One thing that we wanted to do is bring people and animals together. We often thought that the public seeing an animal behind glass or at a distance, if we could get people and animals to have contact, at least in certain areas, it would improve the visitor’s experience. So… Read More
You talked about the cheetah and its ability with conservation. Read More
How important was conservation to the zoo and to your vision?… Read More
Has it become lesser, more developed?… Read More
Since I started the zoo, obviously we had- When I started the zoo, we had no education program at all. And as we developed the program and I think the program has now continued to grow, and I just attended a lecture where David Western, who is a Kenyan is… Read More
How was it received?… Read More
Well, I had a young man that I hired out of Oklahoma. In order to develop an education program, I was just thinking to myself, I hired a young man out of Oklahoma, and he was really the inspiration for me because as I observed him- I hired him as… Read More
We got more, instead of the random, the teacher sitting in the restaurant and letting the kids wild, we got more structured programs and teachers had to actually utilize the zoo and then take that back to the classroom. School days were reformed and became very, very good things, and… Read More
Has the education, the emphasis on education changed since you started?… Read More
The problem with the Cincinnati Zoo obviously on very small acreage was a challenge, but it also was an opportunity. I remember I was standing in the parking lot and I remember that morning very vividly. We were contemplating a new exhibit, and I was looking up in that parking… Read More
It was to compare two jungle areas. We called it Jungle Trails and it was very effective. And we had some animals sounds piped throughout, and we had a few buildings that you couldn’t, it was a three-story building, if you can imagine, and you didn’t know it was a… Read More
You talked about education?… Read More
What was your vision for the education element of the zoo and how did you start to develop it?… Read More
As you began to change the direction of the zoo, what hindrances occurred and from whom?… Read More
When I began to change the direction of zoo, some of my early problems were from interfering board members, and I had to get that eventually resolved. I had board members that would come out, they had a passion for the zoo, so they would come out and they would… Read More
To what extent did space constraints, indoors or out, hinder your ability to plan improvements?… Read More
In my development of my staff, I, again, relied a great deal on another mentor, Dr. Charles Schroeder from the San Diego Zoo. I became very good friends with Charlie in my early zoo career. And he would often grab me by the shoulder and he would give me some… Read More
And we would review these sheets in our staff meetings, so it kept the staff on their toes. Read More
Bringing professional staff together to further your vision of what the zoo should be?… Read More
In order to bring together a good staff, I think you obviously have, if you’re worth any salt, you have to know people and you have to handle an interview properly. And I would glean a lot from an interview, an awful lot. And then the second measure of a… Read More