Sudburians got a chance to come face-to-face with their fears at Little Ray's Reptile Zoo over the weekend.
“I think there is a lot of misconceptions about some reptiles like the snake or spiders,” said Shawn Adderley, lead zookeeper at Little Ray Reptile Zoo.
“There is only one per cent species of spiders are harmful, yet we treat all spiders the same. This show gives us the opportunity to teach kids about these otherwise intelligent reptiles.”
Those attending the event, which took place at the Steelworkers Hall, got to visit with creatures such as a boa constrictor, tarantula, vulture, ferrets and rabbits.
Adderley said the event combined “the cute and cuddly animals which everyone loves” with “animals that people would otherwise not come in contact with” to show them that most animals are not dangerous.
The star of the show was a 13-month old sloth named Linus, who was born and raised in captivity by a zookeeper in Florida.
“Little Ray Reptile Zoo has been rescuing animals like the sloths and slow loris that have become victims of the exotic pet trade,” Adderley said.
“However, sometimes these animals cannot be released back in the wild, so we then take care of them and study their behaviour.”
Meanwhile, Sudburians had a blast at the event.
“The children loved the sloth, and they got to take a picture which was cool,” Paige McColeman said.
“I would like to see bears or frogs, but so far my favourite thing was the turtles,” Ellie Ullyot said.
Check out our photo gallery to face some of your fears or say hello to Linus.
