I believe that the chair’s responsibility then, as it should be now, is to gain a consensus, to take input from different sources and to mold it or shape it by consensus to a viable plan that can be carried out, in a sense, I had the final say, but… Read More
Obviously Lincoln Parks who needed it, and you had a neighborhood zoo, did you have to be involved with the community in any of these things to bring them closer to the zoo?… Read More
Were you able to then do things in an arena you hadn’t been able to do it at Lincoln Park and was this just a ceremonial thing or did you actually have to do something?… Read More
Oh, I actually had to do something, when the IUCN calls, they ask you to volunteer to do things. And essentially my task for the edentate specialist group was to get together with like-minded and experienced sloth, anteater, and Armadillo researchers, zoo people, scientists, and to develop an evaluation system,… Read More
Were you able to make changes or recommendations as the chair?… Read More
And I had been coached by the public relations person at the zoo. I didn’t have a choice about whether to do this interview or not, there was nobody else who was going to do it. If, and in hindsight, if I had been smart, what I would have done… Read More
So I think in a way I got my revenge. So there was a life lesson learned for you. Absolutely absolutely a life lesson learned professionally. And that is even if you know what you’re talking about, even if you think you are as best prepared as you can, even… Read More
How did that appointment come about?… Read More
Well, it always went to the director. It always went to the director, unless it was too hot to handle. It always went to the director if it was going to be positive, it was always going to the director if it was, something would put the zoo in a… Read More
Any stories that come to mind?… Read More
Oh, sure, absolutely. Give me one. Absolutely, my worst encounter, taught me life lesson about how you can be set up to this day. I’ve tracked back about seven, eight civit, but there’s one eight that’s missing. I was tasked with the charge of talking to a investigative reporter from… Read More
And I felt personally and professionally that that was, I wasn’t gonna let that happen. And so on a couple of occasions, once I remember during a Elephant Manager’s Congress in California, where I appeared as the representative AZA, that’s the president of the board, I took on an activist… Read More
And did you have, were you tasked with responsibility at the zoo for dealing with the media and major issues as they came up?… Read More
Or was that something that went to the director?… Read More
Animal acquisition, particularly animals that I was interested in, it with adequate justification either as Jean Harts or to Saul, or to Les, if I had thought it out, if I had sought it out and I had justification for acquisition, they would pretty, I don’t ever remember anybody saying,… Read More
Were you thrown into the arena of dealing with animal rights groups, or was that even a consideration when you were assistant director of the zoo?… Read More
Oh, animal rights were very much the zoo’s agenda and on the association’s agenda. We very definitely were thrown into the animal rights arena. There were several significant animal rights demonstrations across the country at zoos. I remember at World Breeding 3 Conference in San Diego, there was a significant… Read More
And why are the oranges with their cut end down on the floor?” And he said, “Oh, because that’s the way they like them.” I said, “Well, what do you mean that’s the way they like them?” He says, “That’s the way they eat them. So I always put them… Read More
As assistant director, was there any time that you said to yourself, why did I take this position?… Read More
Was there some big headache, toughest problem that you just stood back and said, “Why am I doing this?” If there ever was a time when I questioned what I was doing and why I was still doing it at Lincoln Park, it had to do with personnel difficulties. But… Read More