Wildlife event at Arena Building in Cape expands

The second annual Evening With Wildlife in Cape Girardeau on Saturday had a simple goal: more.

More time, more people and more participation.

Darin Petitt, conservation agent for Cape Girardeau County, said two hours were added for this year's program. That was partly because of feedback received from those attending last's year debut event and partly because organizers wanted to get more people to attend.

Last year, 1,100 to 1,200 attended the event at the Arena Building. Saturday's attendance figure was unavailable.

Those who did attend had more to take part in than was available last year.

"We wanted to make it more interactive," Petitt said.

The United Bowhunters of Missouri placed four targets on a stage with three types of traditional bows and a rack of compound bows on loan from the Department of Conservation for visitors to use.

"One of our biggest goals is to get kids involved and off the couch, away from the boob tube and computer," said Mike Calahan, a member from Cape Girardeau.

While 12-year-old Josh Hansen of Kelso, Mo., does play games on his Nintendo Game Cube, he also hit the bull's-eye multiple times. Josh said he often hunts with his father and sometimes his 7-year-old brother, Ben.

"We go whenever we get free time," he said. "I love the outdoors. I can't get enough of it."

Ben said the hardest activity at the event was fishing. "It's hard to hit the bucket," he said. Casting practice offered a 50-foot stretch and rewarded participants with plastic ducks. Four visits to the interactive stations entitled participants get a chance to win a raffle for fishing poles, a camouflage bucket and SpongeBob bobbers.

In addition to archery and fishing stations, an Evening With Wildlife also had a duck laser shooting game and an identity quiz.

The Cape Area Friends of the NRA brought a 25-foot youth training tube to teach proper handling of a gun and how to aim, point and shoot properly.

Other groups present included taxidermists, falconers, meat processors, clubs promoting wildlife, catch-and-release alliances, the National Rifle Association, the Wild National Turkey Federation and representatives from each division of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Three birds of prey, Evilena, a goshawk, Kon, a red-tailed hawk, and Baby, a Harris hawk, sat on perches or on the falconers' gloved hands, drawing small groups who asked questions about the raptors who would try to take flight or stretch their wings intermittently. Although tethered, the motion and display they repeated attracted the curious.

Tameaka Evans of Cape Gir?ardeau said her 2-year-old daughter, Zoria Shields, was more interested in the raptors than in any other display.

The event wasn't just for children.

Kim Krempasky of Cape Gir?ardeau took pictures of the yellow-bellied water snake that Nature Center volunteer Sue Corvick held. Then she touched a snake for the first time. Krempasky said she found the experience fascinating.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133