Animal exhibition comes to Windsor for march break

Pythons, tarantulas, armadillo- and perhaps the biggest attraction of the show, Chloe the sloth- took over the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts last weekend for a wildlife conservation exhibit.

Animal rescue organization Little Ray’s Nature Centre, in collaboration with the Foundation for Animal Rescue, brought 30 different animal species for the March Break show between Thursday March 14 and Sunday March 17.

“We like to focus on entertainment and education, so we are not your classic zoo or circus,” said exhibition organizer, Tyler Maybee.

Maybee said more than 80 per cent of the animals at the exhibit have been rescued and the purpose of this exhibition is to teach people about responsible animal ownership and conservation.

Among the rescued animals is a ball python named Snuggles. Maybee said ball pythons make good pets because of their docile nature, but most owners are unaware of the fact that they can easily live up to 30 years. The pythons can weigh up to 160 pounds at times and therefore are often abandoned.

The exhibition also hosted a quiet hour for children with sensory challenges from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day.

“My daughter is not in school yet, but I wanted to come and see the animals. She has autism so we wanted to come for the quiet hour,” said visitor Kayla Doyle.

While some on Saturday roamed around looking through glass display cases, or interacted with the animals including tortoises, tarantula, parrot, owl while snapping pictures of the animals.

But among all of the animals at the exhibition, one stood out as the main attraction.

While children and parents crowded to see and take pictures of Chloe the sloth, they were educated about how sensitive these creatures can be.

“This (sloths) is the second most illegally traded animal in the entire world. A lot of people want sloths because they are slow and they’re cute…But these guys do not make good pets whatsoever,” said staff member, Kayla Seguin.

The exhibition also included the sale of toy stuffed animals, as well as a rotating program of animal shows, exhibiting reptiles and mammals by staff members every 45 minutes.