Area children get a lesson on exotic animals at Platte City library
The monkey. No, the wallaroo. No, no! The hedgehog.
That was the general response of the Platte County children at the Platte City Mid-Continent Public Library’s family program featuring baby exotic animals from around the world last week.
“I like monkeys,” Platte City’s Rebekah Grant, 8, said. “They’re cute.”
Grant had a front row seat at the event, which drew over 60 children from around the County and the Northland, including three girls sitting near her — Sydney Reynolds and sisters Jennifer and Megan Wade, 7, 8 and 6, respectively, of Kansas City. Reynolds’ favorite animal is also a monkey while Jennifer Wade’s is a giraffe.
Exotic Animals R US is owned by Scott Shaffer, of Blue Springs, and gave the children a sneak peek at monkeys, legless lizards, marsupials and other furry creatures, introducing them and talking about their habits and where they come from.
Some of the things Shaffer discussed with the children and their parents included why someone could pick up a wallaroo — which looks like a miniature kangaroo — by the tail without being mean to him (picking him up around the chest could collapse his lungs) and why a chinchilla should not be petted too much (they need a certain volcano dust on their fur to keep their hair or they go bald. Petting makes its fur drop off in patches).