Kangaroos take center stage at animal show

For a group of Mount de Sales Academy sixth-graders, Tuesday’s visit to the Cherry Blossom Festival was the kind of learning experience they’d love to have every day.

The students were part of a capacity crowd at the Aussie Kingdom Kangaroo Show, one of the highlights of this year’s activities at Central City Park. Instead of a stuffy classroom, the students got to sit in the open air and see kangaroos, dingoes, birds and lizards firsthand.

“Actually, their geography unit covers Australia, so this is a good opportunity to see (the animals) live,” Keith Bartlett, their teacher, said. “They’ll probably never get another chance to see this again except on video or online. We came specifically for this.”

One of the students, 11-year-old Chris Afful, said he preferred the dingoes -- the country’s wild dogs -- among the various animals.

“I thought it was pretty good, very interesting,” he said. “I liked the dingoes, because I have a passion for dogs. ... It was very informative.”

The show was originally set to come to the festival last year, but scheduling issues prevented it. When it was booked for this year’s festival, Cherry Blossom officials decided to make Australia the featured country.

Carolyn Lantz, who calls Colorado home, said she’s exhibited the animals across the country for seven years and has owned most of the animals for a decade. She began her menagerie with a baby wallaby.

“I’ve always had weird pets,” she said with a chuckle.

Interestingly, while her animals are native to Australia, all of them were born in the U.S. Australia banned exporting its animals back in the 1970s, Lantz said, but by then enough Americans had them that they can be found in this country.

The kangaroos, Australia’s signature animal, still attract the most attention at her shows. She has nine kangaroos and wallabies -- six different varieties -- at the show.

“It’s just the uniqueness of the animal,” she said. “It’s not like any other animal in the world.”

Lantz displayed the various animals for the audience, telling visitors interesting facts about each one. As a dingo was paraded in front of them, Lantz noted that the animal can turn its head 180 degrees in either direction as well as turn its wrists.

After the show, some people took the opportunity to touch the animals, which also included birds such as kookaburras, parrots, parakeets and finches; and lizards, including a blue-tongued skink and bearded dragon.

Abigail Bartlett, 8, of Florida, who attended the show with her family, called the show “pretty cool.”

“I think I’d have to go with the kangaroos,” she said when asked to name her favorite. “They are really pretty cool. I learned a lot of things I didn’t know before.”

Jenice Bassett, Abigail’s grandmother, said she went online to learn more about the show when she heard the kangaroos would be in town.

“I wanted to see what was offered,” she said. “(Abigail) loves animals. It doesn’t matter what kind.”

The one notable Australian animal missing from the show is a koala bear. Besides Australia’s export ban and the fact that koalas are endangered, Lantz said they are a difficult animal to maintain.

“They can’t handle the travel,” she said. “They also need fresh eucalyptus leaves. You’d have to pay me to bring in fresh leaves every day. They only eat them when they are fresh. If there are any left over from (a previous meal), they won’t eat them.”

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Kangaroos take center stage at animal show ."