Learning to care for critters

Moorpark College's Teaching Zoo, one of two such college programs in the U.S., trains students for careers with animals

- BY DANIEL MILLER

The serval did not want to go into her crate.

The spotted cat’s name was Naomi, she had just been weighed, and now it was time to do as she was told.

“C’mon — in your crate,” urged Thomas Barber, a student at Moorpark College.

Naomi, held on a leash by student Trinity Astilla, was the picture of lithe, feline elegance as she slunk around a dusty enclosure, briefly hopping atop her crate — but not into it.

“Rethink about building behavior momentum,” animal training instructor Amanda Stansbury counseled Barber.

After about 10 minutes — and a repositioning of the crate — Naomi entered.

“Good job — a good demonstration of working through it,” Stansbury said.

This is what class looks like in Moorpark College’s Animal Care and Training Program, where students get real-world experience at the campus’ Teaching Zoo.

Home to 120 animals representing 110 species, the zoo is one of two such collegiate facilities in the country — the other is Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, Fla. — and draws students from California and beyond who are looking for a career working with animals.

The program traces its roots to 1971, when the community college began offering a class in exotic animal studies, expanding to a full-fledged major three years later. Students learn on the job, preparing food for the animals, feeding them, weighing them and even putting on demonstrations for children visiting on field trips.

“We do a lot of hands-on training, and to me, it’s always magic,” said Gary Mui, who graduated from the program in 1995 and now oversees it.

The program admits 60 students annually, and about 45 graduate each year.

“That attrition is a marker for how difficult and time-consuming the program is,” said Mara Rodriguez, the zoo’s development coordinator.

Still, it’s popular: 150 or so Moorpark College students apply each year, gaining entry via a lottery.