'It was so soft': Wildlife festival excites and educates visitors of all ages
Saskatchewan is home to a wide variety of animals, but the Wildlife Festival brought over 50 unique animals from all over the world to show and share.
The traveling wildlife show brought an educational component and a unique experience for visitors.
“Not just the kids, but adults as well,” said Jason Clevett, co-owner of the Wildlife Festival.
“We have the Forestry Farm in Saskatoon which is a wonderful facility, but this is an entirely different experience from there, or even to Calgary or Edmonton Zoos. And some people don’t even make it there, so to be able to bring this to Saskatoon is really special.”
The animals come from YYC Nature Centre, Cobb’s Adventure Park and Cobb’s Exotic Animal Rescue out of Calgary.
With everything from toads, turtles, birds, snakes, sugar gliders, lizards and even a sloth at the show, Clevett says seeing these animals up close is a totally different experience than seeing them on a TV screen.
“There’s people that sort of make that argument, just watch a documentary,” said Clevett. “But this is not that. David Attenborough has a quote, basically that people will not care about, or understand, or respect what they don’t experience.”
Learning about the diversity of living things as well as animals that come from Africa or the Amazon was of benefit to some future wildlife professionals too.
“We had someone volunteer for two days, their son wants to be a vet when they grow up,” Clevett told CTV News. “We’ve had some U of S vet school students that are showing up or volunteering, just to gain some of that experience.”
A chance to see, and pet real animals up close was a treat for the kids too, including one youngster who got all dressed up for the occasion.
“I petted an animal today, a wallaby,” said Kohle Reddekopp, a young festival visitor. “It was so soft.”
While he liked the soft wallaby, his favourite animal is a little less fuzzy.
“It’s a snake,” he said, with a smile.
The Wildlife Festival has wrapped up for this year and is headed west, but Clevett says he’s sure to be back next year with some more animals and educational presentations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.