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By Daniel Curtin
Hometown Weekly Reporter
A little girl shares a moment with a chinchilla. Photos by Daniel Curtin
A rabbit, tarantula, and baby American alligator were just a few of the visitors that greeted young children at the Medfield Library during a live animal show on Tuesday, June 26.
About 50 children sat in semi-circle as an animal exhibitor took out the critters and introduced them to the kids. The presentation included educational information about the different animals, as well as a chance to pet them.
Head of Children’s Services Bernadette Foley enjoys seeing the kids experience the different animals.
“You can see that even at a really young age, they get excited” said Foley. “I’m always impressed with the ones I know are nervous, but they are brave enough to reach out and pet them - even if it’s with one finger.”
Some of the different animals in attendance included Monty the carpet python from Australia, George the tortoise, and Simon the rabbit.
Corey Kummel was the exhibitor, and has been working with animals for about 16 years. Kummel knows that it’s important to have experience with the critters before bringing them out into situation with crowds.
“Every animal that I bring, I personally have worked with at least 10 to 20 hours, one-on-one, before I trust them enough to bring them out and know they’re going to be comfortable in a crowd like this,” Kummel said.
Animal exhibitor Corey Kummel explains where each of the animals comes from. Photos by Daniel Curtin
The animals were calm as Kummel held them out for the kids to interact with. The vast majority of animals that end up at Curious Creatures are former pets; in most cases, their owners realized they couldn’t provide the amount of attention required to take care of them.
“It was a good learning experience for the kids,” said Kelly Keene, one of the parents in attendance. “They were so excited and asking questions.”
Curious Creatures is licensed by USDA, and both the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife Departments
Kummel enjoys working with the animals, but also appreciates the chance to share his knowledge of the critters with the kids.
“I love the opportunity to show them animals that they don’t get to see a lot,” Kummel said. “To show them lizards and tortoises from South America, snakes from Australia - that’s probably my favorite part.”
