Welcome To The Jungle

Jungle Terry doesn’t take vacations. He has over one hundred animals requiring twice daily feedings, and your average pet sitter just isn’t up for the task. Get Jungle Terry talking about his job though (he’s an animal trainer, naturalist, educator, and entertainer all rolled into one) and you quickly realize he doesn’t exactly need a vacation. In fact, he seems barely able to contain his energy and enthusiasm for his work.

“I love working with kids and animals,” he says. “When I was a kid I spent all my time in the woods. I was so into nature, I didn’t even know girls existed until I was eighteen.”

The transition from amateur to professional naturalist happened gradually. He started by doing impromptu animal shows for his friends. They loved it, and soon he was getting requests from their friends to do birthday parties and classroom visits. The business just kept growing. So did the menagerie.

Today, Jungle Terry has six acres and a specially designed, temperature controlled barn to house all his animals. His two children help with feeding and care-taking, and just as importantly, with hand-raising and training the animals. “Our animals are handled by children at all our shows,” Jungle Terry says, “so I have to make sure they’re comfortable around children.” In other words, Tic Toc the crocodile and Big Al the fifteen foot python might look scary, but nervous parents take note; all Jungle Terry’s animals are kid-tested and kid-friendly.

Jungle Terry will bring a special selection of animals to the Main Library Multipurpose Room on Saturday, February 25. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. Don't miss out on the Library's wildest night of the year!