This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This hybrid case has three overarching and interrelated goals. First, it can be used to familiarize students with a range of ecological concepts and terms. Second, it is intended to engage students in the process of science, demonstrating that this "way of knowing" is a powerful tool for sorting fact from fiction. Third, hopefully the case helps students overcome their "fear" of science, encouraging them to explore, learn, and then apply "scientific facts" to solve an ecological mystery. This case is designed to be used in a "flipped" undergraduate nonmajors' biology course. In the flipped classroom, students typically prepare outside of class, often by viewing videos, and then apply what they have learned to an activity in class, such as a case study.