Some people keep a life list of birds (chuckles) and I guess I kinda, I wasn’t trying to, I wasn’t going to see zoos just to make a long list, but I did keep a list. So it’s been about 250 around the world, including, and I went to Katmandu… Read More
Kind of a what do you know. Read More
Why and where are these zoos?… Read More
I’ve always admired the Bronx, because despite the zoo being in, maybe not the best neighborhood you could desire, they do all the things I think a zoo should do. I mean, they do great exhibits, innovative exhibits. I remember when Conway tried the fiberglass trees for the orangs and… Read More
They do a lot of these, I think that’s great. And I’ve enjoyed the zoo. And not because I know people from Brookfield and Lincoln park, but those are great zoos. I think Chicago is so unique because Brookfield is originally master-planned in somewhat the formal European garden style, and… Read More
St. Louis is creative, enjoyed St. Louis. Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Earl Wells and his successor done a great job there. Making that zoo part of the community. Denver is great. And Mickey Olson in outside of Phoenix, World Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium, that’s a fabulous little facility. I really… Read More
My proudest accomplishment, probably not a given specific exhibit at the zoo, but my proudest accomplishment I would say is making or is helping the Topeka community to develop into a zoo-oriented community with a sense of zoo, so to speak. And having and developing pride among the people in… Read More
You mentioned other zoos. Read More
Are there some that you admire that you think highly of for some reason?… Read More
And maybe even charge as a little fundraiser. And then from the lion’s side, you have these knots in there and you put a little catnip or something in there, and then you have the people jerk on it and the lions respond. They come over and grab it and… Read More
And even, this was about the time technology was coming in in the late 80s. Then our thought was to have that parallel with a researcher in Africa who has lions radio collared or whatever they’re going to do and watching their movements and have the kids compare those movements… Read More
We had a telescope where kids would look up on the copy rocks and see a eagle’s nest and some high racks, which were little just fiberglass high racks up there. And things like that. And the city, the safety department came out one day and saw it and whack,… Read More
So what’s your proudest accomplishment?… Read More
Are there programs or exhibits that you would have liked to have implemented during your time, but just couldn’t?… Read More
Yes, first, it took, in my opinion, it took so long to get everything done. I mean, we opened the Animals had Man or Large Mammal Building in 1966. We didn’t get the rainforest open until 1974. My gosh, I would’ve liked it done maybe five years later. And then… Read More
For example, we proposed a large baobab tree, the big fat-trunked trees found in Africa, one that had fallen or been pushed over by an elephant so the trunk was at least five feet in diameter. And part of that was on the visitor pathway. Part of it was in… Read More
So I established the date, 1933. (chuckles) So then in 1983, when the zoo was 50 years old, that’s only because I said it was 1933 when we started, but who knows?… Read More
I think Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago may have had the same. A lot of zoos start out with people putting native animals in the local or the biggest city park. Then once that happened, then it was just a hodgepodge of miscellaneous things. The famous cowboy movie actor Tom Mix… Read More
So the monkeys from monkey island, instead of going in winter quarters where they couldn’t be seen, would go into the monkey house. And then they built a large pin for a bison, an elk. And then Preston Hale was the one who built the first units for carnivores, lions… Read More
Well, I went down to the state historical society, being the state capital, it’s right here in town. Went through all their material, including researching the newspapers. They had this great newspaper collection, went through all the newspapers. And Gage Park was established in 1901, I believe, Guilford Gage had… Read More