The Education Department is made up of a diverse team of individuals, including more than 60 animal ambassadors! The Education Department strives to provide hands-on humane education with the help of these animal ambassadors. Many on the ambassador team are animals that have been domesticated or are commonly kept as exotic pets, with the mission that by teaching about the proper pet care of these animals, we can then inspire compassion for them, their wild counterparts, and ultimately all living things.
Animals join our team in a few different ways: they are either rescued from other facilities, leased to us for various times from their owner, or occasionally someone will surrender us an animal that fits the program well. We do not breed our animals, and we strive to bring in rescues as much as possible in the hopes that this will inspire our program participants to adopt and not shop for their pets. Our animal ambassadors must pass a temperament test before becoming part of the program and even participate in a rotating usage schedule to ensure they are not overworked. We have a dedicated and hardworking animal care team that ensure all the animals’ needs are met, from a proper diet, to exercise, and enrichment.
Get to know our animal ambassador team by clicking the links below!
Large Mammals
Kuzco - Alpaca
He enjoys relaxing in the sun and is commonly found lying down in his enclosure or rolling in the dirt.
She arrived at Helen Woodward Animal Center when she was only 1 month old! She had to be bottle-fed 4 times a day and had round-the-clock care. Since then she’s grown and is a happy, healthy goat.
One of his favorite ways to relax is by spending time in his outdoor enclosure, spreading his wings, and sunbathing. We originally thought he was a girl which is why we named him Annie!
Some of his favorite toys are his spoons and he loves to rip up paper! He prefers to mimic sounds over words and is often too shy to speak when there are eyes on him. We originally thought he was a girl until some tests were later run due to illness and we realized he was a boy!
He loves getting attention and will make loud whistles and clicking noises when he feels like all eyes aren’t on him! He can say “pretty bird” sometimes! He is especially fond of men, beards, and glasses.
She is a very active lizard who loves to burrow in her dig box and soak in her pool. She has a huge appetite and will happily eat anything from bugs to fruit to veggies.
He is very active and is often looking out his enclosure to watch daily activities. He loves to hunt for his food and shake it back and forth for emphasis.
She is a great hunter and loves to eat a bunch when she gets the opportunity. When she is outside of her enclosure, she constantly wants to explore her new environment.
His full name is Fizzy McSquiggles and is a very active snake and used to lots of handling as he’s been a childhood pet. He’s very active by ball python standards and loves to explore his enclosure as well as the environment when he’s being handled.
She is a very sweet and mellow snake and she loves being handled. She can usually be found curled up inside her favorite cave, but once she’s out, she’s ready to go.
He has been here since 1998 and is our oldest Animal Ambassador; he has a special permit to be on our team. We originally thought he was a girl until we ran tests due to an illness and found out otherwise! He loves cucumber but dislikes carrots.
He is a sit-and-wait predator and can almost always be found hiding on the back wall of his enclosure. His vision has reduced as he’s aged so he tends to jump at anything that moves in case it’s a tasty snack.
He was born in November 2021 and is full of energy. Often times our animal care staff has to keep a close eye on him, or he’ll jump right out of their hands!
Flik, Fluffy, and King Louie - Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
These unique cockroaches make a hissing sound by pushing air through holes on their abdomen, called spiracles! As they get used to being handled they know we’re not a threat and don’t hiss as much.
Despite their name, hermit crabs often live in large groups of 100 crabs or more! Because they use their claws to hold on or when threatened, we just watch our hermit crab friends up close.
Millipedes are critical in helping maintain ecosystems by cleaning up the forest floor of decaying plant matter. Many species can secrete a substance when threatened so we avoid handling them, but they’re fun to watch!
These animals have been a wonderful part of the team, but are now retired and no longer participate in programs. If interested in adopting one of them, please contact our Associate Director of Education, Haylee Blake, at hayleeb@animalcenter.org.
Earl Grey - Dutch Mix Rabbit
He is a very outgoing rabbit and loves people. He also really enjoys climbing so animal care staff will provide him with various heights of cardboard boxes for enrichment.
He lives with his two other brother sheep, Casper and Oreo, and he is the leader of the pack! He is not available for adoption because of how closely bonded he is with his brothers.
He loves to be sprayed by the hose on hot days and has the best floof. He’s not available for adoption unless he’ll be joining other alpacas due to their herd-nature. For that reason we’d also need to get another alpaca in at the same time to keep Kuzco with a herd!
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