Wildlife Festival opens eyes to exotic animals

TAYLOR WEAVER EDITOR

Whether it be snakes, sloths, porcupines or potbelly pigs, there was something for everyone at the Lloydminster Wildlife Festival.

Held at the Lloydminster Exhibition from Feb. 24-26, the wildlife festival was brought to the Border City Calgary-based organizer by Jason Clevett.

Clevett is the owner of YYC Nature and Education Centre and has a long-standing partnership with Calgary’s Cobb’s Adventure Park and its exotic animal rescue.

With wall-to-wall displays for visitors of all ages to enjoy, Clevett said one of the main reasons he and his staff love putting on these shows is the educational aspect of them.

“I’ve been educating people on animals for 15 years and Cobb’s has been at it for 10 years,” said Clevett.

“We really believe in what we do and connecting people with animals. People aren’t going to care about what they can’t experience, and the reality is, how many people can afford to fly their entire family to Costa Rica, Africa or Thailand and get first-hand and potentially life-changing experience with these animals.”

Growing up in Calgary, Clevett recalls a TV show called Monty’s Travelling Reptile Show and credits his early exposure to wild and exotic animals as a driving force for doing what he loves now.

“Seeing that first sparked an interest in animals, and especially reptiles,” he said. “If we can spark that in people, that’s amazing.”

Clevett has also seen others’ love of animals transform right in front of his eyes.

“One of our staff, Donna, wouldn’t have held a snake a year ago and now she’s out here holding ball pythons … for every one of those stories I know, there’s a dozen I don’t … but these types of experiences impact people. If they’re afraid of animals, they have the opportunity to face it for the first time.”

For Clevett, education and creating a love of animals is what keeps him smiling, but so is sharing the “responsible pet ownership” message.

“It’s so easy to fall in love with the animals, but it’s also so important to remember some of these animals are not pets. As great as the porcupines are, they would do a lot of damage … you’d also need a heated room that recreates the amazon jungle to keep a sloth.”