Wildlife festival educates public about exotic animals

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 22, 2024.

Herald photo by Al Beeber A young kangaroo is seen at the Wildlife Festival inside the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre on Wednesday.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Yes, you can have a kangaroo as a pet in Alberta and after watching Australia’s Raygun’s breaking performance at the Summer Olympics, some people might think it’s a cute idea.

But a wildlife festival inside the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre during Whoop-Up Days may give people curious about exotic pets some valuable information and perhaps change minds about owning one.

The festival can be found in the KB Heating Hall.

The festival is run by Cobb’s Exotic Animal Rescue Foundation in Calgary and tours western Canada educating people about exotic animals and their care.

The foundation’s mission is to train current owners of exotic animals how to better care for them and to educate the public with the goal of decreasing uninformed purchases.

It aims to provide an education and animal rehabilitation centre for exotic animals in Calgary and operates the festival to educate visitors to its events.

It’s website https://exoticrescue.org says too often people buy exotic animals without thinking of longterm consequences. Because of this, exotics are often resold multiple times and many are disposed of inhumanely.

At the festival in the Agri-Food Hub, visitors could hear a range of presentations happening from 1 until 8 p.m. on stage and see animals ranging from baby kangaroos to assorted snakes, geckos and even a sloth.

Wil Genhertog, assistant manager of the Wildlife Festival, said the main reason for being at Whoop-Up Days “is to bring education to people about exotic animals, whether it be for their care or just about the animals themselves.”

A lot people who surrender them didn’t do their research, Genhertog said.

The term ‘exotic’ covers a range of animals – virtually any animal that isn’t native to Canada. Among them are kangaroos, species of porcupines and the sloth.

All animals at the Wildlife Festival are legal to own as a pet in Alberta, Genhertog said.

Reptile manager Landon Jack said a boa constrictor is the largest snake a person can legally own in Alberta and B.C. They will grow to eight to 10 feet for females on average, he said, and per capita are probably the most re-homed reptile in the pet store trade, growing about a foot a year for the first six to seven years.

Boa constrictors are tolerant and docile if handled well, he said of the snake which has been the most popular reptile since the 1960s and ’70s.

“If you mistreat them, starve them, your only inter-action with them is feeding them then you do get a bit of an attitude from them.”

South American and African porcupines – which are kept by the festival – while legal, are discouraged, he said. No native species can be kept as pets in Alberta, he said.

Festival animals are obtained usually through a program between major conservation efforts and farms or facilities in the U.S. that do breeding programs.

“So a lot of our stuff are from breeders in the States like Florida usually and they typically will only sell to facilities like Cobb’s,” added Jack.

Animals native to the province are considered property of the Crown and can’t be kept as pets, Jack said.

Among the questions people ask is how big kangaroos grow, Genhertog said.

While legal, Jack said any reputable breeder will scrutinize what a person has for a setup, adding ownership of a kangaroo is highly discouraged.

Two young kangaroos are at the festival. One animal, the crested gecko, will drop its tail and predators will go after it instead of the entire animal, a Wildlife Festival staffer said. While the tails will grow back, the animals can live perfectly well without them, he said.

An information placard at the festival says 80 per cent of venomous snake bites happen on hands and arms of people because the snake is trying to protect itself from harm.

Non venomous snakes have “small needlelike teeth’ and a bite is minor compared to the potential damage from rabbits, hamsters, dogs and cats.

One snake at the festival is a California kingsnake, a species immune to local venomous snakes including rattlers which the kingsnakes are known to consume. California kingsnakes are popular as pets because of their “manageable care requirements and fascinating behaviour” but they will show cannibalistic behaviour when cohabitating.

Cornsnakes, or the red rat snakes, are also popular pets which may have been introduced to the U.S. as an invasive species from Australia. They come in a variety of colour morphs and get their name because they can be frequently found in corn fields hunting for rodents. Excellent climbers, they’ve been found in addicts and barns.

One reptile called the panther chameleon is popular because it possesses specialized pigment cells allowing them to change colour to communicate better with other chameleons.

Visitors to the festival can not only see these animals but learn about them as well during Whoop-Up Days which runs through Saturday.