There’s lots of ponds and lakes. It’s essentially midland deciduous forest. And it was just a great place to go and to take a picnic lunch and the zoo sometimes was part of that, sometimes wasn’t. Also was a great place to fish. Read More
Were there any animals that you were drawn to when you were at the zoo or that stand out that interested you?… Read More
I think the animals that I was most interested in early on before I really realized that I was interested in the profession were all related to reptiles and amphibians, if there was a frog or a toad or a snake or a turtle or a tortoise, it was right… Read More
Was it the Rochester zoo?… Read More
Did they take you there, did you go on your own?… Read More
My earliest memories were probably Rochester. That was the only zoo that was there. Occasionally we’d take a trip to Buffalo and that was the big zoo, but I believe that my oldest, earliest interaction with zoos was in Rochester at the Seneca Park Zoo. You found it fascinating or… Read More
What did they do for a living?… Read More
My parents were, I think, typical parents for that age, it was just after World War II. My mom was a stay-at-home mom taking care of the boys. My dad was a production manager for an advertising firm in Rochester. Read More
And what is your earliest memories of zoos?… Read More
What was your childhood like growing up in Rochester?… Read More
My childhood in Rochester was much different than most childhoods. I was the oldest of four children, four boys, God rest my mother’s soul. And we had freedom that children today don’t have. It was not unusual for us, particularly during the summer to say, okay, we’re out on an… Read More
Collecting animals was kind of intuitive to me as far back as I can remember. And I thought about this a little bit. I’ve always had this, not a need, but this knack for picking things up, for looking at things, for trying to understand nature and what’s in nature. Read More
What did your parents do?… Read More
My name is Dennis Meritt. I was born in Rochester, New York, and it is the 7th of May, 2016. Read More
When were you born, what’s the date of your birth?… Read More
Oh, date of my birth is May 17th, 1940. Read More
To what extent do you continue to be active in the zoological field or the conservation field?… Read More
Well, the only thing I’m doing right now is staying active with the Sahara Conservation Fund started about eight or nine years ago with a group of zoos and scientists that were interested in the Sahara Desert. We became a 501(c)(3) in 2007. And we work in field conservation in… Read More
Do you have something you can tell me if it’s one or two things, your proudest accomplishment?… Read More
I’m a believer in maintaining elephants. I never wanted to maintain them because first of all, they scared the hell out of me. And secondly, I mean, there really aren’t any desert elephants. There are some that cross the Kalahari back and forth across the Kalahari, but I chose to… Read More