And unfortunately, a retired ape keeper discovered this and went to the Pulvar Press and said poor Toto has to be caressed daily and then he’s happy. Rather, send the director to Zambia. And this Pulvar Press took it up. It was wonderful news for them. And German write a… Read More
But that was no solution for Toto, the chimpanzee. And Zambia withdrawal the offer because they were afraid that they could get involved into this campaign. And so we looked for another offer and found a solution in Spain in a rehabilitation station. And in this case, I changed my… Read More
Were there frustrating times at the zoo?… Read More
Dealing with staff or not getting the animals that you thought you’d get or they didn’t come in on time?… Read More
Well, there have been a few problems. Usually in zoos, the human problems are much bigger than the animal problems. And so it’s a very easy explanation for this. I think this was brought up by Heini Hediger as well. The German philosopher Schopenhauer once said, “Since I know humans,… Read More
Did you tell them that they could call you by your first name?… Read More
I yelled, I think, only once. But I was on the first name basis only with two persons and one was a curator whom I knew for 20 years, when I started, or 25 years. And at that time we both were curators. And the other was my assistant director. Read More
And, of course, and my office door was always open. Let’s say 90% of the time. And if I haven’t had a really difficult meeting, everybody, even keepers, could come in and curators anyhow and that meant straight if leader could come in and so on. Read More
Were you available to them?… Read More
Did you yell at them?… Read More
Did you pat them on the back?… Read More
What was your management style with your staff?… Read More
Could they ask you a question?… Read More
Did they have to make an appointment?… Read More
How would you describe yourself as a zoo director?… Read More
That’s a difficult question for me. You probably should rather ask my colleagues what they think I am. I try to create a good zoo with interesting animals in good surroundings, to lead a good team, and to offer the visitors an enjoyable visit and enjoyable day. Well, you mentioned… Read More
And how did you have to deal with that?… Read More
We have had, especially in Germany and in British zoos, a lot of problems with animal rights group. And I think the most important way to address this problem is to improve conditions for animals. To give our animals the best possible exhibits. And if you have exhibits where you… Read More
And if these conditions are improved, I think animal rights person will have no opportunity anymore to be against zoos. Because zoo visitors, we have 700 million zoo visitors. We have more zoo visitors in Germany than go to soccer games. That’s a very forceful power that we have to… Read More
And the second question is where is the exit?… Read More