Wild animals made their debut Friday at a Bridgeview elementary school.
Lieb School, 9101 Pembroke Lane, had an assembly to reward students for positive behavior, and it featured the Palos Park-based Animals for Awareness program, which has a mission to protect animals through education.
This marked the first visit by Animals for Awareness. The assembly was organized by the Lieb PTA and tied into the school’s “jungle” theme for the current school year.
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“It is important for children to appreciate and learn how to properly care for the environment,” Lieb Principal Greg Porod said. “We are fortunate to have our Lieb School PTA sponsor this event for our students.”
Animals for Awareness is a USDA-licensed organization dedicated to the needs of wild and exotic animals that have been displaced by humans. It provides age-appropriate educational talks and discussions with an emphasis on humane education, according to Porod.
“We have three main functions: to house displaced and unreleasable wild/exotic animals, to educate the public and to rehabilitate and release native Illinois wildlife,” Animals for Awareness executive director and founder Kimberly Schilling said. “This is important in so many ways because there aren’t many facilities around that do what we do, yet the market is flooded with wild and exotic animals. When people can no longer care for them, regular shelters can’t accommodate them. Zoos don’t want them. And we educate the public about what makes a good pet and what doesn’t. We start with the children and hope they grow up to be good decision makers when it comes to choosing lifelong pets.”
Animals for Awareness volunteer Lauren Grimm met with Lieb students Friday and introduced them to many outdoor animals, including an African sulcata tortoise named Chibi.
“This tortoise is the third-largest species in the world,” Grimm said.
“We use Chibi to talk about thinking before buying, as Chibi will max out just over 100 pounds, while the females get up to 125 to 150 pounds,” Shilling said. “But you can buy them for $100 at the pet store when they’re a little bigger than a silver dollar. They live over 100 years, as well.”
Grimm also brought along Fiona, a Savannah monitor lizard that will grow to be 4 feet long; Baby, a double yellow-headed Amazon parrot (which is an endangered species); Nexxus, a Dumeril’s ground boa; Jasi, a fennec fox; Quinn, a hedgehog; Chip, a ground squirrel; Tallulah, a kinkajou; and Cocoa, a domestic skunk.
“We have a unique array of animal ambassadors,” Schilling said. “We get the kids involved. It’s not just a show and tell. The kids get to interact with the animals.”
Schilling emphasized the importance of introducing children to animals at a young age to build an understanding of the animals and so they understand the difference between domesticated and nondomesticated animals.
“Children grow into adults, and adults make decisions on pet keeping,” she said, “Also, it saddens me to walk into a school and see so many kids afraid of the animals or not know what the most common animals are.”
Kelly White is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.