Little Tiger LOVES animals. For her, watching Go, Diego, Go! is not merely entertainment--it is career research. She spent about six months wanting to be an "animal rescuer" when she grows up before deciding instead on the more domestic occupation of veterinarian. When the Winter Program Guide for Lake Erie Nature and Science Center (LENSC) came out a few months ago, I read about the "All Access Pass" and knew that was something Little Tiger and I had to experience together.
LENSC is a place we often visit. In addition to animal displays and a planetarium they're known for diverse and high quality programming for visitors of all ages. This hour and a half program lead by Wildlife Director Dave Wolf promised "to leave no door unopened" and allow participants to " go hands-on with rarely seen resident animals and find out what they get up to after-hours!" Both Little Tiger and I were very curious as our adventure began. It was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, except that Dave Wolf is much cooler than Johnny Depp and he showed us amazing animals instead of pedestrian candy.
One of the first rooms we visited was the "animal kitchen" where the food for all of the animals is prepared. There were several different labeled bins for the animals' dry food.
Although LENSC does not have any monkeys, they do have some animals that eat this food. The bright yellow tub reminded me of bananas.
The animal kitchen housed two refrigerators. The first one held mostly produce and contained items that could be found in the refrigerators of most suburban families. The second fridge stored food for the meat-eating animals and looked like what the weird sisters from Macbeth would have had in their kitchen if they were really organized and modern refrigeration practices had been in use during their time.
Dave Wolf shared a wealth of information about animals, animal care and the history of LENSC as we toured behind the exhibit areas through classrooms, offices, and places where injured animals are taken in, examined and rehabilitated. At one point we found ourselves in one of the storage rooms and I saw where the ducks from The Great Duck Race are stored when they are not floating down Porter Creek.
Since LENSC primarily uses live animals to educate visitors, we also saw where all of the stuffed animals are being stored until new homes can be found for them.
By far the most interesting places to visit were the rooms where live animals are housed. A place called the mews is where the birds of prey live.
Some, (if not all--I forgot to ask) of these birds were brought to the center after they were found injured in the wild and, due to the nature of their injuries, could not return to their natural habitats. We also visited the room where other animals are kept while they are being rehabilitated, but it was pretty quiet. The only two residents were a turtle with a cracked shell and a kestrel with a broken foot.
When Mr. Wolf opened the door to the final room on the tour, the place where the non-avian demonstration animals are kept, all five children gasped in amazement before walking in to greet the inhabitants. Little Tiger was disappointed that the hedgehog was asleep, but delighted by the skunks who pranced and paced in their cages. She was able to pet a chinchilla, one of her favorite animals from a previous LENSC family presentation.
She was able to not just pet, but WEAR this fine fellow:
As I watched her hold this snake and beam, I remembered the first time I was invited to pet a snake on a preschool field trip to LENSC and how I burst into tears, buried my face in my teacher's shoulder and sat on her lap for the rest of the presentation.
There was a quote posted in the intake room that resonated with me and explains the importance of the animal rehabilitation work at LENSC:
Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more. ~Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons, 1953
I hope that the latter is the kind of animal lover Little Tiger grows up to be.
Comments