Baby kangaroo draws crowd at Mt. Carmel Farmers Market
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL PHOTO - Kaylee Frank, 10, of Mount Carmel, pets Pippa, a baby kangaroo held by Lake Tobias zookeeper Nicole Miller, at the Mt. Carmel Farmers Market on April 6, 2019.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth
ATLAS, Northumberland County – At least 2,000 people attended the Mt. Carmel Farmer’s Market in Atlas this afternoon, though there was one booth which drew a specifically large crowd.
Lake Tobias Wildlife Park, Halifax, Dauphin County, set up a booth at the market, displaying a quartet of their exotic animals.
The park displayed a baby sheep, a toad, a snake, and a baby kangaroo.
“We looked for variety,” said zookeeper Ryan Klinger regarding how the animals were chosen. “The kangaroo is obviously the huge attraction, the crowd-pleaser. The sheep, we’re working on getting her acclimated to people, she’s going to be in the baby department all year, so this is a good experience for her, and we brought a reptile and an amphibian for a little variety.”
The kangaroo, a 10-month-old named Pippa, drew lines stretching at least 100-feet away at times.
“It’s been [busy] the entire day, from the minute we got in here,” said Klinger. “Everybody has loved [the display.] The kangaroo has been a hit, I’ve heard a variety of favorite animals. Some people love the snake, a couple votes for the lamb, and even somebody had a favorite that was the frog.”
Ashley Reath, Pine Grove, brought her two children Jaxen Daniels, 5, and Dexter Daniels, 5 months, to the market to see the kangaroo.
“I was here last week and did all the crafts stuff, and saw the kangaroo was coming, so I figured I’d bring the kids to see it,” Reath said. “[Dexter] loved the kangaroo, he’s a little weary of the snake, but it’s cool to get them used to different stuff.”
Klinger said this was the second time Lake Tobias has had a booth at the market.
“My mom actually runs the market, so we have a good tie-in with the park, and they were willing to let us bring some animals up here last year,” said Klinger. “It was a great success for the market and the community, and they asked to do it again, and Lake Tobias said that would be fine.”
“It’s good to reach out up here, we’re about an hour away, so we get a little bit of a different crowd up here, so it’s a nice outreach for the park, and obviously the community loves it up here as well,” Klinger added.
Lake Tobias was at the farmer’s market from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
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