Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers 
asked by iread on November 15, 2006 5:30 AM
An invitation into the magical, grueling, and virtually unknown world of exotic animal training
Behind the imposing gate of the Exotic Animal Training Program at California's Moorpark College lies a kingdom full of small mysteries, deep passions, and a camel that shoots hoops. Each year a select group of students descends on this teaching zoo to learn an improbable talent: how to communicate with animals. The only school of its kind, Moorpark pushes the limits of all the enrolled as they master hundreds of Latin species names and zoonotic diseases, all while hosing down cages at dawn and noting that Zulu the mandrill takes his morning juice in a paper cup— never plastic. The alumni of this elite program hold the most coveted positions at the world's finest zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries. They are also the trainers who work in television and film, bringing Moorpark's enlightened methods to the business of animals for hire.
Behind the imposing gate of the Exotic Animal Training Program at California's Moorpark College lies a kingdom full of small mysteries, deep passions, and a camel that shoots hoops. Each year a select group of students descends on this teaching zoo to learn an improbable talent: how to communicate with animals. The only school of its kind, Moorpark pushes the limits of all the enrolled as they master hundreds of Latin species names and zoonotic diseases, all while hosing down cages at dawn and noting that Zulu the mandrill takes his morning juice in a paper cup— never plastic. The alumni of this elite program hold the most coveted positions at the world's finest zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries. They are also the trainers who work in television and film, bringing Moorpark's enlightened methods to the business of animals for hire.
Author Amy Sutherland returns with the same impassioned voice that made her debut, Cookoff, such a delight. Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched is a fascinating look at a little-known profession for animal lovers everywhere.
Reviews
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Loved reading this book, with its journalistic approach to both animal and human behavior. Full of fun facts and interesting anecdotes about animals, I learned a lot of about the human animal as well. I enjoyed meeting each of the students and following their path as they enter the elite world of exotic animal training--and getting to know the personalities of the furry and feathered characters was fascinating as well...who knew this whole world existed?! This book would make a great gift for anyone who's been hooked on "Animal Planet" or has ever wondered what it's really like behind the scenes in the orangutan cage...a fun and interesting "year in the life" of a place I'd never heard of!
reviewed by jdog on November 28, 2006 6:03 AM
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This is not the book I expected, nor was it a book that I found interesting. Notice that I came to this book with expectations and interests very different than those of the previous reviewers, thereby accounting for the difference in our ratings.
From the title's "Life and Lessons", I expected it to be in the genre of describing a "technology" (animal training) and its practitioners (in this case students) and the interaction of the two. However, this book is in the form of a chronology - the author followed a group of students through their first year. First, their activities are predominantly scut work (see other reviews). Involvement in training comes in the second year, so what is presented are their aspirations and positioning for assignments to particular species. Second, the book is a series of incidents involving the students and/or staff and often times some of the animals. I found this most unsatisfying: The description of the students were brief, typically serving to do little more than provide a physical description and a scant background of how they came to the school. There is little attempt to weave these incidents together.
The author mentions that critical aspects of training animals are knowing their capabilities and proclivities, and being able to "read" them (eg, to spot impending trouble). I expected a fair amount of this, and especially compare-and-contrast different species or even individuals within a species. There is a little of this (for example, between cougars and cheetahs), it comes off "flat." I also had expected the book to have observations about the interplay of different personality types (of the students) with the requirements of the animals. The author mentioned that some animals were guilty of substantial and persistent gender-based discrimination (my phrase) against handlers. However, this came as no surprise - people with experience with a moderate range of pet dogs and cats often have discovered this.
I picked up this book because of an article by the author in the New York Times "Modern Love: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage" (June 25, 2006). That article had style, wit and a sense of wonderment that I did not find in this book.
I read the first four chapters wondering when the book was going to get underway. I then started skimming, stopping to sample passages, and resumed skimming when I discovered that nothing had changed.
From the title's "Life and Lessons", I expected it to be in the genre of describing a "technology" (animal training) and its practitioners (in this case students) and the interaction of the two. However, this book is in the form of a chronology - the author followed a group of students through their first year. First, their activities are predominantly scut work (see other reviews). Involvement in training comes in the second year, so what is presented are their aspirations and positioning for assignments to particular species. Second, the book is a series of incidents involving the students and/or staff and often times some of the animals. I found this most unsatisfying: The description of the students were brief, typically serving to do little more than provide a physical description and a scant background of how they came to the school. There is little attempt to weave these incidents together.
The author mentions that critical aspects of training animals are knowing their capabilities and proclivities, and being able to "read" them (eg, to spot impending trouble). I expected a fair amount of this, and especially compare-and-contrast different species or even individuals within a species. There is a little of this (for example, between cougars and cheetahs), it comes off "flat." I also had expected the book to have observations about the interplay of different personality types (of the students) with the requirements of the animals. The author mentioned that some animals were guilty of substantial and persistent gender-based discrimination (my phrase) against handlers. However, this came as no surprise - people with experience with a moderate range of pet dogs and cats often have discovered this.
I picked up this book because of an article by the author in the New York Times "Modern Love: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage" (June 25, 2006). That article had style, wit and a sense of wonderment that I did not find in this book.
I read the first four chapters wondering when the book was going to get underway. I then started skimming, stopping to sample passages, and resumed skimming when I discovered that nothing had changed.
reviewed by 90210 on November 28, 2006 1:31 PM
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This is an engaging look at an extraordinary program for people interested in working professionally with wild animals. If I were a lot younger, I would enroll in this school in a heartbeat. The descriptions of the programs and the daily life of the students and their animal charges, many times funny, sometimes tragic, is excellent reading - lively, entertaining and informative, and well written into the bargain. My only quibble is one mentioned in another review - so many animals are mentioned by their "given" names after being introduced to us only once, that I couldn't keep track of which animal was later being referenced. Was "Sam" the wombat or the tiger? I had to constantly look back to find out who was biting whom. Apart from that, this is a really interesting and entertaining book.
reviewed by siriusfanboy on November 28, 2006 5:47 PM