People love the food and the music at the Great Mississippi Valley Fair, but the animals are the ones who steal the show.
At G.W. Exotic Wild Animal Park, trainers have baby tigers, young lions, Savannah Cats, Bengal Cats, and more. Based out of Oklahoma, the park gives you an interactive experience with the animals. You can actually go in and play with the baby tiger and cats!
Animal Trainer Doug Terranova, who is orginally from Muscatine, Iowa says what he does is a joy every day.
"I prefer working with animals over people because animals let you know their true feelings," says Doug. "If they're upset with you, they let you know. If they're in love with you, you know. I think the people just love the babies... babies are cute no matter what they are."
Probably an act you don't want to play with though is the The Great Bear Show. You can watch five bears "be bears" and sit in on educational shows at 3:15pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm. Their trainer, who comes from Texas, also warns people about the "do's and don't's" if you run into a bear.
"I just like talking to people who have great questions that they're really, honestly interested in about the animals," says Bob Steele, Educator and Trainer with The Great Bear Show.