Living in Minnesota will put you in contact with a large variety of animals, from ferocious bears and wolves to much smaller but unsightly creatures like spiders and snakes. Of course, every animal serves a purpose in this big mud ball of a Planet, but many get overlooked because of the way they look. That’s why it was a really valuable lesson for many young children and their parents to attend a recent showing of Unlovable Animals at the Elysian Public Library and Heritage Center on Thursday, June 6.
The presentation was put on by Bob Ebsen with the Wildlife Science Center, which he started all the way back in 2001. The WSC is a conservation center specializing in rehabilitating animals that were “Abandoned as pets by their owners” or found alone in the wild. Ebsen has had a strong passion for animal conservation for decades as his passion stems from his mother, “She had a really strong love for nature, and that stuck with me. She could identify any flower or animal that she could spot.” His father was an engineer, but nature seemed to be Ebsen’s true calling as he received a degree in aquatic biology. He worked at several wildlife centers as a keeper, but happenstance changed his career trajectory toward leading demonstrations with the animals he cared for, “They kind of threw me into it one day…the boss at the time knew I had a lot of knowledge, so they placed the owl on my arm and had me present for a group of kids. It’s second nature to me at this point.”

Ebsen couldn’t quite put a number on how many presentations he has done over his long career, but he was as cool as a cucumber while handling all sorts of creatures. Scores of eager children crowded the front of the room, and some shy kids kept their distance. Ebsen began the show with some pelts and furs of some bears and wolves that have lived at the WSC and informed the kids of a black bear that “weighs over 700 pounds” that was once someone’s pet. He noted that when it was a cub, the bear slept in a “young girls bed when we found him abandoned.”

Soon after, Ebsen started showing live animals, but it started small with a blue-spotted salamander and a leopard gecko. The salamander was incredibly small as it fit into a small water dish and needed to stay damp in order to thrive, while the Gecko was a bit bigger and preferred a drier climate. The kids oohed and ah-ed at both animals while Ebsen allowed them a closer look.
He then moved on to what many in the audience admitted was their least favorite animal– snakes. Ebsen presented not one but two snakes from a small sack he had on a nearby table with a bull snake and an albino snake wriggling around his arms with one wrapping itself around his hand. Some kids appeared incredibly giddy, while a few others grimaced at the sight of the slithery serpents. Ebsen would relay certain facts about each animal he presented and spoke briefly on how effective of hunters snakes are because of their ability to locate food with their tongues. “They use their tongue to smell chemicals in the air to find their food; they may not be able to see very well, but their sense of smell makes them avid hunters, and they can take down prey much bigger than they are.”
Thankfully, Ebsen let the group know that he forgot to bring his tarantula, to which a large group of attendees let out a sigh of relief.
Ebsen’s show took flight when he unveiled the stars of the presentation in two birds: a barred owl and a broad-winged hawk. The owl was especially beautiful and curious as the audience took a liking to the creature; Ebsen explained this owl was injured in the wild over ten years ago and has a “very strong sense of hearing.” He furthered that an owl’s hearing is so effective that it can “hear a mouse burrow under a foot of snow from 100 yards away.”
At one point, the owl briefly spread its wings and even hung upside down from Ebsen’s arm before returning to its perch inside its box. Next, Ebsen showed the broad-winged hawk, which was quite a chatty bird as it would squawk and chirp during the presentation. This elegant bird was also abandoned by its previous owner. With a nudge of his master’s hand, the hawk proved why it is so aptly named a broad-wing as he laid out his wings far and wide…much to the amazement of the kids in the front row.
Ebsen gave the group some time to look at the animals up-close, and many sprung up to their feet to get a second peek at all the animals…even some parents wanted a closer look themselves. Ebsen left the show with a final message about these “unlovable animals” in that every creature on earth “has a purpose beyond what they look like or how cute they are. Everything they do helps them live their lives and possibly survive a harrowing situation. Some of these might scare you or gross you out, but I hope today can help you understand that these animals are more than what they look like.”