Well, I think my main involvement has been this project that I was a co-founder of with Loretta Caravette. I think it was a wonderful project, continues to move forward, slow but sure. I think that has been what I’ve been involved with over the years. And because of the… Read More
Do you have any suggestions for those aspiring to make a difference in the zoo world?… Read More
I appreciated very much and it was quite an honor, but I think that, I don’t know, what will they remember?… Read More
I mean, I tried to do the best job I could and I cared about my profession and I wanted to be professional. I think that’s what the plaque kind of embodies that they say that time is the currency of greatness. If you’ve been at the aquarium 40 years,… Read More
Do you have any one thing that you would consider your proudest accomplishment?… Read More
Well for better worth, I think you gotta have a sense of humor. And I think you have to know that you will not always succeed in everything and there will be failures in there, not permanent, nor are your successes. Yeah. I suppose you can say that about any… Read More
What would you hope your colleagues will remember you best for? what is your legacy, so to speak?… Read More
Well, I think that the, it was very generous of an individual to institute that plaque. She’d be very proud of it. And it was very nice of her. Read More
If you could go back in time, if anything, would you have done differently?… Read More
I don’t know that I would’ve done anything differently. I would’ve built the butterfly exhibit. There you go. (laughs) But I don’t know if I would’ve done anything differently. I got no, it’s been, my time in the zoo profession has been absolutely wonderful. Neat. Read More
And with that in mind, what traits should one possess that are a must when working at a zoo?… Read More
Well, I think, as I talked, Dennis Merritt, who was curator and I was at the zoo, later became assistant director, his philosophy of science, but his philosophy of publishing stood me in good stead. And I think, instead, a lot of people. Pat Sass, the person at the Children’s… Read More
You make the decision, whatever it is. And so those life lessons. And another guy at the National Zoo, Gene Maliniak, who was a senior keeper and he took care of small mammals and he, I stood at his feet and just wrote stuff down. He knew so much stuff. Read More
And we’re gonna be doing this with little bottles if,” ’cause we had to race some babies. And he looked at me and he goes, “Well,” he was so gracious. He said, “you know, Mark, we tried that 12 years ago and we did six variations on that and none… Read More
Yeah. That’s what’s wonderful about the whole profession, I think. Read More
So what observations have you made about today’s zoo directors and their style and their job responsibilities?… Read More
Well, it seems like the, the job of a zoo director, good, bad or indifferent has become more of a fundraiser ’cause they are the face of the zoo. And that seems to take a lot of time ’cause it takes a lot of money to run a place as… Read More
Exactly. Read More
So I’d like to bring it back to you personally, who are some of the mentors, your mentors in the zoo field and what life lessons did they teach you?… Read More
So with that in mind, what would you say to those critics who still believe that zoos are nothing more than places where they cage animals?… Read More