The inhabitants of the Strauser and Hyer households in Whitefish are used to living with some pretty wild characters. In fact, there are some areas of their houses that can only be described as zoos.
That’s because 11-year-old Jeffrey Hyer and 13-year-old Ross Michael “RMI” Strauser are seasoned zoo designers, constructing scaled-down versions of actual zoo facilities with recycled materials, rocks and animal figurines.
The model zoos span across rooms and take at least a week to get just right, the young architects said. The zoo currently stationed at the Strauser house has more than 100 exhibits, RMI Strauser noted.
It was this activity that caught the eye of the Strauser’s family friend and notable animal expert Jack Hanna, who suggested the kids run with their passion for animals, Ross Strauser, RMI’s father, said.
The next step was obvious. RMI’s parents, Sue and Ross Strauser, have owned and operated Whitefish Radio, soon to expand to Big Valley Radio, for three years. They decided to give the boys a little airtime to teach others about animals.
The result is “Jungle Jack’s Zooniacs,” a Saturday morning program on the all-Internet radio station. Myah Strauser, 10, also lends her vocal skills as the show’s announcer.
“I always want to do it, it’s really fun,” Myah Strauser said.
Most of the show is dedicated to a series of interviews or recent animal-centric events. There is also a joke-telling section, animal facts, local music and, of course, an interview with Jungle Jack Hanna.
The kids record one new show a month. The April and May programs were dedicated to the young radio staff’s trip to the Calgary Zoo, which, to hear them tell it, was quite the experience.
“It’s definitely a great zoo to visit,” RMI Strauser said. “I’d recommend it to anyone going to Canada.”
With exhibits showcasing animals from around the world, the Zooniacs were in overdrive collecting interviews with staff, visiting the elephants and watching their favorite creatures up close.
Hyer, who can rattle off multi-syllabic animal names along with their habitat and eating preferences, was trying to remember all the species they studied in Calgary, but eventually just stopped and smiled.
“We could list them for a long time,” Hyer said.
A big part of the radio show is the animal of the month, which is rarely something most people have ever heard of. For example, this month’s animal is the Rock Hyrax, a small creature related to the elephant.
Creating a 30- to 45-minute radio program is no simple feat, as both Sue and Ross Strauser will attest. But the boys do most of the research on their own, creating a rough outline for how they would like their program to run.
Then, Ross Strauser said, it’s mostly ad-libbing off their notes. Recording a show takes about two hours for the hosts, but not everything is recorded at the same time. Once the recording is finished, Ross Strauser said it takes about eight hours of editing to add all of the sound effects and music to enhance the program.
The finished production is polished and entertaining. It is also a rarity in the Northwest, the Strausers said, because not many shows are made for kids, by kids.
Audiences can look at photo galleries online as they listen to the Internet show and they can e-mail the hosts with answers to the question of the month with a chance for prizes.
The previous shows are available on demand on the website. The next show, scheduled to air the first week in June, will include an interview with a veterinarian who has worked with African animals.
The hosts are smart and passionate about their subject, which makes each show as interesting as it is educational. Hyer and RMI Strauser both hope to work with animals when they grow up, whether that’s on a television show similar to the Zooniacs radio program or designing and consulting on zoos.
Either way, the young radio personalities seem to be on the right track.
“This is really a one-of-a-kind radio show,” Ross Strauser said.
Tune in to “Jungle Jack’s Zooniacs” at 10 a.m. on Saturday mornings at www.whitefishradio.com or www.bigvalleyradio.com.