BUENA PARK : A Wild Time for All at the Nature Expo

Students from Buena Park elementary schools went on a learning safari Wednesday, getting a rare, close-up look at exotic and endangered animals during a wildlife show at Buena Park Mall.

By viewing the live animals, the students learned lessons about the importance of protecting the environment.

“I learned that there are animals who will soon be extinct, because we’re tearing down their homes,” said Teddy Cox, 10, a student at Holder Elementary.

The mall, in conjunction with Omni Consolidated Inc., which coordinates science and nature shows, is sponsoring the Nature and Environmental Expo through this weekend. The expo features photo exhibits about wildlife and displays of insects such as beetles and butterflies.

The wildlife show Wednesday included live animals from a variety of exotic places ranging from the mountains of South America to the rain forests of Madagascar.

Children met Angel, a white cockatoo with yellow feathers on its head; Iko, a one-pound squirrel monkey who can jump up to 40 feet; Quillo, a jungle porcupine who likes to eat sweet potatoes; Pops, a ring-tailed lemur, an endangered animal resembling a raccoon and a fox; and Elvira, a 9 1/2-foot, 65-pound Burmese python who will grow three times its current size.

“A lot of these kids are city kids, and even if they go to the zoo, they don’t get the closeness, the hands-on experience they get here,” said Karla Majewski, owner of Pacific Animal Productions, which presents live animal demonstrations. “I teach the children respect for the animals and their homes.”

During her wildlife presentation, Majewski told the children about the animals, where they live, what they eat. She said that some of the animals’ habitats are being destroyed.

“I don’t just entertain,” she said. “I also keep the educational message . . . the impact of what we do to our environment and animals’ environment.”

The best part of the show for the children was touching some of the animals--most of which they had never seen before.

“She was dry and scaly and kind of heavy,” said Holder Elementary student Robby Hines, 11, after he volunteered to help hold Elvira the python. “I wasn’t scared . . . but she was very strong.”

Jonathan Berchtold, 12, a student at Glen Dysinger Sr. Elementary School, also was picked to hold Elvira. He also petted a llama.

“Holding them, seeing them, and petting them--it’s exciting because I like animals a lot,” he said.