Zoo, be in the middle of that in the community. Be the go-to institution, educate the people as to why this might be happening. You can still have your university biologist in there. You can have your state game officer in there. But zoo, you need to be in the… Read More
Absolutely. Marketing is essential. You gotta compete with everybody else that’s out there. And depending on your market, it can be a challenge. You know, in central Florida, you’ve got big theme parks, you got zoos, you got nature, you got all this. Read More
The zoo could play a little role there and explain why it’s important or maybe dispel some myths about what happens in recycling. Don’t leave it to the media. Be an integral part of that and explain it. So in Florida, alligator interactions with people usually ends up in the… Read More
What’s going on here?… Read More
Why do I need to recycle?… Read More
Well, you know what?… Read More
Does my recycle bin make any difference when I put it out on the curb?… Read More
Should zoo education have a role as it relates to conservation?… Read More
Leave those for special workshop situations. But the general public, they need validation. Read More
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. That to me has ramped up not only the way they deliver messages now through many mediums, but zoo education needs to be in the center of that wheel making sure that all those educational points are being hit on. Whether it be through interactions from people… Read More
This is another part about education. Read More
Animals do die in a zoo and you gotta talk about that. You don’t have to talk about everything that dies, but you gotta talk about significant cases when they died, what happened, what your pathologist did, what your veterinarian did. Explain the passion that goes into taking care of… Read More
You know what?… Read More
But you take that person and bring ’em behind-the-scenes and show ’em something up close or give ’em an opportunity to see how an animal’s managed, it’s off the charts. They’re absolutely, I think you’ve got ’em for life at that point. If you can get ’em into that experience,… Read More
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, again, these, we call ’em signature experiences in ZooTampa, other zoos call ’em different things. Getting the people to understand what really goes on is really important for us. I mean that’s a big, to me, it’s a big part of our messaging. It… Read More
Not saying get away with any of that, do away with any of it. But you got to have that ignition, that emotional ignition that people need to say, wow, I want to come back here. This is very cool. And if you’ve got a controversy, you can think about… Read More
Doesn’t make you a difference ’cause they aren’t buying your shoes, you know?… Read More
So you moving forward on that, education you talked about, is education important in boosting the image of the zoo among the public, in the face, maybe of people who don’t like zoos?… Read More
You mean educating the public?… Read More
You know, it’s like, it’s a shoe store. Read More