def initializeRadii(animal_obj,boundary_vertices):
  """ Initializes the radii for the circle packing of the triangulation associated to an animal.
    Different radii are assigned to interior and boundary vertices.

    :Parameters:
      animal_obj : animal object, initialized with regular coordinates and triangulation set/updated
      boundary_vertices : list of ints whose values are between 0 and one less than the number of regular vertices stored in the animal object

    :Returns:
      list of floats, specifying the initial radii to begin the circle packing algorithm for the triangulation associated to an animal 
  """

  #store relevant parameters
  num_verts = animal_obj.getNumVerts()

  #initialize return list
  radii = []

  #assign radius 0.001 to each boundary vertex and radius 0.5 to each interior vertex
  for vertex in range(num_verts):
    if vertex in boundary_vertices:
      radii.append(0.001)
    else:
      radii.append(0.5)
  
  return radii