Well as my zoo staff developed, I made sure that every curator was involved with AZA and that their collection became part of AZA Species Survival Plans that most of them were on committees and so on. Many became chairman of the committee. Because we thought it was extremely important that our zoo play a strong role in conservation and only a collaborative program would be successful. But also it became apparent that our visitors were becoming more sophisticated and that they appreciated that the zoo was involved in conservation. There were more people that would give money to the zoo for its conservation programs than they would for the collection. So I think the zoos of the world have evolved in that regard from collections of animals to conservation centers.
