Zoo Visitors Entertain At Ashlar

By Nancy K. Crevier

Residents of Ashlar of Newtown and 30 children from The Children’s Adventure Center in Sandy Hook joined together on Thursday, March 30, at the Masonicare residence on Toddy Hill for a special visit by the Zoomobile of Bridgeport’s Beardsley Zoo.

The Beardsley Zoo Zoomobile brings educational wildlife programs to schools and other institutions across the state throughout the year. The programs range from animal adaptations to animal myths and environmental careers.

Zoo educator Laurel Martin and volunteer docent Pat Ohta introduced five of the traveling zoo inhabitants to the attentive group, explaining the unusual qualities of each animal and how it exists in the wild.

Darwin, a gopher tortoise; Possum, a domestic ferret; Fiona, an African hedgehog; Bubble, a chinchilla; and Lorita, a yellow-naped Amazon parrot, made their appearances one by one. Ms Ohta passed the “touchable” animals around the room for gentle petting, while the ones more prickly in form and personality stayed close to the expert handlers for observation by the crowd.

Ms Martin explained that many of the Zoomobile animals come to them from private owners who realize they are not able to properly care for the animals in captivity, or are creatures injured in the wild and unable to cope outside of confinement.

Darwin came to the Beardsley Zoo from a wild life rehabilitator in Georgia, Ms Martin said. He was not able to recover sufficiently to survive in the wild from damage sustained to his shell as a young tortoise. With a life expectancy of 100 years, Darwin will be around a long time to enjoy his zoo home.

Possum the ferret and Fiona the hedgehog both came to the zoo from private homes. Neither are recommended as household pets, said Ms Martin, as their special dietary needs and personalities require more effort than many owners find themselves willing to provide once the “cute” factor wears off.

In the wild, the African hedgehog is an insectivore, meaning its primary diet consists of bugs and grubs, said Ms Martin. Fiona became ill when her misinformed owners put her on a diet of meat and grains. As adorable as the tiny stiff-haired mammals appear, their solitary nature does not make them a good pet.

The ferret, a member of the muskrat family, is very lively and inquisitive and somewhat temperamental, she said, and can become a misfit in a family situation.

“It’s cool to see them up close, but they belong in the wild, right?” she commented as Possum playfully stretched her very flexible body about Ms Martin’s arms.

Children and elderly alike enjoyed the afternoon of information and interaction with the animals. “I like the animals,” offered one young visitor before he headed back to the bus with his friends.