You know, “How is Jojo doing?” As opposed to, “Wasn’t there a story about a lion or something?” They connected with that. That name was a connection. I also have seen amazing things done with program animals, amazing things done, and now… And I’m not smart enough to figure that… Read More
I have had people tell me it was a highlight of their life. So that one-on-one, that touch is so important, but yet we fear it for a number of reasons. And again, I’m not smart enough to say what the answer is and how you accomplish both things at… Read More
No. (laughs) PETA, for example, has for years had very formal, very well-funded, very slick programs for school children. AZA has never had, and I’m saying nationwide programs. Very subtle, very subtle, but funded teaching children that animals are equal to us and have the same rights that we have… Read More
What do you think can be done to make the visitor connection programs more meaningful?… Read More
I went through this sort of evolution in my career. For the first 20 years of my 40-year career, I would not allow the house names of our animals to be published. So if we did a press release, we never referred to an animal by its house name. We… Read More
Is it a good idea to change it back?… Read More
Banning private participation. The main issue with private participation was always the quality of those private facilities, the ethical standards of those facilities. When you’ve got an organization, or let’s just say a business operating outside of the way we as accredited institutions operate, number one and number two, you… Read More
Is education doing any good, particularly in boosting the image of zoos among the public in the face of the anti-zoo groups?… Read More
No, it was a mistake. Read More
How can the situation be changed?… Read More
No, I don’t think so. I don’t think you can build anything, anything without outside or undue influence. In 2010, AZA zoos and private breeders were essentially banned from participating in species survival plans. Read More
Did that hurt or help zoos?… Read More
That’s a great question. Through my involvement in the board of the AZA, I was intimately involved in those discussions for a number of years. And it was frustrating to me to attend a board meeting and have a committee report, and you would have just incredibly divergent opinions on… Read More
What issues would you like to see zoos address in the future?… Read More
Issues, I’m not sure what issues, but I would like to see something that I spoke to earlier. I would like to see greater separation in the minds of the public between AZA-accredited institutions and private or roadside zoos. I would like to see zoos, and I think we are… Read More
Can one build a zoo with an airtight insulation against interference from political or otherwise?… Read More
What issues caused you the most concern during your career, and how do you see the future regarding these same concerns?… Read More
Oh, that’s easy, money. I don’t think any zoo, whether it’s small, medium, or large, ever has enough money to do what it needs to do to provide its animals and its guests with the best possible experience. You’ve always juggling those balls. You got 10 balls in the air… Read More
You’ve gotta keep doing those things to keep the zoo a part of people’s lives. And that means you’ve gotta change. You’ve gotta evolve. And evolution in the way I’m referring to, it costs money. So it always comes back to the mighty dollar. Read More
This is in in our community, I can’t believe it.” And there’s been some research on this. I’ve read a lot of papers, but people now are looking for experiences. Not just to visit to the zoo, but I want an experience when I visit the zoo. I want to… Read More