Oak Forest HS Ecology Club Hosts 'Animals for Awareness' Show

The Oak Forest High School Ecology Club sponsored its annual Animal Show hosted by “Animals for Awareness,” a rescue facility run by Kim Schilling of Orland Park. “Animals for Awareness” supplies animals for discussion and display, all of which are rescues from illegal trade or abuse by owners. This year “Animals For Awareness” brought new species including a domestic skunk, a Kickapoo, an alligator snapping turtle, a Burmese python, a tree­-dwelling South American Boa Constrictor, a talking green parrot, and many more. In the discussion, Schilling talked about each of the animals and answered student questions. OFHS students were curious as to what each animal ate. Schilling also talked about deforestation and how it affects animals and how that lowers their food source. OFHS Ecology Club members and others enjoyed interacting with the animal rescues. The Oak Forest High School community experienced different types of animals at the Animal Show. OFHS Assistant Principal Dr. Savka Mladenovich held a Boa Constrictor, while Ecology Club member Audrey Cooper held a domestic skunk. Club member Marley Majetic was able to pet an alligator snapping turtle. She said, “I thought it was friendly. We compared the difference between a turtle with a healthy shell versus a malnourished shell.” Majectic said that the speaker told the audience that some turtles are fed dog food, which does not give the turtle the proper protein and therefore shows up in a poor looking malnourished shell. Oak Forest High School teacher Dawn Sasek is the Ecology Club sponsor that organized this Animal Show. For more information about “Animals for Awareness,” please check out their website: http://www.animalsforawareness.org/.