Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World’s Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers

A rare and absolutely enchanting look inside the Harvard of wild animal wranglers

As is obvious to anyone who has read her most e-mailed New York Times article of 2006, What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage, Amy Sutherland knows a thing or two about animals. In Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, she takes readers behind the gates of Moorpark Community College, where students are taught such skills as how to train a hyena to pirouette and coax a tiger to open wide for a vet exam. As she follows the faculty, student body, and four- footed teaching aides at Moorpark’s Exotic Animal Training and Management program, Sutherland produces a true walk on the wild side, filled with wonder, comedy, occasional heartache, and transcendent beauty.