Animal Olympians

After four years of anticipation, the XXIX Summer Olympics have come and gone. Many people tune in to follow the elite athletes do what they do best. These events make me realize the incredible things the human body is capable of with discipline and lots of training. However, it also makes me think about how despite all the talent in the world, we will never attain the talents seen in the natural world.

Part of our responsibilities as wildlife specialists, and a particular pleasure of mine, is doing live animal programs utilizing our collection of exhibit animals and small mammals and reptiles not seen on exhibit. Along with educating the public about the wildlife in their backyards, I like to showcase something extraordinary about each animal I talk about. One of the things I do is come up with a catchy theme that links all of the animals in my program to keep me on task and to elicit a take home message.

How absolutely perfect! I can talk about the physical abilities of Ohio’s wildlife and call them the Animal Olympians. With only natural ability, animals can achieve amazing feats, feats that man can only achieve with artificial means. Visitors can get up close and personal with the Michael Phelps of the animal world, also known as the North American River Otter, bobcats-the high jump champions, peregrine falcons-the speed champions, reaching over 200 miles per hour, striped skunks-marksmanship, and even Virginia opossums for their gymnastic ability (kinda)!

As the Olympics come to an end, as do our daily programs. However we will still be doing shows Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 and 3:00. As always these programs are free with paid admission and are sure to be a worthy experience for the young and the young at heart, so be sure to check us out.

Robyn Kaltenbach, Senior Wildlife Specialist