If their pollution is contributed to the water quality, they’re making an effort to improve water quality overall so that the environment is improved besides the reintroduction to make hellbenders part of the environment. But that’s a much more costly program that initiated under my rule, but it’s gone way… Read More
That what you’ve just explained involves a fair amount of funding to do this type of thing which is not seen by the public at all where you have one on display. Tuataras as I understand it mature very late in life. They’re long-lived reptiles. The New Zealand government certainly… Read More
Is it worth a zoo’s monetary involvement to the degree St. Louis has done it to put forth that kind of energy in financing and resources and why would you say that’s a good thing that your zoo?… Read More
‘Cause you initiated the program. Right. First of all, we wanted to have a representative collection of reptiles and we have a representative collection of crocodilians, snakes, lizards, turtles, amphibians of every description. And the tuatara alone is in a separate order of its own. And so to be totally… Read More
So the purpose of the two pair was to have a comprehensive collection but also to establish a breeding program. We use an existing room in the reptile house and we used our own staff to create and do the wiring and the electricity. It took very little funding. It… Read More
Ask him. Question about animals just in philosophies. Read More
You at the St. Louis Zoo have had or still have a tuatara exhibit, is that correct?… Read More
We have a tuatara exhibit, but we have off-exhibit two pairs of tuataras in an environmental-controlled room where we maintain a physical environment. The temperature is equivalent to that of Stephens Island in New Zealand where they’re from. We have attempted to breed them in captivity. We have not been… Read More
What is their favorite purposes for their funding and how do you go about approaching ’em?… Read More
You have a staff, a whole staff devoted to that. It’s not just the director’s duty anymore. He’s just one player in the whole role. Most zoos have developed a foundation board or development board that assists in fundraising. Read More
It’s there?… Read More
Well in the beginning, it was a individual effort where a director might call on a donor or a corporation to look for a gift, but it expanded to where the development department with an entire staff devoted to fundraising where the director only played one role in it. Read More
There was a whole department researching where’s the money?… Read More
Who’s giving money away and for what purpose?… Read More
What were some of the marketing strengths that you tried to focus on at the zoo to promote your zoo?… Read More
Other than the TV show was a marketing role and regular press releases and development of a marketing department that concentrated on marketing the zoo. We also opened a catering department at the zoo to attract banquets and other activities from professional people as a way of thinking that might… Read More
When you finished as director, how would you say fundraising has changed and the director’s involvement in it?… Read More
Did you have any successful strategies that you implemented for getting the community involved in the zoo?… Read More
I did some involvement with the university. I approached all the universities in the area and arranged and encouraged the curators to become guest lecturers. They would become guest lecturers at University of Missouri, at St. Louis University, Washington University. As a result of that as I progressed up the… Read More
And so that’s how I got my staff professionally involved and the zoo involved with the education and scientific institutions. Many of the curators now have adjunct professor associations with these schools, in addition to the veterinary school at University of Missouri-Columbia. Read More