Whitefish Zooniacs explore wild kingdom

A group of Whitefish kids have a passion for animals and zoos that they enjoy sharing in an online radio show.

Jungle Jack's Zooniacs celebrates the animal kingdom through animal facts, trivia, interviews and more. Their Saturday show airs on BigValleyRadio.com.

Hosts are Jeff Hyer, 12, Rmi Strauser, 14, Charlotte Mack, 13, Myah Strauser, 11, and Cooper Donahue, 14.

They travel to zoos around the country and Canada interviewing animal experts.

“We get to talk to people who work with the animals,” said Strauser. “We got to watch elephant keepers feed at the L.A. zoo.”

They took a trip to Calgary Zoo last month as it opened its new Penguin Plunge exhibit. They were invited along with other members of the media to attend the grand opening of the exhibit.

“It's one of the best zoos,” Rmi said. “They did a really nice job with the penguin exhibit.”

It's a fairly typical event for the young hosts who routinely research animals and zoos, interview animal experts and zoologists and then create their monthly radio show. A mainstay of the program and the show's namesake is Jack Hanna.

They prepare questions prior to interviews and do extensive research on animals many people likely haven't heard of before. They then spend several hours in the studio recording the show.

Charlotte Mack, who is newer to the show, said sometimes it can take a few takes to get things right, but it's fun.

“I'm definitely getting better,” she said. “I'm glad it's not in front of anyone and it's not live. It's a lot easier to be yourself.”

Creating the shows becomes an education for the young hosts.

“Jeff knew all about animals when we started and I didn't know much,” Myah Strauser said. “It's crazy how much I've learned.”

Rmi Strauser and Jeff Hyer said they enjoy getting to see aspects of zoos that few people ever get to see.

“I like learning about how the exhibits are made,”  Rmi Strauser said. “I like knowing more about how they design that type of thing.”

“It's neat to see how they make a natural habitat in a zoo for the animals,” Hyer said.

Sue and Ross Strauser, parents to Rmi and Myah, are the owners and operators of Bigvalleyradio.com. The Strausers help the kids organize the shows and create the final show for broadcast inside their home studio in Whitefish.

The group is planning another trip to ZooMontana in Billings. The zoo has undergone some financial struggles and the Zooniacs hope to spotlight the zoo during a future show, Ross Strauser said.

“We hope we can raise awareness of their financial situation and help them out,” he said.

Jungle Jack's Zooniacs streams live 10 a.m. Saturdays at www.bigvalleyradio.com.