Ana Alea has always been an animal lover, going back to her days as a grade school student at Anna L. Klein School in Guttenberg. In fact, her love of exotic animals goes back even further, when she was a toddler living in California.
“My mother wanted to know who I was talking to one day,” Alea recalled. “She thought I was talking to a stranger, but it turned out to be a lizard.”
Added Alea, “I always loved all kinds of animals: puppies, kittens, everything. My taste became a little more exotic as I got older.”
However, when Alea graduated from North Bergen High School, her interests were strictly in science. She went to Rutgers University to earn a degree in botany. Then, she started to work as a paramedic full-time.
“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” Alea said. “I was happy with being a paramedic for the time being.”
But then…
However, her life drastically changed in 1992. Alea was injured while making a call and suffered a back injury. “I wasn’t able to respond to calls anymore,” Alea said. “I got a job working in a pet store. I loved showing the animals to the kids at the pet store, telling them what the pets did and where they came from. I figured I had to do something with that.”
While working in the pet store, Alea dreamed up the concept for her own business that would include her love for animals and her love to teach kids.
The result was “Animal Wonders,” which began to take Alea into classrooms, to birthday parties and to youth groups and display many different animals and wildlife to children of all ages.
The children are able to touch the animals, feel a little at ease with them. It was a concept that excited Alea, but she wanted to make sure she did things the right way.
“I registered the name in 1995 and it took a little while to get the permits,” Alea said. “I had to apply to the USDA, the state. I did everything professionally.”
Twenty animals
Alea started off in March of 1995 with 20 different animals.
“I got the ones that I felt I needed to have for shows,” Alea said. “I got bugs and lizards. I got a chinchilla, a hedgehog, a ferret, a turtle and one snake. I figured that was enough to start doing shows. From there, everything just evolved.”
Alea did some advertising. Word of mouth also helped. Other schools, groups and private families were calling to secure her services for a show.
“Over the years, things sort of just took off,” Alea said. “We booked more shows and more shows. We got more animals. I moved operations out of my basement to a building in Essex County, where we keep 130 different animals now. It’s a full-time operation. It’s full-time, just caring for the animals. I have 10 employees working for me. I love what I do. A lot of it is now managerial, but I still get out there and do shows. I love doing shows.” Animal Wonders averages doing 60 shows a month, all throughout New Jersey.
“We have multiple people going out seven days a week,” Alea said. “It’s really become a big-time company.” Since she has established a website (www.animalwonders.com), Alea has received requests for shows from Florida, Connecticut, and even Canada, but she has restricted her shows to New Jersey.
“They don’t read that I only do shows in New Jersey,” Alea said. “It would be too much at this point to go elsewhere. Although it’s not a bad thought. I’d like to see the concept go elsewhere.”
Alea was asked what were the favorite animals that the kids loved to be around.
“The kids love to hug and kiss the chinchilla,” Alea said. “They find it to be so cute. What creeps them out the most is the tarantula. They’re curious, but they don’t want to even touch it.”
Alea said that another popular animal that the youngsters are fascinated with is the snake.
“They can’t get enough of snakes,” Alea said.
Added Alea, “We try to educate the kids on every aspect of the animal, what the animal does, where it lives. We tell them that the animal will not hurt you, as long as you respect the animal and where it lives. You’re better off leaving it alone, because animals see you as a threat. You can observe them, but we always serve caution to the kids.”
Alea said that her shows are far more than simply being informational.
“The kids learn, but they laugh all the time,” Alea said. “That’s what makes it fun. It’s educational, but they’re enjoying themselves. It’s like a comedy act we put on with the animals. We do a routine, asking the animals questions and the animals answer. Like, we ask the kids, if it’s okay to stick your finger up your friend’s nose. Well, the animals don’t like that either.”
Alea said that she gives her animals a human side by giving them names, like Cleo, who is an iguana, or Camila the Chinchilla. There are three tarantulas: Rosie, Miss Tuscadero and Palma.
“The kids remember the weirdest things, and one of them is the names of the animals,” Alea said.
The programs can be shown to children of all ages, but they are usually geared for the younger set (ages 5 through 8).
Although she no longer lives in Hudson County (she calls West Milford her home now) with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Julianna, who sometimes goes to the shows with her mom, Alea-Schlichting (her married name) still performs locally quite often. In the past six months, she has brought Animal Wonders to the North Bergen Public Library, the SEEC Program in Jersey City and the pre-school program at Christ Hospital in Jersey City.
“It really has become a dream come true for me,” said Alea-Schlichting, who is 39. “Who could have imagined this little girl from Guttenberg would have turned out to be a success? It’s almost like living two different worlds.”
If anyone is interested in learning more about the Animal Wonders program, please contact Ana Alea at 973-808-8453 or visit the website at www.animalwonders.com.