Kahoots pet store in Ramona hosts wild animal presentation

Site visitors to the Critters Encounters presentation at Kahoots Feed and Pet Retail store in Ramona got a shut-up look at animals generally witnessed only in the wild.

Andrea Burgan, a former zookeeper, animal trainer and teacher at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, confirmed a Tegu lizard, red-tailed hawk, Fennec fox, great horned owl and Chinchilla to about 50 older people and little ones outside the store.

Confront painter Linda Sinnachcharige was available to paint animals on children’s faces.

Burgan operates her Critter Encounters wildlife sanctuary in Ramona with practically 30 types of exotic animals.

Some of the animals she introduced to the presentation ended up recovered from Undertaking Wildlife, a sanctuary in Ramona that rescues, rehabilitates and releases wounded wild animals. When an animal simply cannot be introduced simply because it’s much too tame or may perhaps not survive on its very own, Undertaking Wildlife sometimes features Burgan an chance to treatment for them.

A single of those people animals is a pink-tailed hawk named Ruby. Burgan stated an individual had been feeding Ruby as a infant and the hen became far too comfy around humans, which helps make it unsafe for her to are living in the wild.

Burgan also introduced a Tegu lizard named Titus, who misplaced some of his tail from an infection. The tail is growing again.

“His nose is at the roof of his mouth,” Burgan informed the audience. “He will stick his tongue out and practically gather dust particles and scents, then adhere his tongue up his nose.”

She also displayed Forrest, a fantastic horned owl that experienced been injured when it fell out of its nest as a little one. Forrest can not grasp his prey and gets bewildered quickly, so Burgan feeds him every working day. Great horned owls have two eyelids on each and every eye and the ability to flip their head 270 degrees, she explained.

Burgan introduced the group to Finley, a Fennec fox that is unlawful to individual with no a permit, and shared an ultrasoft Chinchilla named Rufus. Though human beings have one hair in every single follicle, Burgan said Chinchillas have roughly 60 hairs in every single follicle.

Critter Encounters is open to non-public tours and presents classroom/assembly plans, birthday get-togethers and scout badges. For more information and facts, connect with 619-985-2415.