VOLUNTEERING TO HELP WILDLIFE

The work is challenging, but the conservation and connection can be rewarding

BY SHARON BOORSTIN >>> Sophia Paden holds a piece of papaya up to the fence for Pepper, a northern white-cheeked gibbon, whose counterparts in the wild number fewer than 1,000. The gibbon reaches out and takes it. Paden, 25, who studies exotic animal training at a community college, had to log 100 volunteer hours at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita before she could learn to feed the 28 gibbons that live here. ¶ She has prepared the animals’ food, cleaned exhibits, led visitors on tours and even staffed the gift shop at the center. “The moment of closeness between human and wild animal is magical,” Paden said. “It makes me feel that this is what I was meant to do.” ¶ Paden is one of Southern California’s hundreds of dedicated volunteers who commit their free time to helping some of the world’s most exotic species. They’ll do whatever it takes to get close to creatures they would have little chance of meeting so intimately in the wild, animals in danger of extinction because of climate change, pollution and habitat destruction. ¶ If you are willing to commit your time, here are five places where you can be trained to make that animal connection and do your bit for wildlife conservation.

“The L.A. Zoo’s my happy place,” said Paula Riggin, one of the roughly 300 active volunteer docents. “I can be in the worst mood after fighting traffic, but it disappears the minute I get here.” On a recent day, her assignment was to show visitors an Angolan python at one of the zoo’s Animal & You kiosks. A little girl eyed the snake warily.

“Do you think Audrey is soft or scratchy?” Riggin asked her. The child hesitantly touched the snake, then breaks into a smile. “Soft!”

The main job of zoo volunteer docents is to lead educational tours for thousands of schoolchildren who visit the zoo on field trips. “It’s a thrill to watch kids’ faces light up at seeing a giraffe or an elephant for the first time,” Riggin said. “And if I can teach them even a little bit about saving endangered animals, it makes my day.”

A retired bank-operations manager, Riggin enrolled in the docent-training program in 2016. The 23-week course includes weekly zoology lectures and behind-the-scenes visits to the animal exhibits. “I learned so much and bonded with my classmates,” she said. “It was life-changing.”

Riggin will be one of the co-chairs of the next L.A. Zoo docenttraining program that begins in October. At 10:30 a.m. July 20, potential applicants can enter the zoo for free to attend an informational meeting. “Current docents will give zoo tours after the meeting,” Riggin said. “We’re eager to share our passion for wildlife, conservation and the fun of being an L.A. Zoo docent.” (Full disclosure: The writer is a docent at the zoo.)

Info: Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, 5333 Zoo Drive, lazoo.org (look for volunteer docent information and applications).

Jay L. Clendenin Los Angeles Times STEPHEN COLLINS, one of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s 130 volunteer divers, feeds a mangrove ray. He was certified in 1986 and has been assisting here for six years.

Jay L. Clendenin Los Angeles Times MARY LAWRENCE TEST, left, a volunteer since 2011, assists rehabilitation technician Miranda Starr during the examination of a brown pelican at the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro.

Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times SOPHIA PADEN, a volunteer, works with Pepper, a northern white-cheeked gibbon, during a feeding at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita. Paden is studying exotic animal training in college.

Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times PAULA RIGGIN, a docent at Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, holds a python as visitors touch. To see more photos of volunteers and the charming animals they work with, visit latimes.com/health

Jay L. Clendenin Los Angeles Times RUBY KUMAGAI uses a herding board when entering an enclosure for young elephant seals at the Marine Mammal Care Center.

Jay L. Clendenin Los Angeles Times BENJAMIN Susser feeds rays at the Aquarium of the Pacific.