The people of Frankfurt thought they have the best zoo but I think I opened their eyes that that was outdated, this opinion. And I got a lot of very positive feedbacks when I started to rebuild the zoo. And they said, oh, wonderful new exhibits. You’ve changed a lot,… Read More
I already mentioned a lot of time, Heini Hediger. I just mentioned Bill Conway. Of course, in some ways, Bernhardt Grzimek made some impression on me, George Rapp as well. But for the daily work, probably the biggest influence has had Gunter Noge. We have had similar zoos. We became… Read More
So if I have had a problem, Gunter usually was the first. But there were other people, as Ollie Sherin, Rupert Dahl, or Dieter Yaul in Stuttgart and so on that I contacted when I’ve had questions. Read More
How do you think the public felt about the Frankfurt Zoo?… Read More
Who have made the biggest impression on you?… Read More
Maybe the most famous. Read More
Or how did they impact the zoo?… Read More
The top three zoos of the world?… Read More
Well, that you’ve enjoyed and that you would want to recommend. I think it’s unfair because I don’t say the best three zoos. I would say I would need at least 20 zoos or so. I recently visited, with my son, some Czech and Polish zoo and we discovered, for… Read More
Well, you have met a lot of people in your role as zoo director. Read More
Whereas in New York you need heated winter quarters. But then New York, as I admire Heini Hediger, I admire Bill Conway. I think he’s really wonderful, was really a wonderful zoo director and did a lot of good things. And one of the highlights for me is Congo Gorilla. Read More
Well, if you were gonna tell me to go to three zoos, what zoos would you tell me to go to?… Read More
No, I wasn’t an advisor. And during my Frankfurt time, I followed the tradition of Grzimek, who gave lectures at the University of Giessen and that is about 100 kilometers to the northeast of Frankfurt. But I didn’t feel that this is my work and that I can do it. Read More
Can you tell me possibly what zoos have you enjoyed visiting and learning from that you were able to maybe take ideas away and that have influenced you in your career?… Read More
You can learn from every zoo visit, I think. Even from the worst zoo, you can learn how not to do it. And it’s always, as with a favorite animal, it’s always a very difficult question, the favorite zoo, because Zoo A might have the best ape facility, Zoo B… Read More
And how important is it to the entire, as you see it, European zoo world?… Read More
In Frankfurt, we didn’t have a special assigned facility keeping animals. We only worked with the animals on public viewing. But I was very proud that I was able to appoint a curator for science. Although I do not think, and that was a, insofar quite good, as the person… Read More
As you were in the university and you had an advisor, have you been an advisor to students doing work at the zoo?… Read More
They are usually very lonesome in a city, so a lot of regular visitors. I knew a gentleman who came for 50 years every day to Frankfurt Zoo, and lot more are coming once a week or so. And they usually assemble with charismatic species, that is usually big cats… Read More
We’ve talked about conservation and education. Read More