LYNN – Lynn Public Library collaborated with Curious Creatures to introduce a room of about 100 people to various friendly, and sometimes furry, animal friends Thursday.
Curious Creatures, a company based in Groveland, provides educational and interactive live animal programs.
Matthew Thompson, Curious Creatures animal educator, led the program. The first animal he brought out was his hoppy friend Wang-Ji, a 6-year-old rabbit, which resulted in a collective “aww” heard throughout the room. Wang-Ji was a little shy, but he became more comfortable when his “best friend in the whole world” joined him.
Thompson then introduced the attendees to Susan, a 26-year-old Brazilian red-footed tortoise who roamed the room for the entirety of the Curious Creatures show.
Although Susan moved slow and steady, she did wind up getting into some “tortoise mischief,” often wandering into the audience rather than staying in her performance area. Thompson asked the adults in the room to “please help move Susan if she’s being a menace,” and she was picked up by an adult and placed back in the performance area many times.
Thompson explained that although Wang-Ji and Susan did not “look like they had much in common,” they actually share some favorite foods because they are both vegetarians. Both Wang-Ji and Susan notably love bananas.
Before introducing the next animal, Thompson said, “Lucky for you guys, I have brought one of the softest animals in the world to meet you here today.” The next friend introduced to the room was 3-year-old Kiwi the chinchilla.
Thompson explained chinchillas come from cold South American mountain regions, and Kiwi has “one of the biggest, softest, comfiest winter coats of all kind, but she wears it all year round.
“Imagine what it would be like if you guys were outside right now wearing all your snow clothes,” Thompson said. “You’d overheat real quick, huh? Don’t worry, though. When it’s really, really hot, I put an ice pack in Kiwi’s box back there, so even in the middle of summer, my furry friend is always ‘chin-chillin’.”
To introduce Misty the 1-year-old ferret, Thompson said, “My next friend isn’t quite as soft as Kiwi, but she is a little more bendy and wiggly.” He explained Misty is a very “flexible little animal” because, while she “has lots of bones, her little arms and shoulders are way up here, while her hips and legs are way down there, and everything in between is an extra long, extra bendy ferret spine.”
Misty lives with her two brothers named Spaghetti and Meatball along with another ferret friend named Macaroni. Thompson said when Misty isn’t meeting new human friends at events like Thursday’s, she is often playing games like tag and hide-and-seek with her ferret family.
Niblets, a 3-year-old Indonesian blue-tongued skink, was introduced to the room next. According to Thompson, “Her favorite thing to do in this whole wide world is absolutely nothing.” As he said this, Niblets decided to simply sit on the floor rather than wandering around. He also shared that her favorite food is blueberries but that the room should be careful because “she will steal chicken nuggets.
“My next friend has a bit of a reputation as a grumpy lady but is actually an absolute sweetheart,” Thompson said as he brought out a 4-year-old alligator named Amelia. “She has an incredible smile, and she’s a fantastic swimmer.”
Thompson educated the room on the differences between alligators and crocodiles.
“While alligators have short, round, U-shaped noses, crocodiles have long, pointy, V-shaped noses. When an alligator’s mouth is closed, you can only see the top row of its teeth, but when a crocodile closes its mouth, you can still see all its teeth,” he said.
Thompson then looked at Amelia and said, “Thanks for showing off your smile, sweetheart.” He added while alligators are smaller than crocodiles, Amelia will one day grow to be about 10 feet long and weigh more than 800 pounds.
“Someday, Amelia is going to be as long as a car and weigh more than two pianos stacked on top of each other,” he said.
Thompson’s final friend he introduced to the room was his “biggest friend, my heaviest friend, my longest friend and one of my shyer friends”: an 8-year-old South American boa constrictor named Phoenix.
“Phoenix is one handsome snake,” Thompson said as he draped Phoenix across his shoulders.
Phoenix is over 6 feet long and over 25 pounds, and Thompson explained his tongue is black because if it was pink, it would get sunburned due to how often Phoenix sticks out his tongue.
Lynn Public Library was able to host this summer program thanks to grant money from the Lynn Cultural Council, a division of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
