Approximately 20 minutes into the show, Peter Gros gave the children what they wanted.
They wanted to see the animals.
“Have you ever met a scorpion?” Gros asked a young girl of about six or seven, as she walked onto the stage. She had eagerly volunteered to pet the first creature, but her smile turned quickly to a nervous stare as she heard the question.
“Well,” Gros said, “You’re gonna like this one.”
This young girl was one of many to pet the animals that Gros, advisor of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” on Animal Planet, brought to the Freed Center for the Performing Arts on March 12. Gros presented creatures, including a lizard, king toad, red-tailed boa, scorpion, baby alligator, pos- sum, armadillo, Eurasian eagle-owl, capybara and an African leopard.
Two handlers brought the creatures out as Gros talked about each animals’ behavior and lifestyle, while mostly elementary-aged children volunteered to the see the animals up close. Gros mixed his commentary with conversation between himself and the children, asking them questions and humor- ing them on-stage.
Dylan Wood, Operations Manager at the Freed Center, believes that the animal-interaction aspect of the show provided entertainment for more than just the children.
“Animal shows are always enjoyed by the community here,” Wood said. “And if we can bring in an animal show with an educational component, then that’s what we really want to do.”
For spectators like Amberly Heft, an ONU graduate and Findlay resident that attended the show with her husband (also an ONU alum) and her four children (right), the program was also an excuse to go back to campus.
“All the kids love animals, and we just thought that it would be fun to bring them,” Heft said. “It’s another excuse for us to bring them on campus, look around and see what’s going on around here.” In between animal presentations, Gros detailed personal experiences that he has had while working for “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” He mentioned his first show, when he had to unexpectedly scuba-dive with sharks, and another time, when a baby alligator ripped a hole in his khakis during an interview.
Gros led the audience through a first-hand account of memorable moments in his career, describing near-death situations with humorous self-deprecation. Behind-the-scenes footage of the situations played on the monitor behind him as he detailed things from his perspective.
Gros closed the show with a message concerning the environment. He discussed the progress that the world has made in improving the environment, and how society sometimes fails to recognize this progress.
“We live in a day where we are inundated with negative news about the environment,” Gros said. “Some [people] think it’s too late. It’s not. This planet isn’t going anywhere, as long as we get involved.”
While Gros will not be returning to the Freed Center next year, Wood says that “[Gros’s show is] definitely something that we’re looking toward having in the future.”