A Friend to All Animals

 founder Chris Evers made a trip to the  Thursday afternoon, but he did not come alone.

Evers brought tree frogs, a bullfrog, two baby red foot tortoises that were born at the Embassy and their father, who was born in Colombia.

The father tortoise was taken out of his natural habitat and sold to a pet store, Evers said. A family bought him, but got tired of him quickly. The family brought the tortoise back to the pet store and said that it was "boring," Evers told the audience. 

Evers, who is also the director of the Embassy, is currently caring for more than 180 animals but has rescued over 500 animals over the years. He told the crowd of about 50 people that the animals in his care are taken out of the wild because of necessity.

 "I wish they could be free," Evers said. "I want them to be in their natural habitat."

Evers said when an animal is removed from the wild it hurts the habitat. For example, the tortoise digs holes in the forest that become homes for other animals.

Evers also shared stories and pictures from his travels to India to see Bengal tigers. There are only 1,700 tigers left in India, Evers said.

He said that it is important for him to pass his knowledge on to people who can change the world. Following one of his events, a little girl organized a fundraiser for the tigers and raised over $4,000.