Organization’s mission is protection of local wildlife

The Nature of Wildworks is a friend to anima


 

 


Organization’s mission is protection of local wildlife

The protection of open space is critical to the safety of Southern California wildlife. The Nature of Wildworks in Topanga is a nonprofit organization that’s on a mission to get that point across.

Besides offering a variety of educational programs about the local wildlife, Wildworks provides lifetime care for non-releasable animals that serve as ambassadors for their kind.

The organization has taken its message from San Diego to Yosemite, and over the past 10 years over 20,000 people have had the opportunity to see and learn about the organization’s animals, including families and students at school locations, parks and a host of other private and public gatherings.

“In 1995, I had the unique opportunity of founding our wildlife care and education center when two of the Los Angeles Zoo’s wildlife programs were terminated and the show animals needed to be relocated,” said Mollie Hogan, The Nature of Wildworks founder and director”Assisted by many devoted volunteers, I acquired permits, built a facility and moved the animals in.

“We try to stay within a 60-mile radius,” Hogan said. “But we serve any venue that’s interested.”

The Wildworks facility in Topanga serves as home for the animals, but the venue isn’t open to the public. Hogan wants to relocate to a facility in the Santa Monica Mountains so that The Nature of Wildworks can open its doors to the public.

“Our program would be even more effective and more people would be able to participate because, as it is right now, the only way to see these animals is through outreach,” Hogan said. “We want to serve more people.”

Hogan worked as an animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo for 13 years. She also worked in a program called Wild in the City, which specalized in animals native to North America. When the zoo cut the program, Hogan resigned and took the animals with her.

“I worked at the Moorpark College teaching zoo,” Hogan said. “The animals were transferred there for a while and the Moorpark students there helped me set up the (Wildworks) facility-the students helped with the physical labor.”

Hogan built the Wildworks facility in Topanga with her own money, formed a nonprofit organization and then worked on raising enough money to continue the program.

“Among the various things we do now to keep the program going (are) we do wildlife programs for a fee, we do an annual benefit, we write grants and we do the usual things that non-profits do,” Hogan said.

The Wildworks group can only afford to pay three employees, Hogan said. It needs about 40 volunteers to keep the program running.

The animals that find a home at Wildworks come from different locations and habitats. Some have been orphaned or injured in the wild, others were retired from zoos or confiscated as illegal pets.

The more than 45 animals at the facility include mountain lions, wolves, bobcats, foxes, owls, hawks-and even a squirrels that “sings” Christmas carols.

“I’ve always been interested in the wilderness,” Hogan said. “I’ve lived in various places in the western United States and so I’m drawn to the North American animals. In the zoo, a lot of people are interested in African animals and the bigger animals. I’ve just always been interested in the native species.”

According to Hogan, there’s no shortage of wildlife animals that need care and protection.

She said that with the help of dedicated donors, event sponsors and volunteers, Wildworks will continue its mission of offering a safe haven for wild animals and a variety of programs to educate the public about their needs.

And what animals need most is open space, Hogan said.

“Open space in this area is very coveted . . . and constant development is a threat to wildlife habitat. So we’re interested in doing our part to influence people to protect open space. . . I think when some people see these animals up close . . .they gain a better appreciation of the habitats in which these animals live naturally. That helps to protect the open space areas.”

For more information, visit www.natureofwildworks.org.



 

 

CUTE PUPS-Clockwise from top, a young red fox, mountain lion and coyote are among the animals being cared for at The Nature  of Wildworks  refuge. Public education is their goal.

CUTE PUPS-Clockwise from top, a young red fox, mountain lion and coyote are among the animals being cared for at The Nature of Wildworks refuge. Public education is their goal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *