I really need to know, because we have to get ready for them so we can treat them right, and do the right thing.” And he said in his true Chinese fashion, he said, “Well if I were you, I’d get ready.” (laughing) He did, he didn’t say yes or… Read More
And I said, “Oh, thank you.” And then i knew boy, and then the wheels started turning and it was really a, that was the one event, you know, truthfully, getting the pandas was the one event that really brought us, well it brought our attendance over a million, and… Read More
And it brought, people wanted to see them. Once they knew about them, they wanted to see them too. ‘Cause you know, they’re a striking animal, very striking animal, and it’s, and they did extremely well with us too. Was the, were the golden monkeys a separate- Yeah, agreement. Read More
And I said, “You know what?… Read More
I really have this feeling it’s gonna happen.” They all go, “Well maybe so, okay maybe so.” One day, we had gone to China, and we had talked to a number of these people, but still we weren’t given a yes and weren’t given a no. And one day I… Read More
You know, you can’t ask right outright. But I decided that I was going to do it outright, just say. You know, I said to Mr. Lee, “There’s a lot of things that we have to do for the pandas if we were to get them really, and that we… Read More
If we don’t do it, we won’t get them. But if we do get it, maybe we’ll be he able to get them, maybe.” “Oh,: he said, “oh, all right.” He said, “I’ll talk to the mayor about it.” So he went to talk to the mayor, and she thought… Read More
They paid a percentage to the city, you know, but still. So they were gonna do it though, and they thought we wouldn’t be able to do it. Read More
It’s a very good idea.” So I went to my boss, who was by that time, another, you know, Tom Malloy, his name it was, who was very, a very, a go-getter, you know?… Read More
And I said, “Tom, you know,” and I told him the story. “You know,” I said, “we can get those. I really feel we can do it. Especially with the ties that Mayor Feinstein has to China,” ’cause she did. “And with our sister city being Shanghai and this and… Read More
I said, “Look, what does it hurt?… Read More
What did you learn from that experience?… Read More
I am going to, I am going to take responsibility and, for getting those pandas. Because one day, when we used to do programs, we did a lot of, the Zoo Society used to do programs for the membership, at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. You know,… Read More
Was that your idea to kind of- Well, that was after the pandas, and we had a very good relationship after getting those, after getting the pandas. We had a good relationship with them, and that was another thing that We got from them. Tell me the story of the… Read More
How did it evolve?… Read More
Well, I’ll tell you. Read More
All these cages were tall, and you could see in from a double, two levels. So we did a lot of that, that’s what that was. And, it was a way also of reinforcing the idea of evolution and our relationships to the primates, without saying a word, having to… Read More
Not a sign there, don’t say a word, because you’re not gonna have to. Everybody that sees this is gonna sit down next to this guy, and they’re gonna know. (laughing) They’re gonna know what you say, they’re gonna know what the story is, and that’s exactly what happened. And… Read More
Did you reach out to the Chinese?… Read More
What were you trying to do in that exhibit that hadn’t been done before?… Read More