Gary Bogue, author of
“The Raccoon Next Door: Getting Along with Urban Wildlife” will
appear at BookSmart from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday in a fundraiser for
WERC, the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. And he will
have help from a Ariel, genuine member of the wildlife
community.
Gary Bogue, author of “The Raccoon Next Door: Getting Along with Urban Wildlife” will appear at BookSmart from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday in a fundraiser for WERC, the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. And he will have help from a Ariel, genuine member of the wildlife community.
Bogue will talk about his book, relevant to Morgan Hill’s recent experience with mountain lions within the city limits and, if pressed, could show off the scar he received from a too-close encounter with a mountain lion.
Bogue is a columnist for the Contra Costa Times. He was curator for 12 years at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, which treated more than 40,000 injured and orphaned animals and pioneered the nation’s first wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.
Ariel, a merlin falcon who was brought back to health at the center will be accompanied by Sue Howell, executive director of WERC. Ariel’s job is to teach children about her life as a bird of prey.
Howell regularly appears at schools with a well-trained support staff of creatures great and small, feathered and furry, rescued from Morgan Hill’s environment, introducing South Valley children to animals that share their environment.
Morgan Hill’s WERC gained national recognition for its program raising baby bobcats with no identifiable human contact, allowing them to be safely re-introduced to the wild.
Because the WERC is a nonprofit organization and programs must be underwritten, Cinda Meister and Brad Jones of BookSmart will donate 20 percent of sales during the event to the education program. They challenge other businesses, schools, churches and scout troops in the community to match their contribution and support local rescue and education efforts.
The program will appeal to both adults, who can interact with the author, and children, who can interact with Ariel.
Wildlife enthusiasts are encouraged to stop by BookSmart this weekend to pick up Bogue’s highly readable book, complete with sketches of animals from sow bugs and butterflies to hawks and mountain lions. Sharing the book with children before the event will increase their enjoyment of Ariel and of the event.
The independent bookstore has set up a table just inside the front door with a collection of other books on nature and wildlife designed to pique the interest of children of all ages.
WERC’s website is www.werc-ca.org/ Call 779-9372 to arrange for a classroom wildlife experience.
BookSmart, 17415 Monterey Road at West Second Street. Details: 778-6467.
