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SALT LAKE CITY — Pythons, ferrets and tarantulas, oh my!
These are just three of the 12 species that make up the Natural History Museum of Utah's latest special exhibition — Wild World: Stories of Conservation and Hope. The new exhibit will bring museum visitors up close and personal with the species while highlighting their unique, individual stories of struggle and survival.
The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday and runs through Nov. 5.
Kevin Egbert, exhibits preparator at the museum, said that the exhibit does just what its name suggests — highlighting "stories of conservation and hope."
"It's a story about species that are under pressure due to pollution, human encroachment and climate change," Egbert said. "But (also) efforts of individuals, organizations and communities to help fight back and protect biodiversity."
The mission of the museum as a whole, Egbert said, is to illuminate the natural world and people's place within it — something that makes the Wild World exhibit a perfect fit for the museum.
"The stories are told in a bunch of different ways, whether it's through invasive species or native species that are under threat," Egbert said, mentioning the Burmese python as an example of an invasive species (in Florida) and the black-footed ferret as an example of a species native to the Beehive State.
Along with the 12 different species of animals, Canadian-based Little Ray's Nature Centre will have three wildlife educators on hand at the exhibit who will lead three on-stage presentations to visitors each day and do live handling sessions, giving visitors the opportunity to interact with the wildlife with the help and expertise of the wildlife educators.
"(Visitors) can expect a lot of hands-on experiences, up close and personal with the animals," said Alex Leclerc, exhibit manager for Little Ray's Nature Centre and lead wildlife educator. "We're doing presentations every single day, so those are typically about a half-hour each and they include a few live animals. There's a lot of touching opportunity as well for some of the animals."
Leclerc said that a lot of the animals that make up the exhibit are endangered species, ambassadors for endangered species, or represent threats that species face.
"What I'm hoping for is by having a hands-on, up close and personal experience with these animals, people can learn about them in a way that they've never learned about them before, and they can learn about the threats facing them and how they can personally help or participate in the conservation," Leclerc said.
The exhibit will include a 16-foot, 90-pound Burmese python named Helga, black-footed ferrets, New Caledonia crested geckos, a Mexican red-knee tarantula and a variety of toads, turtles, lizards, chinchillas and other wildlife.
Along with the exhibit, visitors can also expect to learn about conservation efforts throughout the state of Utah, the museum said in a press release.
Egbert said that he expects the opening weekend to be busy, but noted folks can purchase tickets online to secure a spot in advance. Wild World is included in the cost of admission and free to museum members.
"Wild World is a story about conservation and hope. About conservation success stories," Egbert said. "Come see live animals up close and personal (and) come learn about conservation efforts that are going on right now, in Utah."
