October 26, 2012

Halloween Show: What's So Scary About Spiders and Bats?

Are you preparing for Halloween? Going for the fright value? Bet you've got some spider and bat decorations. We commonly think of these creatures as being good for a scare. But do these animals really live up to their Halloween reputation. Are all the icky things you hear about bats and spiders true? Find out today when I'll have live spiders and live bats in the studio with me. You may be creeped out by seeing upside down bats or watching as I hold large spiders, but you'll also find out the truth about them and how helpful they are to us.

Episode Segments:

Wild About Pets: Not-so-scary Spiders Despite what you may have heard, or seen on TV and the movies, spiders are not as scary as you think. Dave DiNaso and Jeremy Taulbee of the Traveling World of Reptiles have brought several of their eight-legged friends to prove it, and to dispel some of the myths of the dangerous spider.
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Wild About Pets: Incredible Bats Like the spider, bats get a bad rap to, especially because of their associations with Dracula and vampires. Sharon Peterson of Incredible Bats says that's just fiction, and explains some of the true behavior of bats that has been falsely portrayed in the movies. She's brought some cute little winged friends with her, too.
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Links to Related Websites:

Travelling World Of Reptiles Started in 1993 the Traveling World of reptiles has entertained at nearly 9000 different events in and around the Chicago-land area. We have visited hundreds of Schools, birthday parties, libraries, scout functions, festivals, camps, park districts, churches, senior centers and corporate events.

Incredible Bats Daniel and Sharon Peterson, along with our Egyptian Fruit Bats and African Straw-colored Bats, have been educating people about bats since 1996. We love bats, and with our experience and knowledge we want to dispel the myths surrounding these misunderstood creatures. We are located in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois, the heart of the Midwest.

Look While You Listen Visit Wild About Pets.net to view the photos Susan and her guests are discussing and for other useful links

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Dave DiNaso Dave DiNaso is the owner of the Traveling World of reptiles. Next April will mark the 20th year he and his employees have been performing shows helping to ease peoples fears as well as dispel many of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the creatures most of us have learned to hate and even kill indiscriminately. As the name of his show would indicate, the majority of the animals that accompany Dave to the shows are reptiles but as anyone who has seen his show knows, spiders are a big part of the show as well. Dave and his employee Jeremy Taulbee not only have experience with many large species of tarantulas from all over the world they are co-authoring a field guide to Illinois spiders and have photographed and cared for hundreds of different species from the venomous black widow and brown recluse spiders to the harmless orb weavers and jumping spiders that inhabit the state of Illinois. Traveling World of Reptiles Website

Sharon Peterson Sharon Peterson is a Public School Teacher, and Bat Naturalist. She is certified by Bat Conservation International in the Conservation and Management of Bats. This certification was obtained through a week long workshop in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. Her involvement in bat conservation started over 15 years ago, and in that time she has spoken to thousands of children and adults in a variety of venues. She currently cares for 4 male Egyptain Fruit Bats, and a breeding pair of African Straw-colored Bats. These bats are used in her presentations and she is licensed by the USDA as a Class C exhibitor. Sharon has a Bachelor's Degree from Loyola University, a Master's of Education from the University of St. Francis, and a Master's Degree in Instruction Technology from Northern Illinois University. Her passion for bats has influenced her family; her husband Dan also gives Bat Presentations, her daughter Juliette is her web designer, and her son Dan, Jr. composes original music for the YouTube videos her daughter creates and posts to their website. Sharon is passionate about the plight of bats, and she loves to share this passion with audiences. Her goal is eradicate the misinformation people believe about bats so everyone will appreciate bats and the work they do for our world environment. Incredible Bats Website

From the Incredible Bats website: Their African Straw Colored Fruit Bats.