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It's a Jungle Out There: One of Americas most unique collegesBY: Guest | Category: Education | Post Date: 2010-01-31
At Moorpark College in Ventura County, California, it's not unheard of for students to glance out the window of their classroom and see a camel walking by. The reason for this is that Moorpark College is the home of the Exotic Animal Training and Management program (also known as EATM). This elite program gives fifty students per year an opportunity to learn and experience the ins and outs of animal training and care on their teaching zoo. This zoo features over 150 different species of animals, from lions to camels, sea lions to dogs, and parrots to water buffalo. The program itself is designed to give students the closest experience as possible to working in a professional animal facility. The coursework includes learning the scientific names for one hundred different species of animals, training a rat to go through a series of obstacles, creating diets for different kinds of animals, and even learning about the different plant life that works well in zoo settings so that animals and humans are not harmed by them. Despite the academic rigors that come with the program, many students believe that the hardest part of the program is working at the zoo itself. The students' days begin at six a.m. with cleaning the zoo, though a handful of the students may start off the day with larger bags under their eyes; each night, a crew of about six students sleep at the zoo and make hourly rounds to ensure that animals' safety. After morning cleaning, students take a full load of courses, participate in or observe training sessions with some of the inhabitants of the zoo, and then spend a portion of the afternoon cleaning another area or working on a special project. Some days the students are given the opportunity to load up a variety of animals and make presentations at local schools or camps. While it may be located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, this school hasn't gone unnoticed by the media. Aside from the many appearances that EATM staff and students have made with notable television shows hosts like Jack Hannah, the program was also the subject of a recent reality television show entitled 'Moorpark 24/7.' This show gave audiences a glimpse of what is involved in being an animal-trainer-in-training by following students around the campus and interviewing them to track their progress through the program. Limited episodes are available for viewing on YouTube. There is also a feature-length movie coming soon entitled 'Moorpark Zoo: Managing Exotic Animals.' The life of the students after the program doesn't get much less interesting. Graduates from the EATM program have been found jobs at Dolphin Quest, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Aquarium of the Pacific, as trainers for many different television shows and movies, and many more locations. Some graduates have enjoyed the program so much that they have returned as staff members to help train the next generation of trainers. To find out more about this unique college experience, go to www.moorparkcollege.edu and click on the 'Teaching Zoo' link on the left. Who knows, your next step for college might be one alongside a mountain lion. Article Source: http://www.writearticles.org About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * Cheap Printer Cartridges Are Coming of Age - How To Save Money on 'Must Have' Printer In * Being a Single Parent and how to handle Stress * Galileo Thermometers are in which Functionality Merges with Beauty * God of 22nd century * Between spouses - Resolving the difference of opinion Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? It is a violation of our terms for authors to submit content which they did not write and claim it as their own. If this article infringes on your copyrights, then use our Contact us form with the detailed proof of infringement along with the offending article's title, URL and writer name. If you do not hear back from us then contact us again in another 10 days. Thank you. Comments on this article: (0 comments so far) * Additional comments are now closed for this article *
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