“Gumdrop,” a Laughing Kookuburra at the EATM zoo tilts her head back in anticipation as her new adoptive mother, 13-year-old Ryann Stibor, presents her with her favorite snack: chicken feet and mouse tails. As an adoptive parent, Stibor will be able to visit and play with Gumdrop every month for a year.
Like Stibor, animal lovers worldwide are able to become involved with, and support, Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management program and its resident creatures through the “Adopt an Animal” program.
Moorpark EATM student Rachel Peters is one of the many students who has devoted herself to the 365 day a year commitment of the EATM program.
“The zoo’s been open since about 1974, and we’ve been running the ‘Adopt an Animal’ program for quite some time now,” said Peters.
Anyone across the globe can learn about the “Adopt an Animal” program via the EATM website, which explains the benefits of becoming a wildlife parent. The adopter receives a certificate of adoption, an information sheet regarding the animal at the zoo which they chose to support, a photograph of that animal and the privilege to visit the animal for free one Sunday every month for a year. Some of the animals at the EATM zoo have several wildlife parents. In addition, the names of wildlife parents are listed under the pictures of the adopted animal throughout the zoo.
“I did summer camp here last year and my friend adopted Rowdy [the skunk], and I think Gumdrop is really cute,” Stibor explained. “It was a birthday gift.”
Adoptions and Memberships Manager Emma Willoughby, 22, is a Moorpark EATM student. She matches people with the animal of their choice for adoption.
“The [“Adopt an Animal”] program has been a lot better since the Spring Spectacular,” Willoughby said, referring to an event last March featuring animal presentations.
EATM’s zoo houses over 150 animals, and some of them are endangered species. All of these animals are up for adoption, though the cost ranges based on how much it costs to care for each animal. In order to feed all of the zoo’s residents, it costs over $65,000 a year, according to the EATM website. Some animals are more popularly adopted because they are more docile and there is more the adoptive parent can do with them when they visit according to Willoughby.
Peters explained that anyone can adopt an animal. The adoption price is a one-time fee that covers the animal’s diet and medical expenses.
“For each animal the things you can do is different, so some are better to adopt than others because some are less dangerous than others,” Willoughby said.
For more information on the “Adopt an Animal” program, visit www.moorparkcollege.edu/eatm.
