At that time in Zurich Zoo, there was just one curator for the aquarium and terrarium. That was Rene Honecker, who was a very good friend of mine, and I worked in his office. So we had almost daily contact, not only at the zoo, but private as well. Read More
And because you had worked as the keeper before that, as a volunteer, did the keepers then know who you were and accept you?… Read More
At that time in Europe, the position of registrar didn’t exist, as the animal records were kept by the curators. Which in some ways I think it’s not too bad because the curators work daily with the animals, make a lot of personal observations that can be included into the… Read More
So you, what was the day like?… Read More
Did you interact with the curators?… Read More
And what was your first position?… Read More
My first position was, at that time, this name didn’t exist, but nowadays it’s a registrar. And Heini Hediger told me, I cannot pay you more than a cleaning woman. And he paid me, or Zurich Zoo paid me 50 Swiss francs a month. It was not the full-time position,… Read More
And were there many registrars around zoos in Europe or was this a unique position for Zurich?… Read More
So you were working at the zoo while you were pursuing your studies?… Read More
During my studies, I already worked at Zurich Zoo. I even worked rather more for Zurich Zoo than for my studies. So it took very long until I finished my PhD on the social behavior of colored peccaries. I finished it only in 1976. Read More
So when did you go from being a volunteer at the zoo to receiving money and being paid to work at the zoo?… Read More
Tell me about your schooling. You went to Heiden Grammar School. Read More
Then what?… Read More
Well, I visited school in Zurich and I was a very bad pupil, but I never had to repeat a class. You went to college. I went after finishing high school. I went to University of Zurich, where I studied zoology and I finished my study with a PhD under… Read More
When did you realize that you wanted to do this as a lifelong career?… Read More
For me, it was clear from small infancy that I wanted to be involved in zoos. But after finishing high school, I thought I have to be sure that this is a right choice. So I thought about architect, but a fellow pupil told me there are enough bad architects. Read More
And what was, now, what was your schooling like?… Read More
Well Zurich Zoo was founded in 1929 and until the year of 1954, it was not under real professional guidance. But in ’54 professor Heini Hediger became director. We might come back to his name afterwards. And he transformed the zoo into a much better place. Replacing old cages with… Read More
Well, usually work as a volunteer keeper is just to follow the main keeper. And he gives you different works, prepare food or clean enclosures. But since I’ve worked so often in Zurich Zoo, I finally got sometimes the responsibility for the monkey or the terrarium department. Read More
What was the zoo like when you first started?… Read More