being donated by his wife to East. However, he lacks a name, but he is referred to occasionally as “Speedy” by some students. He is known for his curiosity, and on some occasions, has escaped and walked down the hallways.  Although he is usually found roaming the greenhouse with an abnormal amount of speed for a tortoise. If he isn’t walking around, he is nibbling on hay placed on the ground.