Medical Care Here Is for the Birds : Shelter Treats Wild Animals and Trains Student Assistants

The sound of faint squawking from a bird pen and a faded sign are the only indications that the rusty turquoise trailers in a vacant lot in Anaheim house something unusual.

One whiff of the pungent odors, however, is a convincing reminder that the Avian and Exotic Animal Practice clinic is literally a zoo--and home to a variety of parrots, snakes, lizards, birds, monkeys, raccoons, skunks, opossums, deer, coyotes, cougars, bobcats and foxes.

The facility on La Palma Avenue is one of the country’s few treatment centers for native American wildlife and exotic animals. Thousands of abandoned, abused or confiscated birds and mammals are brought to the clinic each year for free treatment and rehabilitation.

In addition, the clinic serves as a training ground for students in the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program who are interested in pursuing careers in animal care and control.

Program instructor Greg Hickman oversees the day-to-day workings of the NOCROP center. When he isn’t teaching a class, performing surgery or feeding the snakes, he can occasionally be found in his cluttered office, which he shares with a tortoise, a tank of fish and two stuffed hawks. His battered desk is laden with reptile vitamins, an air cleaner and extra-strength aspirin.

Patience Required

The aspirin is essential, Hickman says, especially during the busy “wildlife season,” which runs from February through mid-August. Supplies run short and the hours run long as dozens of animals and birds are brought to the center for treatment seven days a week. It is a job often filled with headaches and heartaches.

“You have to have a tremendous amount of patience to understand the fear of abandoned, starving animals and to be able to reduce the shock and stress to keep them alive,” Hickman said, settling in behind his desk and lighting up an Old Gold.

On one wall of his office, peeling bamboo-patterned wallpaper serves as a backdrop to a checkerboard of awards and certificates marking his career in animal care.

Although he is only 37, Hickman has spent more than 25 years working with wildlife. His interest in “critters,” as he likes to refer to them, started at 6, when he got his first snake. At 10 he went to work for an animal importer in Garden Grove. At 14 he was assistant manager in a pet shop. He began collecting animals and trading with zoos. He traveled the world and trained animals for movies. He owned pet shops in Orange and Newport Beach and worked for Lion County Safari as a nutritionist and curator.

With his deep tan, aviator glasses, cotton shirt and khaki shorts, he looks as though he’s on his way to a safari.

“In wildlife season we usually get hummingbirds and owls first,” Hickman explained, rocking back in his chair. “The opossums start in March. Birds come in by the thousands. We’ve had raccoons, foxes, bobcats, skunks, deer, cougar--everything but bear, thank God.”

Hickman recalled with pride the time a few years ago when two very young eagles were brought to the compound. “They (had been) practically starved to death. We put a few pounds on them and gave them to specialists who are working with them in breeding projects on Catalina Island and in Arizona,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the din of birds shrieking in the next room.

“Oh, that’s Edgar,” said Hickman, gesturing toward a raven that was fluttering freely about in the adjoining room, inciting a riot of squawking among several caged parrots. “He could leave any time, but he knows which side his bread is buttered on. He stays around to greet everybody and beg.”

Job Placement Goal

In addition to his work with wildlife, Hickman said, his ultimate goal is to find jobs for people through NOCROP.

He trains students to become zookeepers, animal control officers and veterinary assistants. Hickman estimated that about 40% of the students are adults returning to the job market or changing careers.

So far, job placement has not been a problem. Sixty-five percent of the students who complete the program find employment in the animal care field, said David Smith, chief executive of NOCROP.

“These animals turn a lot of people back on to school. That’s why we hang in there. To help the kids,” he said.

Knott’s Berry Farm was quick to hire four of Hickman’s recent graduates to work at its petting zoo.

“(NOCROP) is really a good program. The kids have that extra sense of caring for the animals and tend to be more conscientious. Working here is not just a job; it has meaning for them, and I will probably hire more from there in the future,” said Jim Pickerell, supervisor of Knott’s pig pen petting zoo.

Christina Williams, 18 years old and a recent graduate of the program, was thrilled to land a job running the horse and pony rides at Knott’s. “It’s so much fun,” she said. “But I will probably be back to take courses again because you learn so much every day by working with a variety of animals.”

