October is typically the month when kids and adults alike embrace the morbid, outlandish, and creepy side of life. Several critters from the natural world tend to come to the forefront to represent the Halloween season, including all types of things that slither, scurry, and swoop.
The Neal Taylor Nature Center at Cachuma Lake cosponsors an annual event with Santa Barbara County Parks in the spirit of the season. Called Creepy Creatures, the event is an opportunity for several different groups and individual animal caretakers to come together for a fun and educational event that includes activities for all ages.
“There are several animal caretakers and entertainers who come and are very generous with their time every year,” said Santa Barbara County Cachuma Lake park naturalist Liz Gaspar. “We have several presenters, but we also have a group of volunteers who come and help. They are Nature Center and park volunteers who come in and make the event possible.”
Creepy Creatures, set for Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., includes kid-friendly fun and, of course, live animal presenters. Some of these presenters are people who own and care for rare creatures themselves; some of the animals will appear courtesy of a local Audubon Society program.
“We have the Eyes in the Sky people—they are from the Audubon, and they bring owls,” Gaspar said. “They have a big great horned owl, and they even bring a little screech owl who is 7 inches tall.”
The Eyes in the Sky program, Gaspar explained, takes care of birds that, due to injuries or sickness, wouldn’t survive long in the wild. The tiny screech owl, for instance, is partially blind, and the great horned owl was raised by humans from a hatchling, so is unable to socialize with its wild brethren.
Another presenter is Alison Abela, a professional biologist who owns a menagerie of rare and exotic animals, Gaspar explained.
“Let’s see, Alison has tarantulas, snakes, scorpions, and lizards,” Gaspar said. “And these are all animals that she cares for. She has permits for all of them.”
The spider itself is practically synonymous with Halloween due to its inherently creepy nature: rows of eyes and legs, poison-filled fangs, and the eerily beautiful webs it weaves. A tarantula such as the specimens Abela will bring shouldn’t be feared, though, Gaspar explained.
“One of the freaky things about spiders is that they move fast, so it naturally makes us skittish,” she said. “But tarantulas are much slower moving, and I’ve done this: You can put your hand under one and it will walk across your hand, and I know people who coax and handle wild tarantulas, and if you get bit, it’s no worse than a bee sting.
“They are very docile spiders; they are not very aggressive,” she added. “It takes a lot to provoke a bite from a tarantula.”
For people uncomfortable coaxing wild tarantulas onto their hands, the Creepy Creatures event will include these rare and otherworldly animals under the direction of longtime caretakers.
One caretaker, Melinda Alvarado, brings bats, Gaspar explained. Caretakers like Alvarado may have several animals under their care in various stages of health. Once a particular animal is well again, it may be released back into its wild home.
“All of these people who do this have licensing, and they are serious caretakers of these animals,” Gaspar said. “Melinda knows all about what to feed the bats, how to care for them, and how to handle them.”
Included in the event are family activities and attractions, including face painting, a balloon-animal artist, and live music. The balloon artist can make just about any animal, Gaspar said, from such native fauna as mountain lions to some of this year’s creepy visitors, like spiders. The event caps off with live music by a husband-and-wife music duo who play acoustic music and prepare a repertoire of spooky music each year for the event.
The Neal Taylor Nature Center will also be open, sharing its various natural history exhibits. A table featuring an assorted collection of wild animal bones will also be part of the event outside. Whether guests are drawn to the kids’ activities or the live presentations, Creepy Creatures will appeal to all ages of people who enjoy often misunderstood, but always interesting, animals.
Arts Editor Joe Payne will leave the tarantula holding to the pros. 
Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 16-23, 2014.
