At Zoo, Docent Fosters Love of Learning

Madeline Taft couldn’t contain herself. “Here’s our baby!” she exclaimed, pointing to the Los Angeles Zoo’s youngest giraffe, 4-month-old Malaika, who shot the longtime docent a curious glance.

“I love animals,” Taft said. “And I love opening children’s eyes to the world of animals.”

All that love led Taft, 56, to the Los Angeles Zoo’s volunteer program 31 years ago, when “the ladies,” as docents were called, were admired as much for their pith helmets and white gloves as for their knowledge of zoology.

Today Taft, the newly appointed docent chairwoman, oversees the 550 docents and 35 volunteer-related subcommittees. Somehow, she even manages to give tours once a week, answering questions about the zoo’s 1,200 mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, from Arabian oryxes to zebra duikers. “The teaching side gives me the most satisfaction,” Taft said.

“Madeline is one of our real stalwarts,” said past docent chairman Barbara Bowen. “She’s always around when we need her.” And that’s often.

Taft, a former social worker with the Department of Social Services in the West Valley, oversees programs ranging from Senior Safaris, which include a tram ride and lunch, to the Biome program, a five-week course in which docents teach schoolchildren about animals and their habitats.

The Encino resident also keeps tabs on the zoo’s outreach program at convalescent hospitals and in special education classes.

“I like the chair job, even though it’s daunting at times,” Taft said. “I get to meet the docents every day; I try to get to know them all. I enjoy that.”

The enjoyment works both ways.

Mary Crede, a 23-year-old zoology major at Cal State Fullerton who recently completed the docent course, says she has found an outlet for her love of biology and people. “This experience is great. The volunteers who have been here longer share information with the new members. They’re all very accessible.”

The docent program, which graduated its first class in 1964, is big on science and bigger on commitment. Volunteer trainees attend 22 course meetings, half in the classroom and half in the zoo, where they learn taxonomy (classification of animals) and zoology. They must pass a final exam before they begin giving tours.

All docents must commit to at least a two-year volunteer stint, involving 100 hours a year. Many, like Taft, can’t stay away.

On an overcast Saturday morning, Taft heads to the new great-ape forest, a natural habitat that will be ready for occupancy by next June. Taft points out the “night quarters” under construction, where the apes can hang around a patio and gaze up at the stars.

She then checks on the zoo’s newest addition, an 8-day-old mountain tapir that is sleeping under the watchful eye of her mother. Taft tells the growing crowd of admirers about the striped creature’s parentage and its natural habitat in South America’s Andes Mountains.

“I love taking children and adults who know so little about animals and teaching them about it,” Taft says. “Hopefully they’ll learn to appreciate them and treat them with respect.”

Taft’s colleagues say this attitude is her greatest strength.

“Madeline is compassionate, understanding and just splendid,” said 28-year docent Linda Countryman. “She loves kids, and that’s the backbone of docent work.”

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