So what’s the difference between Bernard and the director of your board?” And so I said, “Should be called executive director.” So I had this change of title with absolutely no increase of responsibility or increase in salary. And then when we opened the Night Safari, the board said, “Yeah,… Read More
Yeah, I think so. I was executive director up until that time. Executive director was a position I had. Okay, so I started off as director in 1980. And then Charlie Schroeder comes along. We bring him out as a consultant in about whenever, ’86 or something. And he said,… Read More
Is that because of the ninth Safari?… Read More
Yep. It’s successful. You get a title, another title, A title. Chief executive. Oh, right. Read More
He’s just kind of just into the orangutan. And he’s not so much with Ah Meng, but with the babies, a couple of babies there. And he’s just like just fascinated. And then the manager, his manager says, “He really wants to go to the zoo.” So I said, “Well,… Read More
We go down to the Raffles Hotel.” He said, “I shot a boat.” So I get into the mini bus with Sam. And as I get in, I see this like six orangutans, six orangutans, therefore six keepers. Each one has orangutan. So there’s six keepers, six orangutan. And I… Read More
And even then there was like word that obviously got out, I mean, through our keepers, there was like hundreds of people around just kind of waiting, looking, trying to get a glimpse of him. But it was like just amazing. Just the kind of the presence that this guy… Read More
So I tell Sam, who is the head of primates, I said, “Sam, can you get Ah Meng together in the mini bus and I’ll come down with you?… Read More
Because I got Michael Jackson in town.” And I know he’s got in town ’cause I know there’s a concert, so I can’t shut the zoo. Can’t shut the zoo down. He said, “Why not?” I said, “Because it’s a public facility. I mean, come on, I’m stupid.” So I… Read More
It’s like they come back just like these Chinese lanterns come back, it’s like just commercialization. Can you tell us about, ’cause you mentioned it briefly and I think you were involved with Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor, relate that story. Yeah, yeah, sure. So I had this big sponsor,… Read More
So I’m giving him the time of day. Read More
He says, “Can you shut the zoo?… Read More
I think it’s like, why do you have a carousel in zoo?… Read More
And then we had this kickback from the commercial zoos who were then still capitalizing it. And so zoos had to rethink their situations, I think, commercially. And so you had the revival of the show, like Steve Martin was bringing in like bird shows and stuff, which were deemed… Read More
They won’t see birds flying like that. And then you’ve got like small mammal shows where if it’s non endangered stuff and you have a lot of laughs, but not at the expense of the animals, expense of the people. I think it’s fine. I don’t have problems with that. Read More
I don’t think elephants should be kept in captivity because I think that’s a huge hot potato that’s they’re gonna have to face in the future. So I really say don’t do that. Obviously, don’t do dolphins getaway or stuff, although the Chinese wanna do it. But I say I… Read More
Why?… Read More
But they still do it. But it’s more shows, which is like elephant shows, primate shows, small mammal shows, sea lion shows. A lot of people do them and call them presentations and think that it makes it more palatable if you call it presentation. Well, I say, I mean… Read More
Well, no, that’s more for shows. So I just feel call a spade a spade. I mean, we can come back to the breakfast. I think the breakfast is okay and it’s been modified. You’re not allowed to sit with the orangutan anymore. The orangutans are in the rear. That… Read More
But you don’t like the word presentation?… Read More