A chorus of squeals and screams, a mixture of excitement and fear, erupts from the crowd of seated children as a seven-foot-long caiman (a smaller cousin of the alligator and crocodile) is pulled by its handler from a bin. Though smaller than its better-known cousins, the primordial reptile – actually quite attractive, with speckled grey coloration – has its mouth taped shut because its jaws can exert 700 pounds of pressure.
To everyone’s delight, small hands are allowed to stroke the caiman’s soft belly and course back. She’s a gentle beast, well accustomed to interaction.
This was just one of the highlights of the four Zoo To You shows hosted by Cookstown Tanger Factory Outlet Mall during March Break. These shows, part of the mall’s March break programming, were free with pre-registration.
The Zoo To You shows provided children in attendance the opportunity to see a variety of exotic animals up close, often even touch them and learn about them in a fun and intimate setting. Did you know, for example, that the outer layer of a turtle’s shell is made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails and hair consist of, and that, like our nails and hair, a turtle’s shell never stops growing? And did you know that a chameleon’s tongue is twice as long as its body or that a female tarantula’s egg sac may contain as many as 500 spiderlings? These facts, and many more, were shared during the entertaining hour-long show.
Among the creatures displayed were a tarantula, a baby alligator and the caiman that generated such excitement, a Burmese python (brave children could have it draped over them), an emperor scorpion, one of the largest scorpion species, a chameleon, and a dinosaur-like monitor lizard.
Not all the creatures were of the creepy-crawly variety. There was also a white rabbit named Snowball, an impossible chinchilla (up to 75 hairs grow from a single follicle) named Lucy, an African pygmy hedgehog, and Gizmo the sugar glider, a marsupial flying squirrel.
There was a brief moment of excitement as Lucy the chinchilla decided to hop from her perch atop a child’s head and landed amidst the seated audience. Children laughed in delight as Lucy was scooped up by her handler.
Like Lucy, all the animals are socialized and tame from being handled on a daily basis.
In business since 2003, Zoo To You is a travelling educational show designed to educate and entertain all ages and audiences in an interactive manner. They often bring their shows to schools, daycares, birthday parties and corporate events.
After the St. Patrick’s Day shows at Tanger Outlets, children can return to school and share with classmates their experience of petting an alligator and getting face-to-face with a hairy tarantula.
Keep abreast of all upcoming events at Tanger Outlets following this website.
