The Dexter library celebrated Canada Day by inviting kids to enjoy a presentation by a wildlife expert.  (The library didn’t actually mention Canada Day at all, but I know for a fact there was at least one hockey fan in the library that day.  Close enough.)

The room was packed…

…but unfortunately, Dan the Creature Man was twenty minutes late due to traffic, so the crowd got a bit restless.  However, Dan did arrive, and the kids settled down to enjoy the show.

There was a parrot…

…that was more in the mood to nibble on the microphone than he was to talk.

There was also a chameleon…

…that happily grabbed a few crickets with a tongue that would make Gene Simmons jealous.

There was an iguana…

…that wasn’t nearly as grumpy as he looked.  Oddly enough, this was the only creature that caused tears; when Dan brought out the iguana, one little girl started crying.

Most kids were fascinated…

…but note the worried expression on the girl near the left side of the photo.  She didn’t cry, but it didn’t look like she was eager to make new friends.

There was a chinchilla…

…that added just the right amount of “Awwwwwwwwww!” to the show.

There was a tortoise…

…that looked as grumpy as the iguana.  He probably wasn’t as grumpy as he looked, either.  (Also, he looked like he should be a character in a classic Bill Peet book.)

There was an American alligator…

…that certainly didn’t look grumpy.  I didn’t ask him why he was smiling, mostly because I enjoy having ten fingers.  And because he didn’t speak English.

After the show, Dan brought back out his albino python so the kids could touch and hold it.

Many hands make light snake:

Surprisingly, the little girl who looked worried during the show was happy to touch the snake.  Maybe during the show she was worried about the economy or unemployment or the major rules violations coming to light in college football or something.