Well yeah, I would say yes, I would say yes. But you know, we had been improving a lot anyway, and we were getting some, we got some very, very good press. As I told you about the gorilla exhibit, we got very good press on all the new things… Read More
And when you talked about good press coming because of the gorillas and the exhibit and the positiveness of the pandas, in 1988, the orangutan Josephine did cause a little bit of a stir. Tell us what happened with- That was, yeah, that was a deal with the, our sister… Read More
She can’t be, you know, moved away, and just all kinds of stuff. And these are typical, this is a typical San Francisco thing, that there are people that get up in arms about certain things and they can’t, you know, they have no expertise whatsoever at all. But the… Read More
Did the pandas help the funding for the zoo overall?… Read More
Were people more willing to give funding?… Read More
Well no, not really. But I did take some people in, and in fact, this is a real funny, I think it’s an amusing story. There was a store here in Sonoma, a big supermarket, who I used to go to this supermarket and they knew who I was. And,… Read More
Was the, did the Zoo Society pay?… Read More
I mean, there was obviously expenses to keeping the pandas, the exhibit work and just the things you had to do. Yes they, yeah- Was the Zoo Society coming through with all the money, or was it through the- Yes, they did. No, no, the city gave some money, but… Read More
So if you were going to mentor some zoo director who was thinking about this type of exhibit, what would you be telling them?… Read More
Well be ready for a lot of crap from your other zoo directors who are jealous of you. That’s what I would say, ’cause that’s the deal, I think. When all these people who are so, you know, and who have done plenty of other things, you know, that were… Read More
Did you have a lot of people who would become your friends all of a sudden, to be able to see the pandas?… Read More
I knew all the guys there and I went to vet and I said, “look, how sick is this panda?… Read More
I cannot have him dying in San Francisco, I cannot do it.” And he said, “No he won’t, he won’t do that. That’s not gonna happen, he’s getting better now. And he’s, he just has a mild problem, it isn’t bad.” So I looked at him myself too, not that… Read More
I mean it was lucky of course, but it was great, yeah. Read More
I, boy it’s hard to remember that. I think they may have come to us, actually. Read More
So in the end with the pandas, was it worth it?… Read More
Yeah, yeah. It was a, you know it was hassles, of course there were hassles. But you know the male panda, I don’t know if a lot of people know this, the male panda of the two, it was a pair, you know, two animals. The male got sick in… Read More
Deal or relationship agreement with the Chinese?… Read More
Oh yeah. Read More
Was that something you wanted to initiate, or did they come to you?… Read More