He tried to get the elephant off of our keeper, but unfortunately it was too late. So now we’ve got an elephant and a baby elephant on the grounds, they’re halfway around the loop. The injured keepers laying there. And we’ve got staff converging on the site, ’cause people have… Read More
And when it hit that plumber’s cart, now they’re up against a hillside. Plumber’s cart’s parked up against a hillside, there’s a light pole there, there’s the elephant, the elephant spins, and when she spins, not meaning to, but when she spins, the keeper loses his footing, because it’s early… Read More
It’s interesting because, when you become a zoo director, and you become president and CEO of a zoo, the last thing you think you’re going to deal with is the loss of a human life. That’s really the last thing that you think you’re going to be dealing with. And… Read More
On this particular day we were walking our curator, and one of our elephant managers, elephant keepers, was walking a female elephant who we’d never had any incident, any problems whatsoever. And matter of fact, she was the animal we used for all of our photo ops, all of our… Read More
We didn’t just let ’em stand there, fat, and not got the tone and the muscles they needed. We walked ’em around the zoo. And so before the public came on board, we would walk the animals around the zoo. And so we’d walk ’em around the zoo. Our zoo’s… Read More
So just a fabulous, fabulous zoo without question. Afrikaans in Mexico, another fabulous zoo, new zoo. Very large spaces for the animals, beautiful exhibits. So a wonderful, wonderful facility. Point Defiance Zoo is a gorgeous zoo. The view is incredible, the animal collection is fabulous, but really they’re too numerous,… Read More
You had to have a lion, you had to have a tiger, in the old days. And now we specialize in different animals. So if you wanna see a certain species, then you go to a certain zoo, like Lincoln Park, that does a fabulous job with gorillas, or any… Read More
Can you give us an overview of each incident, and how did you handle it with your board, the press, your staff, and what lessons did you learn that you could pass on to a zoo director who may have a tragedy befall them at their zoo?… Read More
There’s a lot of fabulous zoos in the world. I mean, it’s just amazing to visit, especially if anybody has an interest in being a president CEO, visit as many zoos as you can, worldwide. I had the good fortune recently of being at the aquarium in Vietnam, and it… Read More
And where are they?… Read More
Because with over a million visitors a year on peak season, in peak years, it was very, very difficult to get people in and out of the zoo with a two-lane road in and out. And it comes to a stoplight immediately after you get off that two-lane road. And… Read More
Are there any zoos in the world you particularly admire, and why?… Read More
How do you run outta time with 31 years, right?… Read More
They all survived. They raised clouded leopard cubs, and lion cubs, and all kinds of things in the kitchen and in the dining room. So I think they had fun growing up. They still talk to me, so I think we’re pretty good. All seven of ’em. Read More
(Barbara laughs) Are there programs, as you think back, or exhibits that you would’ve implemented during your tenure, but just didn’t happen?… Read More
Well, one of the things that I always wanted to do is, Pittsburgh is locked into a two lane entrance and exit road, believe it or not. Our zoo has a two lane entrance and exit road. And it comes off of, ironically Baker Street. And so when I went… Read More
But the poor little train guy was like, oh my God, it’s Dr. Baker’s daughter. Oh my god, oh my God. (Barbara laughs) My kids worked in the restaurants. They flipped burgers and made fries. They taught school. They started up as a teacher’s assistant, and then an assistant, and… Read More
And she’s very indignant, she’s like, this guy wants a ticket. And I laugh and I said, get off. And she’s like, but mom. And I’m like, you have to get off, you don’t have a ticket. You can’t use my name. That’s not how it works. But come upstairs,… Read More
They all were familiar with the zoo. One time my daughter, Casey, brought a little friend to work, and she popped out and went on the train. She had a radio with her so that I could find her if I needed her. And so she popped out on the… Read More
And they’re like, okay, okay. We’ll give you five minutes. When five minutes was up, they were right back at it again, but you have, kids are so fun. And they’re so much fun and they keep you young. My kids grew up at the zoo. They slept on the… Read More