CITY'S ZOOCAMP AN ENDANGERED SPECIES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

A popular camp for kids at the Los Angeles Zoo faces possible extinction this summer unless the city lifts its hiring freeze to allow the hiring of counselors, officials said Wednesday.

The ZooCamp, which has offered thousands of children a weeklong safari through the Griffith Park animal kingdom, was scheduled to open July 5.

But the seven-week program is on hold unless city officials exempt the zoo from a citywide hiring freeze in order to employ camp staffers. The zoo submitted its exemption request Wednesday.

``It's vitally important to the community,'' said Denise Verret, assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Zoo. ``It's a way for children to be in a fun environment.''

The summer camp has drawn children from across the city each year since it began in the mid-1980s. Between 600 and 800 kindergartners through sixth-graders pay between $240 and $300 for a week of crafts, songs and monkey business set within the jungle-like menagerie of the Los Angeles Zoo.

The families of many of the children who take part are associates of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, which raises money for the zoo.

``My kids have attended, and it's fantastic,'' said Genie Vasels, vice president of institutional advancement for the zoo association.

``They're learning about what we find important - endangered species, animal habitat, conservation of the environment; they're learning about recycling - and it's all through fun.''

Parents eager to enroll their children, however, can't register yet. The zoo's Web link to ZooCamp posts no dates, schedules or class listings.

But zoo officials are confident they'll get the city waiver to hire summer staffers. The zoo has the money to hire the 14 counselors and staff members it needs to teach kids about orangutans, hippopotamuses, chimpanzees and other animals. Counselors and staffers are paid between $12 and $15 an hour.

This year, zoo officials plan to add an exhibit of giant, robotic dinosaurs.

``We've had to go through this before,'' said Lora LaMarca, the zoo's marketing director who founded the ZooCamp program, alluding to the exemption red tape.

But camp registration ``needs to be in the next couple of weeks; if not, parents will find something else for (their children) to do.''

The hiring exemption must be considered by a City Council finance committee before going to a vote by the full council. A spokesman for Councilman Alex Padilla said it all depends on Mayor James Hahn's proposed budget due April 19.

``We're really going to have to look at all programs and services - including the L.A. Zoo - to see what resources are available,'' Padilla spokesman David Gershwin said.

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Children get an up-close look at a rainbow boa constrictor Wednesday at the Los Angeles Zoo. Registrations for the zoo's popular summer program, ZooCamp, are on hold due to a city hiring freeze.

(2) Children get a chance to see a prairie dog up close Wednesday through a special exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. The zoo's summer program for kids is on hold due to a city hiring freeze.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer