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Exotic animal show attracts large crowd
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Mark Rosenthal and his Soloman Eclectus, Captain, visited the Boardman library on June 30 to put on a show for families.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Seven the Sloth hung onto a branch as Mark Rosenthal carried him around to show the families at the Boardman library on June 30.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Popcorn the Binturong played with one of the stuffed snakes at the Boarman library on June 30 during Mark Rosenthal's animal show.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Mark Rosenthal and Popcorn, the Binturong, gave each other a high-fave at the Boardman library on June 30 during his animal show.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Mark Rosenthal, owner of Animal Magic, brought a four-foot alligator to the Boardman library on June 30 to show to families.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Mark Rosenthal, an exotic animal rescuer, brought some of his animals to the Boardman library on June 30 for families to see and learn about.
Rosenthal owns Animal Magic, Inc. which is a non-profit organization dedicated to exotic wildlife conservation and life science education. Rosenthal brought in a tarantula, an alligator, a milk snake, a Solomon Eclectus bird, a binturong, a sloth and a hedgehog.
Many of Rosenthal’s animals have been rescued, while the others were bought. Rosenthal works with the police to help give exotic animals that have been obtained illegally or aren’t in a suitable environment a good home.
“I’ve been doing this longer than anyone in the United States. I have animals you have never seen before,” said Rosenthal.
As Rosenthal took out his animals, he told the audience a little bit about the animal and what kind of environment they need to live in to survive. Rosenthal had a story about many of his animals. Some stories were about how he rescued the animal and others were about some difficulties he has had with that kind of animal.
“I love what I do, I have over 6,000 exotic animals and I have a 10-acre sanctuary,” said Rosenthal.
Rosenthal ended the event with a magic trick. He took out his hedgehog, Reggie, and made her disappear. The audience was left in awe as Rosenthal took apart the box he placed Reggie in and Reggie was nowhere to be found.
At the end of the event, Rosenthal had stuffed snakes, books and other small items the audience could purchase. The money raised from selling the items goes back to the animal sanctuary to help out the animals. Rosenthal asked the audience what their favorite animal of the event was and the majority answer was Popcorn the binturong.