I mean, you know, it goes for any walk of life, you know, how do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been that understanding of, of how, how did we learn how to look after this species properly?… Read More
And I appreciate that, you know, we were not exactly in a major metropolis, but I wasn’t seeing those kids anymore. There’s been a shift and I, I, I can’t explain it and I’ve, I’ve spoken to, to long-term colleagues about it, you know, are you seeing these people and… Read More
Absolutely. A love of animals is not one of them. People who are effusive in their love of animals usually make really bad zookeepers. They usually make really bad pet keepers as well. Actually having an interest in animals, having a real interest in zoos, you know, like me having,… Read More
Are there traits that you would say an animal keeper needs to work in a zoo?… Read More
So I think in a modern context, instead of, okay, right, we’ll have a relationship with this zoo because we want, we’d love to have, you know, zebra dyker or you know, some other obscure species and we want a sister relationship so we can help our sister zoo raise… Read More
What do you think, you know, having that conversation with the keepers as the director or as the collection manager or whatever you, whatever position you have to be in, walking the job is vital. If you don’t do it, you’re not doing your job. You don’t know the place… Read More
Do you feel that zoos have enough sister city relationships with other zoos?… Read More
It seems to be something that has kind of fallen by the wayside. The the zoo community went through a, a phase of doing that and it, it certainly, it’s, there has been, you know, mutually beneficial relationships in that way, often through exchanges of animals. You know, the, the… Read More
Do you think what, is there something else we can do here to, you know, make it better for the animals or to make them more active or, you know, increase breeding?… Read More
’cause I’m rubbish with names. But I think that being out there, being seen, knowing what your zoo’s up to, you know, what, what needs dealing with what’s being done really well, congratulating pe people on site about doing a good job, asking their opinion. Read More
Well, looking at the komo dragon enclosure, right?… Read More
Crucially important. I have been forced to go on two or three management courses in my career and I’ve always approached them cynically, tongue in cheek and you know, but I think probably the most important lesson and, and, and it was one that was common to the, the various… Read More
How important do you think it is for a zoo curator or director to make rounds?… Read More
So again, when it was here, the, the seal line pool had was long since passed its cell by date. There was no, no filtration, no water management. It was a, a salt water pin AED in a fresh water pond. And it was no, you know, we couldn’t do… Read More
I think you can achieve it without spending a fortune to do so. But it involves a little bit of imagination or, or rethinking the use of an existing space. So as I said, you know, what was a fairly mediocre giraffe enclosure, albeit the animals did really well, it… Read More
And I thought it was like, okay, we want to expand the group. And I thought, right, we’re gonna put them in the giraffe enclosure. Now the giraffe enclosure at London Zoo, though the giraffes did really well. Our breeding record was second to none. It was not exactly the… Read More
I think, I mean a lot of it can be if you’re working in a rural facility, you know, I’ve referred back to the, the Highland Wildlife Park in, in Scotland on, on a number of, for a number of these questions. And it’s a rugged highland landscape. And so… Read More
How do you try and achieve a wow impact in exhibit design?… Read More
And he had the audience in stitches about talking about port of snail conservation, the story of, of saving the port of snail. And so in vertebrates are, are definitely not my area of expertise, but I look at what Paul and his team and, and what other places now… Read More
When people think of conservation, they think of, of, you know, rhinos and elephants and tigers, and I think it’s for a zoo that wants to make a contribution, there’s, is there any point in dev in, you know, giving your, devoting your resources on top of what everybody else… Read More