For example, Topeka is a small committee, 120,000, city limits 160,000 metro area, but we’re the state capital. So as the state capital, I feel we maybe have more of a responsibility to have a broader collection, a more generalized collection. You take a smaller zoo, like Emporia, which is… Read More
Can you give us your thoughts on how best to deal with these type of groups?… Read More
Animal activists are certainly a presence and critics of zoos are certainly a presence. Read More
Well, there’s been a lot of discussion as to what type of collections zoos should have. And it’s a good question to consider smaller institutions and financial resources, and so on, and whether or not it’s indigenous animals or specialize in endangered species or general collection. There certainly are examples. Read More
I think it’s more, what’s the role of that zoo in the community?… Read More
What is the status of the community?… Read More
I’m sure there are a lot of others too. Read More
So when you consider the financial resources available to the small and medium-sized zoo, should the focus be on different parts of the collection?… Read More
Should it be regional? Should it be endangered?… Read More
Should it be non-endangered?… Read More
And I had no training in management. I just had to learn as I went. Management skills are probably important, but I still think that animal knowledge is important. I realize of zoos today have directors with, the directors have an animal background, but the zoo has a curatorial staff… Read More
What can a small zoo or even a medium-sized municipal zoo, or even a zoo society run, do today to be involved with wildlife conservation, maybe nationally or even internationally, what can they do?… Read More
Yeah, small zoos or even medium-sized zoos, I think those that are dedicated zoos, do feel conservation is an important mission, an important function in addition to recreation education, so on. It’s a bigger challenge, but they can still do a lot of things. The very first thing that they… Read More
And if they have the capability, breeding facilities, maybe be selective, be part of a SSP program, or something, and contribute to the status of certain endangered species. Here in Topeka, we were involved with the Bali myna. And bread a lot of Bali mynas in that program. The golden… Read More
I would say this community, the people of Topeka, Northeast Kansas, because they supported the zoo, which made me look like a good zoo director. My staff, what a team. They made things happen, made me look good. Volunteers, Friends of the Zoo, all these factors, all these combinations came… Read More
And I think we achieved some degree of success in that. Read More
So that could be one of the answers to the question, what made me a good zoo director?… Read More
That’s a good question. (Gary laughing) A difficult one. Oh, wow, today’s zoo directors, my guys would, this is 2010 and I started, I was a zoo director, started in 1963. Obviously that was long before computers. I think today, and most zoo people are this way, I’m sure, need… Read More
How can I answer that?… Read More
I mean, that’s for someone else to evaluate, I guess. I think what made me comfortable and enthused about being a zoo director is number one, I don’t like this phrase, I love animals. I mean, so many people say I love animals and I’m sure they do, but there’s… Read More