Library Safari: Pangaea's Wild Animal Show

A man with a beard wearing a tan safari vest holds up a brown-and-white barn owl, which is perched on the thick leather glove he wears on his right hand. He is holding a set of leather jesses to keep the owl from flying away.
Professional animal trainer Adeel shows off a brown-and-white barn owl

Did you know that you can meet wild animals and learn about jungle life without ever leaving your local city? Welcome to Pangaea, a live wild animal show at the Library, held Monday, June 24th!

A trainer leans down, holding a small brown kinkajou, a furry creature with large black eyes and a long tail, so that a young child in a white shirt can pet it
Up close and personal with a kinkajou

 The Library is delighted to welcome Pangaea as part of our summer programming for the past several years. Participants in this exciting and educational show were able to see and meet animals from a variety of places, from the jungles of Madagascar to our very own Everglades, and hear fun and engaging information about their lives, needs, and habits from professional trainers who work with the animals throughout their lives. Over a hundred patrons visited on Monday to enjoy visits from lemurs, snakes, anteaters, and more!

Participants from all over the community learned about conservation efforts designed to protect different animal species, as well as learning about which animals are native to South Florida and which are invasive species that are now here to stay. Children were invited to help carry a Burmese python, make a shoulder bridge for a kinkajou to climb across, and even handle a fearsome-looking (but very gentle!) Emperor scorpion while learning about individual habitats and feeding habits.

Several smiling toddlers reach out to pet a pale tan fennec fox with large ears as it is held out from offscreen by an animal trainer
Excited to meet a fennec fox!

 

The Library hosted two Pangaea shows, one of which was also part of our Summer Camp programming, and each was over an hour of fun-filled learning and exciting animal encounters. Some questions asked were "how do you tell the difference between a frog and a toad?" (Answer: frogs have a slimy mucous layer on their skin, while toads are dry and pebbly!), "why are some snakes yellow?" (Answer: albino snakes are white and yellow instead of the usual browns!), and "why do fennec foxes have such big ears?" (Answer: to give them sensitive hearing to find lizards in the desert, and to help cool them down in the noon heat!).

 

 

Feeling like you missed out? Don't worry! The Library will be hosting two more Pangaea shows in July! Since these programs are very popular, patrons must register each person who will attend online in the Library website's calendar. Register for either the 2:00 show or the 3:00 show on Monday, July 15th, and join us for another fun-filled safari with animals from all over the world!