

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Gunderson.
Hi Stacy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I took over Animal Tracks in 2008, which was started by a friend in 2002. The mission is to take in exotic pet trade animals that get stuck in captivity for a variety of reasons, illegal breeding, California Fish and Wildlife confiscations, injured wildlife, and pet owner surrender. We take care of these animals and become their forever home, so our first priority is to give them the best possible life we can in captivity. Our second priority is to educate the public on better pet choices, and my favorite thing to do is point out a species’ superpower that benefits the human race. A good example would be a parrot. In houses, they get bored and destructive, but in the jungle, they are seed spreaders. They eat what the jungle provides, and as they defecate, they regrow the world’s rainforests. This benefits everyone. Today we are preparing to start a capital campaign to move Animal Tracks to a bigger location. We currently don’t have much to offer small children. We are more of an adult experience due to the fact that it is immersive, and many of the animals have no barriers between you and them. We need to make sure that everybody has impulse control. Our new facility will be better for the animals and much more educational and technologically sound for future generations. We want to be the go-to conservation Center for the fifth district.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, the quickest way to go from rich to poor is to own an animal sanctuary. Lol Vet bills alone can be crippling, but I find the right people show up to help when we need it most. It has not always been a smooth road, and Covid was hard on us as it was on everyone. It’s kind of like starting over. We have one employee and about 35 volunteers. The kindness of others never ceases to amaze me. The animal stories are hard, but the people’s stories are probably just as hard. I love that the animals help save the people that come here to help them. It is a symbiotic relationship. Beautiful to watch. Our struggle is currently to get back to an economic state where we can hire employees. We need word of mouth to help us sell our weekend tours, which helps tremendously in our day-to-day expenses, like food, vet, facility, repairs, and insurance.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My name is Stacy Gunderson, and I graduated from the exotic animal program at Moorpark College back in 1989. It is called EATM. This stands for Exotic Animal Training and Management Program. I highly recommend it for anybody who loves animals. I then went to work in the movie industry for about 17 years and really learned what I didn’t like and didn’t want to perpetuate. In 2008, I had the opportunity to take over an already existing nonprofit. Animal Tracks only had five animals left and a bunch of empty cages they were looking to get rid of. It couldn’t just be handed to anybody as you need 10,000 hours of experience with each individual species in order to be permitted by the state of California. Due to my movie career, I had the necessary hours, and Animal Tracks became my baby. It was all-consuming. I was married and had two small children at the time, and we lived, ate, and breathed animals. I raised baby animals while raising my own children; it was an amazing experience, but often very difficult to juggle so much all at once. My children now are in college, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. It has been a most inspiring and humbling journey. I feel at this point, I have reached the next level and can pour all of my time and energy into taking Animal Tracks into the future. I have big plans to make sure these animals are taken care of. I personally specialize in pet trade monkeys. Jane Goodall is my absolute hero and mentor. I will know that our educational message is doing what it’s supposed to when I see that exotic animals, especially primates are no longer considered a good pet option. That is my mission!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I think what matters most to me is showing people how much the natural world matters to all of humanity and how animals can effortlessly help us in keeping things in balance. I get phone calls all the time from people wanting me to come and remove the squirrels or the coyotes from their property. As humans, we can be rather selfish. People feel they bought a property, so no other organism should be able to touch it. People don’t understand that by killing the coyotes or moving them it will cause panic breeding, and there will be more coyotes the next season than before you called me. Squirrels bury nuts to continue to grow trees. Homeostasis is real and necessary for a happy world. I know change can be hard, but beautiful things can come out of change. Learning to live with these animals will be the best decision in the long run. What is the alternative? Mars? I’m sticking to my plan here on earth. There are no animals on Mars
Pricing:
- Saturday Public Tour 11am $49.95ea.
- Sunday Public Tour 11am and 2pm $49.95ea
- Private tours available
- New Friday Tours 1pm $49.95
Contact Info:
- Website: www.animaltracksinc.org
- Instagram: Instagram.com/animaltracksinc
- Facebook: Facebook.com/@AnimalTracksinc
- Twitter: Twitter.com/@AnimalTracksinc
- Youtube: @animaltracksinc
- Yelp: @animaltracks
- Other: TikTok/@animaltracksinc
Image Credits
Matt Carey