That’s where the education department comes in to important spot. How many kids, teenagers, ever touched a snake, for instance, the most feared and misunderstood, and hated animal. And they would be surprised. It doesn’t have to be a fancy big snake, but eastern indigo, or even boa constrictor, they… Read More
Should zoos be involved in doing anything to help governments protect lands for animals?… Read More
Yes. Read More
What would you want kids to feel when they come to a zoo?… Read More
To feel?… Read More
How can zoos improve their connection with kids and teenagers to heighten their awareness about the natural world?… Read More
Natural world?… Read More
Mm-hmm. Show them the reality of living in the wild, high infant mortality rate, for instance. The lifespan of wild animals is much, much shorter compared with zoo equivalent. That sort of thing. It’s not a very popular topic, but has to be relayed to the teenagers, that they are… Read More
Somewhere I heard in a big zoo that curators do have a job. If the public wants to bother to come to the zoo, yeah, they are welcome. That attitude has to have a 180 degree turnaround, that zoos are for the general public, and you are there as an… Read More
That reality has to be introduced to the public, not to mention the rhino horns, for instance. It may not be palatable to show a dead rhino, their horns sawed off, blood dripping. It is shocking to children, but even using a small photo, some way have to get in… Read More
Do you have any advice for the new zoo curator about the importance of marketing zoos?… Read More
What are the most important aspects of marketing you think about?… Read More
Cruel?… Read More
No. (laughing) You mentioned Gary Clarke, the director of the Topeka Zoo, as very excellent in marketing. Mm-hmm. Read More
Wild animals have their own needs that you are not aware, or you may not appreciate. One day, a young woman called me up in the office, and talked about wolves. Read More
She said in a very soft voice, do they really kill?… Read More
The predator has to kill other animals to survive. That’s reality. They have to know that. Read More
The programming more meaningful?… Read More
General public has their own limited view of animals. Their view of, quote unquote, animal is nurtured by household companions, nowadays, it’s companion animal, not a pet, but general public’s concept of animals probably nurtured by a household pet, dogs, for instance, or horses. But there’s a great, it’s maybe… Read More
And of course, zoos probably help to change the image of the gorilla as a gentle giant. Sure, field researchers did that, but the zoos also helped, I’m pretty sure, that they are not vicious, wild animals, but a gentle giant. Read More