Gila monsters, tarantulas and snakes are just a few of the venomous creatures at a Whoop-Up Days exhibit in Lethbridge this year.
Venom, put on by Little Ray’s Nature Centre, aims to educate people on the misconceptions surrounding these animals.
Tarantulas, for example, are often seen as deadly, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
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“Tarantulas are venomous, but then again, so are honey bees,” said Andre Ngo, the centre’s director of animal welfare and education, on Wednesday.
“Oddly enough, from what we can tell, you can’t really even be allergic to tarantula venom, so, in that sense, they’re even safer than a honey bee.”
It’s so safe to be around them that exhibit visitors can even pet and hold some of the animals.
“It’s always just kind of fun to give kids a chance to meet things that kind of gross them out or creep them out because we have a lot of preconceived notions and this is a chance to challenge our preconceived notions and learn a little bit more about the world around us,” Ngo said.
The exhibit runs daily at Exhibition Park’s south pavilion at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
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