THE BALLOON MAN

Traveling exhibit of exotic animals stops in Bryan

 
Empress, a Bengal tiger walks in its cage at the Jungle Safari exibit in Bryan Friday, Nov. 30, 2012.
(Eagle Photo/ Stuart Villanueva)
from:  theeagle.com
By Brooke West
December 1, 2012
Jungle Safari, a free exotic animal exhibit, set up in the 3700 block of Texas Avenue on Wednesday and will stay until Sunday at 5 p.m.
Mathilda, a four-year-old kangaroo, shoved her nose through a wire square, giving passersby a curious sniff. Empress the three-year-old Bengal tiger -- all 425 pounds of her -- slept soundly in her cage. A tiny but busy Zeus, a 9-week-old Bengal tiger cub, circled behind a fence, purring and nuzzling against the warm hands of caretakers who reached in to pet his fuzzy head.
The owner and manager of Jungle Safari, Robert Engesser, said he's glad to be in Bryan for the first time.
"This enables us to share these guys with the public," Engesser said, gesturing toward the monkeys, lemurs, goats, ponies, and the camel on display.
Engesser said the traveling zoo provides a chance for people in areas that don't have permanent exhibits to see, learn and interact with the animals.
Engesser has been showing his variety of animals across the United States for 31 years, he said. He and his crew of handlers and caretakers are on the road for nine and a half months out of the year. The other two and a half months are spent on his land in Chiefland, Fla.

 

Dale Larock, of Jungle Safari carries a monkey on his shoulder at the exibit tent Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012.
(Eagle Photo/ Stuart Villanueva)
Admission to the exhibit -- equipped with eight goats, one cow, two llamas, one camel, three ponies, one spotted mule, two monkeys, two lemurs, and two tigers -- is free. There is a cost, however, to ride the camel or ponies, feed the animals or take pictures with them. There is also a white tiger and black leopard on display for a $1 charge.
Engesser said the free admission is "doing it the old-fashioned way." He said the profits made through pictures, feeding and rides pays all of the employees and allows them to keep the exhibit on the move.
Dealing with large exotic animals safely, Engesser said, is a matter of their weight.
"You have to know what you are doing," he said. "Size dictates how they should be handled. We want to protect the public from the animal and the animal from the public. These are still wild animals."
The full-grown Bengal tiger was raised in captivity, Engesser said, and has grown up "socialized."
"Anytime an animal is on display and confined, there is not a stress factor," Engesser said. "Inevitably you will have the extreme view. There are a number of ways to be raised healthily in captivity."
Engesser said his grandparents and parents were operating the traveling zoo before him.
read more:
http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_c6aceee5-f2f2-5429-a7e9-e1939c28409e.html