The same thing holds true for dolphins and killer whales and aquariums a whole lot of things. I mean, you know, if, if it wasn’t for dolphins in captivity and killer whales and Shamu, I don’t, I really don’t believe people would show the same concern and support. And so… Read More
And so a lot of animals are going to go extinct. Read More
Is this one of the reasons why you felt field work was important in Omaha Zoo?… Read More
Absolutely, yeah. Absolutely. Though the work that Ed and his group have done in Madagascar have directly helped and influence the gazetting of, I think, 17 or 18 new protected areas for lemurs, because every time they did identify a new species and, you know, the, you know, there are… Read More
But it really didn’t, you know, really didn’t serve as an advocate to the outside world or to market to the outside world. And so in that respect, AZA is doing a lot better. I, you know, the big problem I see is the, is the bureaucracy and this, this… Read More
How would you describe zoos now, but what would you like to see them become in the future?… Read More
Well, I think, yeah, I think, you know, I, I think a lot of zoos are, are really. Number one, if it weren’t for zoos, you know, because there are all kinds of people that will say, hey, if you’d spend this same amount of money on preserving habitat in… Read More
I mean, and so meeting the accreditation standards is, if a guy wants to use it and use it in the right way is good leverage and people, lots of people have used it very beneficially. The downside, the bad side of that is not all, but certainly some, a… Read More
What was, you were around when AZA was part of the parks system, or those, that group, and then when it broke away. Read More
Can you give us a little part of what your recollections are of that evolution of breaking away and how it came about?… Read More
Well, I, you know, I wasn’t really deeply involved with, you know, with AZA. Was a member, but not really deeply involved with AZA, you know, at the time. And of course it was as a member of the parks. (muttering) It was a fairly ineffective organization and, and by… Read More
Well, I think, I think there, there are a couple problems. Part of it is the, the US government, government bureaucracy and the government encroachment and government, you know, mandates and controls and regulations that are, you know, slowly but surely, you know, strangling zoos and causing more and more… Read More
What were some of AZA strengths and weaknesses when you started?… Read More
Well, I think initially, you know, they were a service organization. They supported zoos. Initially. They were a way, they provided the zoos a forum to get together to exchange information, ideas, technology. That was good. And then, you know, then we saw, then we saw the, the, you know,… Read More
Department of Agriculture has always been, as a federal agency, has been pretty benign and, and pretty helpful to zoos. I mean, I don’t really consider Department of Agriculture and their activities to be necessarily detrimental, but, but certainly, certainly interior has been. And, and the fact that sooner or… Read More
What would you say is the largest professional problem facing US zoos today?… Read More
And if you identify what you considered to be, what might zoos be doing to correct the problem, if there is one?… Read More
You know, and basically I got to, you know, I got to start out small and grow, you know, did everything in Columbus and then started in Omaha and grew up with the place. And so, you know, I was director by the time I was 32. (chuckling) And grew… Read More
What skillset or qualities do you think a zoo director needs today as compared to when you started?… Read More
Well, certainly, certainly management and budgetary skills. I think you need people skills. I think, you know, and I, and that’s probably true, no matter what your, you know, your, your discipline is. I’ve come to the conclusion that, that probably people skills are the most important skills that you… Read More