Animal Stars to Take Stage in Spectacular

Rosie, an 18-year-old African baboon, hesitated a moment or two before heeding her trainer’s command to jump from one wooden stump to another.

Sneakers, a 9-year-old serval--a wild cat that resembles a cheetah--seemed slightly overwhelmed by the audience of mostly 8-year-olds.

And Cassidy, a 7-year-old Australian kangaroo, refused to give up the spotlight, forcing his trainers to drag him off the stage on a leash. But the animals and their student handlers at Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management program put on an otherwise flawless performance Wednesday to an audience of awe-struck second-graders.

The show--a loose combination of educational skits and animal tricks--was the first dress rehearsal of the school’s sixth annual Spring Spectacular fund-raiser: a series of 16 performances to be held March 16-17 and March 23-24.

In the skit, a greedy land developer hires an outdoor adventurer and her assistant to find the most dangerous animal on Earth. The journey takes the trio throughout Africa, South America, Australia and Pacific Asia, where they encounter a host of animals, only to conclude that humans--particularly developers--are the most dangerous species on Earth.

Although the Moorpark College actors and trainers fueled the plot and delivered the lesson, the children visiting the campus Tuesday morning--second-graders from the Curtis School in Los Angeles--were far more interested in the exotic animals.

A water buffalo wearing a garland of flowers, a 10-foot-long, 50-pound Indian python wrapped around its trainer, and Rosie, the somersaulting baboon, drew the greatest response. “He’s walking, he’s walking,” exclaimed the kids as Cassidy the kangaroo stood upright and marched toward his trainer.

Last year, the fund-raising performances attracted an audience of more than 2,000 and raised $16,000. All of the money raised is to be used to purchase food for the school’s 150 animals and to maintain and expand the wildlife facilities.

In addition to the performances, the weekend events will include food vendors and arts and crafts booths.

Students of the two-year program, which prepares them for jobs involving animal handling, such as zoo keeping or wildlife education, say putting together the show gives them a chance to use all of their skills.

“I have to say this program makes you the most well-rounded person,” said first-year student Tami Gomes of Simi Valley. “They not only teach you how to work with the wildlife . . . but for people who want to go to work at Sea World you do have to know how to act, so putting on a show like this is just something else we expect to do.”

The Exotic Animal Training and Management Center’s Spring Spectacular will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. over the next two weekends, with 40-minute shows--beginning every two hours--starting at 10 a.m. Event tickets cost $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children 2 to 12. Younger children are free.

Admission to the center’s zoo during those weekends, required to see the show, is an additional $4 for adults; children are free.