Animal lovers won’t want to miss an opportunity to interact with exotic creatures during a live performance by Peter Gros from television’s original “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” Saturday, April 14, at Moraine Valley Community College, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills.
Performances will be at 3 and 7:30 p.m., in the Dorothy Menker Theater in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25 for general seating, $20 for seniors and $10 for students. Children 12 and under are free.
Gros, a wildlife expert who co-hosted the award-winning television show also broadcasted on Animal Planet, invites audience members to join him on stage to get a close glimpse of the animal ambassadors that have included a sloth, lemur, eagle owl, and colorful snakes from around the world. His shows also have featured reptiles, an alligator snapping turtle, a binturong—also called a bearcat in Southeast and South Asia—and a host of creepy crawlers. The animal ambassadors appearing with him are hand-raised on bottles or have been rescued and are very comfortable with human beings.
Telling tales from his travels and showing a mix of video clips and bloopers, Gros also shares inspirational stories that focus on conservation, travel and wildlife. “There is a lot of positive progress going on with animals and I’m excited to talk about the successes with the ones that are now off the endangered species list,” he said.
Gros has nearly 30 years of field experience with captive wildlife. In his former position as director of Land Animals and vice president at Marine World/Africa USA, he established breeding programs for 377 endangered animals.
For more information and tickets, visit the Fine and Performing Arts website or call the Box Office at (708) 974-5500.
