Advantages outweigh disadvantages. Early in the morning, you walk around the zoo ground. I think I learned it from Dr. Koga, of Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. 6:30 in the morning, he lived in a small house inside the zoo. 6:30 in the morning, the door opens, he comes out with… Read More
Uh, he didn’t expect that. He probably thought I would fight. No, no, no. I was up to here. So that’s the day I’m leaving. He says, fine. His name was John Caltibiano. Read More
How important, you mentioned going around the zoo, in all these zoos that you’ve worked in, how important would you say it was for the curator to make rounds?… Read More
What were the advantages?… Read More
And the Staten Island Zoo?… Read More
Staten Island Zoo was well insulated from external politics and problems, and inside, there wasn’t much of political problems. I was given pretty much a freehand by Vincent Gattullo, who was, as I said, an educator and a biologist. But he eventually left, and a new one came in, who… Read More
I will choose the day I leave the zoo, so instead of him saying, I said how about December 31st this year, 2005?… Read More
What was the management style of Steve Graham?… Read More
He had a unique way of doing things. He gave you some freehand, but he wanted to do it hands-on himself, such as managing a parking lot on his day off, and so on. Unique way, but he eventually had political problems, and had to leave. Read More
Belle Isle, yeah. As I said, not an easy situation to be in. But then, well I’ll stick around for 10 years to qualify for pension. Read More
So that director of the Belle Isle Zoo was the same director as the Detroit Zoo?… Read More
Detroit Zoo. Steve Graham, yeah right. He was the one who kind of rescued me when I was unemployed. But eventually, he had to leave. And new one comes in, and so on. But by that time, I was qualified for pension, for comfortable out. Read More
Dave Zukoni. Great guy. We had differences, of course. But he had a wide range of tolerance to my idiosyncrasies. That was great. But Milwaukee was the one I had a problem, when the zoo director divorced his wife, had a new one who began to run the zoo, one… Read More
Got kicked out. So the next one was Detroit. Read More
Belle Isle?… Read More
(coughs) That’s a time I did some research, and so on. Read More
What was the next?… Read More
Can you comment on the influence each director had on the zoo, or the zoo profession?… Read More
Each zoo?… Read More
Roy Shay. Gave me freehand, pretty much. Oh, one step back. Topeka. A zookeeper. Gary Clarke was a master PR person, but also had the real firm grasp on the public and animals and animal care person, because of his experience. So he pretty much laid out how an American… Read More