Students are instructed in terminology, nutrition, feeding techniques, disease recognition, first aid, restraint, cleaning and disinfecting. Two-hundred hours of training are required for a basic certificate.

“This is the only licensed veterinary hospital in the public secondary school system in the entire country, as far as I know, that is devoted to native wildlife and exotics,” Hickman said. “It’s really a unique program, but it can be a real pain.”

Recurring Problems

Shortages of money, space and supplies are among his recurring problems.

In addition to the $10,000 annual budget provided for animal care through NOCROP, the center runs on tax-deductible, private donations and grants from the state Department of Fish and Game. Smith said he is working on replacing the trailers with a $130,000 modular building. “Restrooms and landscaping are among our biggest needs right now,” he said. An $8,500 grant from Fish and Game has allowed expansion of the cages for birds of prey. Although the new cages will help alleviate crowding, there are still many needs to be met. Among Hickman’s top priorities are a flight cage to exercise the birds and an X-ray machine. “Ours is about a 1950 model,” he lamented, shaking his head. “We don’t even need a new one. Just a good used machine would be great.”

Taking care of the thousands of “critters” that are brought to the center each year requires about $1,000 per month in feed alone. Twenty-five 50-pound bags of chick starter mash, high-protein monkey chow, dog meal and beef builder are delivered to the compound twice a month. These supplies will last the animals about two weeks, if carefully rationed. Fresh meat, meat products and fish are always in short supply.

To defer costs, Hickman started the Adopt-a-Critter program, through which a donor can make a tax-deductible contribution to feed and house one of the birds or mammals at the compound. Donors are allowed to visit their animal anytime from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. It costs about $35 per month to “adopt” a raccoon or monkey and $100 a month for a bobcat.

‘More Maintenance’

“Predators are more expensive--their pens take a great deal more maintenance,” Hickman said,explaining the cost discrepancy.

Anastasia, a red-tailed hawk, is one of the birds that has been adopted. She is of particular importance to rehabilitation efforts as one of the surrogate-mother females that care for young hawks separated from their mothers. The adoption fee for Anastasia and other surrogate-mother females runs about $35 per month.

Cisco and Amigo, two green-winged macaws (members of the parrot family) are among the more colorful characters up for adoption. Although they both have male names, Cisco, who was Hickman’s personal pet at one time, turned out to be a female. Their wings span about four feet from tip to tip. The birds, members of an endangered species, are breeding successfully, Hickman said.

“It will be a real coup if their eggs hatch,” he said. “But they are young--only about 6 years old. Some parrots have been known to live into their 60s.”

The wildlife care program was started in 1975 because there was a need for trained professionals in the zoo-keeping and animal control fields, Hickman said. In 1977, the facility was moved to the trailers on La Palma from the nearby Murray Manor, an old mansion. The animal clinic portion was opened in 1981. “It’s a break-even operation,” Hickman said. “We are crammed from floor to ceiling. We moved into the trailers as temporary shelter, but it has stretched to nine years.”

According to Nila Kelly, chief of veterinary services for Orange County, “There is not another center in Orange County that can take such a range of animals, such as coyotes, canines, bobcats, ferrets and raccoons. They are truly the only facility that can take care of exotic animals,” she added.

Fish and Game-Licensed

The program is licensed by the Fish and Game Department, which regulates who may keep wildlife for pets and monitors the flow of exotic animals and birds from abroad. Anyone who wants to apply for a permit to keep a wild pet faces at least four government agencies and three to four months of red tape, Hickman said.

One of the confiscated bobcats housed at the NOCROP center will go home with its owner after a lengthly licensing and permit procedure. Animal control officers seized the bobcat in a residential area of Orange County about four months ago, when it was spotted sunning on a rooftop. The owner had not built an enclosure for the cat that conformed to regulations nor had he filled out the proper paper work to keep the animal.

“People don’t realize what is involved when they take a wild animal for a pet,” Hickman said. “That’s why so many end up here.” If the animal becomes “imprinted,” or dependent on humans for food and other needs, it can never be returned to the wild and must remain permanently at the center.

“It’s unfeasible for most people to house and take care of monkeys or raccoons. Unfortunately some owners have the animals’ teeth taken out or have them castrated or declawed. The problem with wild animals is despite the alterations they still have their strength and can cause a great deal of damage. (But) the altered animals can’t be released in the wild. They have no other place to go but here.”