Pre-IB Biology students experienced the odor and witnessed the dissection of a dead deer on a field trip they took February 20 to the Croyden Creek Nature Center.

The class walked to the nature center and participated in a wildlife management activity. They learned about the factors that control the whitetail deer population in the Rockville vicinity, which include what the wildlife managers can regulate and outside factors, such as weather and property development.

The dissection took place outside. The naturalist cut into different parts of the deer to show students how the organs were connected. However this penetration into the body also released an odor. “When she cut deeper and deeper, random bursts of the smell would fill the air,” said freshman Sarina Rajput.

Field trip participants learned about the different organs of the deer and their similarities to humans. “[The students] got a feel for how there was a relationship between the organ structure and what it does in the body,” said biology teacher Cynthia Hollies. The heart is very muscular, the liver is very dense, and the lungs are very light in order to support their various functions in the body.

“I learned that [deer] have four stomachs like a cow and a very large liver to remove the toxins from the plants they eat,” said sophomore Zoe Hill. The deer’s digestive system and diet were part of the lesson plan during the dissection.

Students wore gloves so they could hold the various organs and learn about them hands-on without touching the blood or getting infected. The naturalist was able to dissect the stomach but not the brain because this would have posed a danger to the students should the deer have had rabies during its lifetime. “The deer was decomposing right in front of us!” said Hill.

In addition to receiving information on whitetail deer and observing a dissection, students participated in a game that involved rolling dice and drawing cards to reinforce their knowledge of the factors that control the deer population. On a student’s turn, the population of his or her deer herd would change due to one of the factors previously learned depending on what number he or she rolled.

Last year’s Pre-IB Biology students took this same field trip later in the year, but the warmer weather caused the deer to decompose more rapidly and the odor to become more potent. This year’s class benefited from the cooler weather because it allowed for further dissection and observation of the deer.