Educational, Entertaining Animals: Nonie’s Ark Sets Sail
By Chris Manson February 9, 2006 Issue

Nonie Maines, the sole full-time employee of Nonie’s Ark Animal Encounters, grew up in St. Petersburg where her stepfather, a pool installer, often came across large numbers of native wildlife and non-native pets. “We once even had an owl we raised,” Maines says.

Maines’ 7th grade science teacher became an early mentor. “Mr. Scull had a room full of amphibians, reptiles, even a monkey. I got to learn about husbandry. One of my electives the next year was to just spend a period with him cleaning up after the animals.” A career day at Busch Gardens during high school taught Maines a thing or two about zoo keeping, and she soon decided on zoo school after graduation.

“I did that for a couple of years,” Maines says of her time in Gainesville. “But I felt like I knew a lot more than what they were teaching me.” She did get some valuable experience with fruit bats—“the big ones with the huge wing span.” (Visitors to her website noniesark.com can see photos of Maines feeding a fruit bat.)

A better-rounded animal education came courtesy of the Lubee Foundation, where Maines became involved with non-invasive mammal research. “That was a coveted job,” she recalls. “You really had to think all the time, stay on top of things. At some of the zoos, they just want you doing things the way they want you to do them. I realized I probably should be in business for myself.”

In 1996, Maines distributed some brochures for Nonie’s Ark Animal Encounters. She had already been adopting other people’s unwanted pets, and about four years later, she felt confident enough to give up her other part-time jobs.

“I call it a hobby that pays for itself,” Maines says. Her animal presentations have proven popular at schools and private parties, with a wide array of creatures. “I own 30-something animals—230-something if you count all the hissing cockroaches!” She keeps her animals in a renovated garage in her Fort Walton Beach home. “I will not accept anything I can’t handle,” Maines says, citing iguanas and bunny rabbits in particular. “They require too much specialized attention. Bunnies are cute, but people get tired of them too quickly.”

Maines’ show is a one-hour presentation using seven of her exotic animals. There is a good amount of give and take, along with explanations about the different classes of animals. “Sometimes a mom will ask, ‘Can I pick the animals?’ and I have to say no, because if I did that they would never let me bring the tarantula!” Maines does, however, try her best to honor her clients’ special requests.

So far Nonie’s Ark has reached a lot of children. “It’s very fulfilling and rewarding when parents call me before they purchase a pet and ask what kind they should choose. And when I see kids time after time—more than once—I can tell when they answer a question they learned it from me. They’re watching Animal Planet, too. I hope when they grow up, they’re better than the generations that came before them.”

Maines’ clients tend to book about a month in advance, although she rarely has to deny a party. “I won’t do more than four shows a day, because I don’t want my animals in the small boxes any more than they need to be.”

With her zookeeper experience, Maines fully understands her animals’ needs. “I keep predators next to prey just to keep them on their toes.” Most of the animals have their own cages and exercise equipment, too, except for the kinkajou, a member of the raccoon family that resembles a monkey. He rarely ventures beyond Maines’ backyard unless a school is doing a rain forest special.

Maines is quick to point out that she is not one of those “bunny-hugging” people. “I respect animals,” she says. “I have moments where I’m hugging on a skunk and think I’m very lucky. I hope the animals appreciate what I’m doing for them. I don’t know at what point I decided I ‘loved’ animals—I just made it a point to know everything I needed to know about them.”

Likewise, Maines is reluctant to single out any favorites from her menagerie. “It’s like a mom with her children. It’s hard to pick favorites. Some I like using in shows better than others because kids react to them better. The kids’ favorites would be the toad because the toad eats crickets for them. Girls like the ferret. Girls like the ‘gross’ animals more than the boys do! Me being a female, the girls may be looking to me as a mentor type. I think the boys are intimidated a little.”

Maines, who also serves as president of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society, hopes to own her own full-fledged zoo someday. “My dream zoo would be the people in the cages and the animals appearing to be loose. I’d also like to have my own TV show about exotic pets—a show about their backgrounds, where they come from, how to take care of them. TV-wise, the person who taught me the most about animals was Joan Embry on Johnny Carson. I got to stay up late and watch her when she was on. I’d like to see more females on TV teaching about animals.”

NONIE MAINES’ FIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR OWNING AN EXOTIC PET:
Know what it eats.
Know how much it eats.
Know how much space is needed. “My God, the baby turtles people keep buying!” Maines says. “They keep them for under three years. They grow bigger and bigger. The people who sell them lie and say they won’t grow.”
Know how much it “poops.”
Know how long it is going to live. Maines recommends Googling Melissa Kaplan—“a veterinarian with lots of experience”—for additional information.

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