Captive Critters Are Keeper’s Pet Project

Mollie Hogan walked over to a large animal enclosure, announcing her arrival with her usual early morning greeting: “There’s the little kitty. You’re such a good girl!”

Envy, a 2-year-old mountain lion, returned her keeper’s greeting by rubbing her head against the woman’s hand, apparently oblivious to the chain links separating the two of them.

“You’re so wild, girl. And so beautiful,” Hogan said as she scratched behind the cat’s ears.

The 80-pound feline, purring loudly, pressed her head against the woman’s forehead, an affectionate response repeated by a host of animals under Hogan’s care.

“The first thing I saw in my animal-training program at Moorpark College was a mountain lion,” said the 45-year-old Los Angeles Zoo animal trainer and keeper. “I love native animals, and it’s great, all these years later, to still be with them.”

The animals Hogan referred to are the three mountain lions she keeps caged on her Topanga Canyon property, home of the Nature of Wildworks Wildlife Care Center. The wooded compound is a safe haven for captivity-reared wild animals that can neither be set free nor adopted as pets.

As part of her morning rounds, Hogan checked on an African lynx, three foxes, a barn owl, a purebred wolf that was entertaining Hogan’s two dogs, a hawk that offered her a kiss and numerous other wild animals Hogan has obtained from the zoo, animal shelters and private owners.

Hogan’s commitment to caring for wild animals began during her childhood in Thousand Oaks, where she roamed the local hills, searching for snakes, lizards, rabbits and pigeons that she brought home and nursed.

After graduating from Thousand Oaks High School, Hogan attended Moorpark College and earned an A.A. degree in 1976.

She then pursued a singing career that took her to Montana for several years. In 1981, she returned to Moorpark College, where she enrolled in the school’s teaching zoo and received training in the care of wild animals.

“Mollie has always had a strong commitment to animals, which hasn’t diminished in the 15 years I’ve known her,” said Lynne Doria, assistant director of the teaching zoo. “She’s very compassionate, humane and practical.” In 1986, Hogan was hired by the Los Angeles Zoo to run the popular “Wild in the City” show, in which she and several other trainers introduced native wild animals to the public.

When the show was canceled in 1993 because of budget cuts, Hogan was instrumental in finding a temporary home at the Moorpark College teaching zoo for the hand-raised animals. At the same time, she took steps to create a haven for the critters in her own backyard.

In 1994, Hogan obtained permits to keep the animals at her compound and created the nonprofit Nature of Wildworks organization. She also served as executive director.

The wildlife care center, in addition to providing lifelong care to wild animals that cannot be released, offers educational programs to schools, private parties and professional groups.

“My mission is to teach people about animals and to help them understand that wildlife should be kept in the wild, not in captivity,” Hogan said.

“Some people say it’s spiritual to get close to the animals here; they change after they’re around them,” she said. “I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunity to utilize the animals in a way that helps people come around to feeling that way.”

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