First of all, Asian elephants should not be kept with African elephants. The two species should be kept separate. That way, you don’t find an African dying of a disease that only Asians have. Elephants do not require a large area. Yes, they migrate long, long distances in Africa, not… Read More
Handle them with care and easily. Don’t get rough. Don’t get rough with them. I’ve handled 55 African elephants and about 32 Asians. Of the two, Africans were much preferred by me. Asians can be rougher, a lot rougher, but they are handled roughly by the Asian people that handle… Read More
Any advice you would give to the new zoo director about the importance of marketing your zoo?… Read More
No, I think that that depends on the zoo director and the era in which he is head of a zoo. You have to play the game as it happens to you. You have an expertise in elephants, learned over the years. Read More
No, no, no, a cage is just a, just a way of keeping the animal from running away from you. It’s not a punishment. A well-designed cage usually protects the animal from all eventualities, and it should. A caged animal is often very happy. Often. We were talking about advice… Read More
What do you say to those people who still believe that zoos are nothing more than a place where they cage animals?… Read More
Is there any answer one can give them?… Read More
Oh, yes. Read More
What were some of those that you tried to implement or were already there in place when you got there?… Read More
The Catskill Game Farm was a private venture, not a public zoo, but it was very, very carefully handled by its owner. In spite of the fact that he fired me, (Frank and Connie chuckling) he emphasized the vanishing species that he dealt with: the wild horses, the Siberian lynx,… Read More
What do you think those small- or medium-sized zoo today can do to be involved in wildlife conservation?… Read More
I really couldn’t come up with a recommendation. Read More
When you were at the zoos you were director, did you try and do some conservation things as much as your zoo could do?… Read More
Definitely, yes. It’s a tough, tough business. Every day presents you with choices about the truth or not the truth, and you better choose right. Evansville Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo, Catskill Game Farm, Fort Worth, all these zoos I would kind of call medium-sized zoos in their day, when you were… Read More
If you said yes, why?… Read More
Is there something that stands out as the most important piece of advice that you received that kinda followed you through your career in all aspects?… Read More
Would you recommend the zoo, an aquarium profession to a young person today who had a interest in wildlife and conservation?… Read More
Be truthful. Don’t try and hide things. That’s it. Read More
I think so. Heaven knows what we would have without them, but I think zoos may limit their dealings to animals that are very well known. You cannot have a zoo that is composed solely of your neighborhood wildlife. That has very little interest to most people. Having this, the… Read More
You indicated in the last question, you said, “Well, I hope they’re in the future.” Why do we need zoos, in your opinion?… Read More