But I think it was through the AZA and them setting up some different breeding programs and more cooperation between them that they were able to then move animals around that way versus just going out to the, not that we ever got a lot from the wild but, you… Read More
Where did some of these baby tigers come from, you know?… Read More
‘Cause there used to be a lot of those programs where bringing in baby animals was what was helping “sell” the zoo and they just thought it was normal. But then it again took that education to explain you can’t just keep bringing babies in. They gotta go somewhere when… Read More
What do you see as the cause of this change?… Read More
And how has the role of individual dealers and companies changed with respect to the development of modern zoos?… Read More
It did change a lot because you used to get animals you never quite knew ethically where they came from. You had to go with trusting who it was you were working with. But you’re never, you know, they weren’t necessarily keeping records or sharing where they had gotten them… Read More
I think it’s gotten better. But again, depending on what the ages are and what the sexes are in some of them, you can have some date nights at the zoo. Kind of thing. You can do anything that’s a little bit different. You just gotta… It’s a tough one. Read More
And if you make it fun for them. And it’s not like something I have to do. It’s like somewhere I can go and feel important. That I’m helping do something and it’s fun. It’s not too long, it’s not stretched out. But you know, we’ve had some people come… Read More
It did. Read More
What you do for a five year old is gonna be different than trying to get a teenager in there, you know?… Read More
Teens are hard. Read More
Do you have any secrets for teens and having them have an interest in the zoo?… Read More
And so bringing people there, what would you say were the keys to maintaining your visitor’s attention?… Read More
I think, again, the more personable you can, I mean the guided tours were great because then you had them captured and then we’d try to bring an animal out too, so they also got a touch experience with them or something like that. But it was… And it’s kind… Read More
And depending what age you’re working with. You personalize it to them. Read More
So the zoo was free?… Read More
No. No, it was a paid zoo, but. There were so many days that we had to have free days. So we would have a free day which, you know, for anybody that works in a zoo, those can be kind of wild days. Because it’s just massive. And you… Read More
So it was an experience to go through that. But no, we were not free. We had so many free days per our regulations in order for us to get funding. So that was a requirement. Read More
What was your thought process?… Read More
We got away from going to every school and instead had worked out a thing with the school system where they came to the zoo. That way they could see more and get a better education, number one. It was hard for them because that’s an expense to put them… Read More