THE DOWNLOAD: Winning Mule Team, Popular Worms

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A ceremonial saddle is presented to members of the UC Davis packing team.
Action’s Graduate, left, and Action’s Shenanigan, white mule, joined the trophy saddle presentation with, from left, Dan Sehnert, facilities coordinator for the Department of Animal Sciences; Amy McLean, Horse Barn manager; John Rade, packing competition official; Erica Falk, student; Rich Underwood, Mule Days president; and Kayla Wigney, student. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
A group poses with a mule.
A mule moment: from left, Rade, Wigney, McLean, Underwood and Falk with Action’s Shenanigan.

Packing a mule requires skill. Doing it quickly, working with unfamiliar animals, competing in an arena against other collegians and making sure no equipment falls off before your mule crosses the finish line — that challenge was met by four UC Davis animal science students who first place in the 2016 Intercollegiate Packing Competition. It was part of Mule Days, held every Memorial Day weekend in Bishop, California, in celebration of the legacy and abilities of mules.

Officials from the world of mule packing recently visited campus to present the team’s reward: a trophy saddle. The team — Erica Falk, Katie Ott, Madison Seeley and Kayla Wigney, all majoring in animal science and management — beat out teams from eight other universities, including Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UCLA, Fresno State and USC. 

Read more on the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences website.

What about worms?

Lauren Camp shows nematodes to a visitor.
UC Davis nematologist/parasitologist Lauren Camp shows off a collection of nematodes to a visitor during the Bohart Museum of Entomology’s “Parasite Palooza” open house. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/UC Davis)

“What's a nematode?”

UC Davis nematologist and parasitologist Lauren Camp gets asked that a lot.

In one word: “Worms.”

Her display table Jan. 22 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology’s “Parasite Palooza” open house drew dozens of fascinated visitors of all ages.

Read more on the Bug Squad blog.

Basketball postscript: Coach Jim Les’ pep talk did the trick Jan. 28, as the Aggie men defeated UC Irvine, 74-65, to take sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference. Two days later, coaches around the country threw some votes UC Davis’ way in CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.

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Dateline Staff, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dateline@ucdavis.edu

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