Miranda Olesko overcame her fear and came face-to-face with one of the largest snakes in the world.
Olesko along with Angelina Feletto attended the Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo at the CLE Coliseum on Saturday. The two girls looked at all the displays but they said what they really wanted to see was a snake.
When the reticulated python, one of the largest snakes in the world, was brought out of its cage, Olesko admitted she was nervous.
“We’re just facing a fear,” Olesko said. “I’m not really into snakes or anything but I thought it would be cool to check it all out. (The python) is very scary, it’s very big.”
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Feletto on the other hand didn’t appear scared. She said she couldn’t wait to pet the snake.
“I just like reptiles, they are really cool and it’s awesome that (Little Roy’s) is here for children to see,” Feletto said. “The thing that scares me is that the snake is wrapped around (one of the snake handlers). It’s so strong what if it squeezed him? I’d be scared.”
After seeing the python up close, Feletto said she screamed when the snake came right into her face and added she was still a little bit afraid of snakes.
Jennifer DeFranceschi brought her two-year-old son Graysonn and four-year-old daughter Morgann to see the reptiles. She said she wanted her children to see and touch the animals so they could become more familiar with them.
“I want them to experience the wildlife that we obviously don’t have here,” DeFranceschi said. “It’s very important for them because I want them to understand that animals are around us and they need to be protected as well as everything else.”
The zoo’s education director Kevin Dungey said people are usually concerned when he has a snake wrapped around him but he assures everyone that the snake won’t squeeze him. Snakes only do that when they think they have something to eat and never do it for defensive purposes.
He said those are the kinds of myths he wants to debunk and make people more comfortable around animals that are sometimes made into movie monsters.
“There’s so many misconceptions out there that tarantulas kill people or alligators eat people,” Dungey said. “We try to teach some the real truths. These misconceptions can from childhood when mommy or daddy freak out when they see a spider and little kids learn from that. But not just that but movies like Arachnophobia, Lake Placid, Anaconda and it’s funny that so many people watch those movies as if they are a nature documentary. It’s just entertainment.”
The Ottawa based zoo travels across the country with its animals and dinosaur displays. Dungey said they always get a big crowd and was glad to come back to Thunder Bay.
“We usually don’t come in the winter time but we thought this might be a good time to come,” he added.
The zoo wraps on Sunday.
Follow Jeff Labine on Twitter: @Labine_reporter
