And one of the more stressful situations that I can recall is, I had a colleague named Dr. Eric Maskin, who was a perfectionist. And Eric’s theory on surgery was to do it meticulously perfect. Mine was to get in and get out within certain parameters. And if I scrubbed… Read More
And occasionally the little bird would be stressed out and die in your hand. I can recall a dramatic case where Marlin Perkins, who was doing some “Zoo Parade” shows at the time, was doing something with one of the gazelles. And just the fact that the cameras were focusing… Read More
At that time, we were so thrilled to be able to handle it physically and get it into this situation, no one bothered checking its sex. And of course, it arrived at the European Zoo, and the next day a cable came back, “Why did you send us X?” Meaning… Read More
And for whatever reason beyond belief, the animals invariably went behind the scratching post, which was us in the middle of a cage, and so that became a game. And the other issue was you couldn’t just get a lariat around the head of the animal. You had to get… Read More
What were the challenges and problems with transferring animals, or the medical attention of animals, or even sending an animal to another zoo?… Read More
Oh, boy, animal handling was then still is an issue, but it’s been, of course, altered dramatically by newer technology. But in the early years it was a hands-on situation. For example, if we had to go and work on one of the hoofstock, say one of the antelopes, the… Read More
In the beginning, how did animal handling go at the zoo?… Read More
Well, my memory on that is a little bit long mark, but if I were to say yes, it would be one animal. For whatever reason, in my early years as a part-time zoo doctor, I used to have to make occasional night calls to the Monkey House, the Old… Read More
And she looked at me and said, “Dr. Fisher it’ll be the same when it was 100% male.” And I said, “Okay (laughs), “I can’t argue with that point.” So I think happily, the sex as part of the zoo world has changed and will continue to change. Read More
Dr. Fisher, did you ever dream of any of the animals at the zoo?… Read More
And one time, years ago, I jokingly asked a woman student, what she thought would happen when the profession became 100% female?… Read More
Today I can walk around the zoo and feel that it really is a wondrous just extension of the garden that exists in Lincoln Park next to it. So that goal has been achieved, even though I wasn’t able to do it, I tried. And I think the fact that… Read More
So gradually the black community have slowly steadily come in, and I think the Latino community also are changing as Chicago being now, I think diversifying so that our city, not the suburbs, but the city is pretty much split between Latino, black, and white populations. I think it’s important… Read More
I guess they’ve accomplished what I wanted to, and never accomplished, and that was to make the name of the zoo be proper. We call it Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens. And by golly, even though I tried hard, the Park District never did it. We were fortunate, and still are,… Read More
And in the early years, when we tried to address collaboration, if someone were to tell Chicago, “You’re gonna have to send Bushman to Kansas City.” There would be a reaction, a public outcry. Well, when we tried starting to organize the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, we ran into that. Read More
Is there anything you would have liked to accomplish when you were director, but weren’t able to?… Read More
I think at Lincoln Park as I reflect back on times that I’ve been there, I think, and it wasn’t me personally, that had much to do with it, but the fact that it remained and still is, was a free open facility for all. I always felt good about… Read More
And I think the movement has gone a long way from way down here to way up there, that today I’m comfortable going into any accredited zoo in the United States, certainly, and know that the animals are properly cared for. Read More
Going back to Lincoln Park, what are some of your proudest accomplishments?… Read More
I think the majority of zoos today in the world, because we’re talking of that in the area of how do we deal with the animal rights issue, are no longer the terrifying, terrible place that they were 50, 100, 200 years ago. I think the fact that philosophically, a… Read More