Wild Wonders

Wild Wonders (Bonsall, CA) is an animal ambassador facility that houses over 50 species, including birds, small mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, and an amphibian. Many of these animals were former pets, strays, or confiscated by U.S. Fish & Wildlife.

As a wildlife care specialist, my responsibilities included daily husbandry, administering medications, preparing diets, providing behavioral enrichment, animal training, facility maintenance, training new staff and volunteers, and leading outreach programs.

I implemented new conservation-learning activities and crafts into summer programming to give returning campers fresh experiences and keep them engaged. When asked to design the facility’s first reptile-centered tour, I created original activities and encounters to highlight species’ unique traits. Guests were able to see how slow Rosy boas really are and even help bathe our large male Sulcata tortoise alongside a Desert tortoise—a crowd favorite.

Among staff, I became known as the “behavioral enrichment guru.” I developed creative, research-based enrichment to encourage problem solving and natural behaviors. For example, raptors shredded newspaper “pineapples” with their talons, a kookaburra hunted mealworms in a puzzle box, kinkajous used their tongues to reach treats in KONG toys, and reptiles engaged with novel challenges. I provided a sandbox for our Egyptian uromastyx to dig burrows, introduced scent trails for snakes, and even tested the climbing preferences of a semi-arboreal ball python with a perch tree (he declined the invitation). I also enjoyed harness training with our Gold tegu and Paca (rodents native to South American rainforests) so that they would have increased opportunities for exercise and exploration. 

I also proud of the new target training programs I implemented for both the American alligators and a North American porcupine. 

• For the smaller alligators, who competed over food, I introduced color-coded targets (red and blue fly swatters) to reduce resource aggression and ensure both ate adequately. I also introduced this training to our larger alligator since I wanted to shape behaviors toward in-habitat targets (stations) to support safer, lower-stress husbandry.

• For the porcupine, I developed a training plan that gave her greater freedom of choice and exercise. Using a target stick, I guided her safely outside of her habitat, where she could explore new environments. Because she was highly food-motivated, she responded quickly, and I began shaping her to voluntarily walk herself from her enclosure to the presentation area. Not only would she experience enriched welfare, but would also reduce physical strain on staff, as she was heavy to carry in a crate.