Wild ones

Jimmy Stroup

The All Creatures Great and Small Educational Petting Zoo at the

Orange County Fair is as thrilling as it gets for children who’ve

never seen a water buffalo, let alone been able to touch and feed

one.

Laura Whitehead and her 2-year-old son Gavin’s visit to the

petting zoo Thursday gave Gavin a chance to see and feed animals he

would certainly never see at their Laguna Beach home.

“I like the animals,” Gavin said. “I like the white one,”

indicating that a big white goat was his favorite.

He also pet the resident zebra at the zoo.

“I liked the zebra,” Gavin said. “I gave him food.”

The zebra, named Barcode, was actually born a little closer to

home than the species’ native Africa. Alex Walters, 16, an Edison

High School junior who works at the petting zoo, said Barcode was

bought from a breeder in Utah.

Jennifer Wilkerson owns and operates the petting zoo that travels

to nearly 20 fairs over the course of the year. Her Romoland-based

operation offers 17 kinds of animals for all to pet and feed to their

heart’s content.

Though the experience petting and feeding critters is exciting

enough, Cassandra Jensen, 20, who travels with the educational zoo

year-round, said the real excitement is when the animals give birth

at the fair.

“We have [the birth] right here to let kids experience it,” she

said. “We try to get kids to come up with the names.”

That system, and a penchant for comical naming, has led to some

interesting handles for the different animals, some of which include

a Tibetan Yak named Kayak, an Asian water buffalo named Annie, a

Black Romanov ewe named Button and the newest additions to the

traveling zoo: Tango, Treasure and Zipper, Jacob sheep all born

within the last week at the fair.

Stephanie Nwaiwu, 6, from Torrance, was all smiles over having

just been through the zoo.

“I like them,” she said. “They’re soft. I like the baby ones

best.”

She added that though she liked the petting zoo, Barcode the zebra

kind of scared her.

The staff at the zoo also falls for the soft and cute nature of

the animals under their care.

“I love animals,” Walters said. “I could sit and pet them all

day.”

All Creatures Great and Small Educational Petting Zoo is near the

Yellow entrance of the Orange County Fair and is open until 9 p.m.

for the rest of the week. Admission is free. Animal treats run from

50 cents to $1.50.