Jackie Ortiz loves animals. In fact, the college student loves them so much she moved from Kern County to Ventura County just so she could take part in a one of a kind educational program which combines animal science with wildlife management and training.
Ortiz is a student in the Moorpark College Exotic Animal Training and Management Program, better known as EATM, which is opening its doors to the public April 1st and 2nd.
For more than 40 years, the program has mixed traditional animal related classes with hands on experience, through what’s known as America’s Teaching Zoo on the Moorpark College campus. The zoo has more than 150 animals on five acres of land.
Students in the EATM program are here from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, carrying for the animals, going to classes, and giving tours to classes from the region’s schools. The beginning students start out with some of the less glorious jobs like cleaning out animal enclosures in the morning, and during the two years work up to feeding, and caring for the zoo’s residents.
This weekend, it will be open to the public, for its 27th annual “Spring Spectacular.” There are zoo tours, animal shows, and special events for kids.
EATM’s Mara Rodriguez says there will also be a reunion of program graduates. She says they’re proud that so many students have made careers out of what they learned in the program, with graduates working at zoos, as trainers of guide animals and drug sniffing dogs, and with animals featured in Hollywood production. Student in the program, like Ortiz, say they feel like the program is giving them an incredible opportunity.
The Zoo’s Spring Spectacular takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 1st and 2nd.
