So I think that kind of example has to be taken up by more institutions. Not just parading and having the visitor through a very naturalistic environment, but to be engaged in terms of a relationship with the animal as with the case with the okapi, I mean, as a… Read More
What other things make Brookfield Zoo unique?… Read More
Well, it’s not a favorite exhibit. It’s the facility, the Hamill Family Play Zoo, which came about after we’d consulted with people who were in the educational game in respect to conservation. We assembled a panel of 17 people from around the country. And we also had, at the original… Read More
And they could pretend they were some of the creatures about them, for instance, the bird costumes where they get to flap and all of that. Things of that sort, where they can pretend to be the animals themselves and look at the world from the animal’s standpoint. And outdoor… Read More
Do you have a favorite exhibit at the zoom?… Read More
Would you say Brookfield Zoo, when you talk about the animals in relation, was Brookfield Zoo ahead of its time in hiring paid staff to do scientific research or even using docents for observations?… Read More
Well, in terms of whether we were ahead of the game in respect to hiring scientific staff to do appropriate investigations of behavior and other aspects of the biology of the creatures, to some degree. But I must say that many other institutions came along quite rapidly in that respect. Read More
So those were important considerations that we tried to get all of the curators and the keepers to investigate, to look into, to determine whether they had adequate facilities for the creatures. And as I say, including the accompanying animals of whatever sort, whether they were con specifics or not. Read More
Well, among other things, among other things, we tried to determine what was going on inside, so to speak, and this work is still being carried on at Brookfield by Nadja Wielebnowski, but we’d gotten into it before we retained her. And what she’s doing and we’d already gotten into… Read More
Not really, I think the specialization that was needed in terms of the, information on a particular group of animals was too substantial, it was too large a job. Read More
What type of significant changes did you try and make in the care of the animals under your tenure?… Read More
You talked about changing the direction and the caliber of the curatorial staff that would come and work at Brookfield Zoo. Read More
I know at one time you initiated a rotating head of the department, did that model work?… Read More
Well, my involvement came pretty late with Ziggy the elephant who had quite a following. And Peter Crowcroft had liberated him from his confined condition inside the elephant house at Brookfield Zoo. And Ziggy certainly enjoyed the outdoors for the first time in many years and unfortunately I had to… Read More
Well, I avoided that choice, although I’m associated with particular creatures like the wolf, the okapi, and of course the Surinam toad. But I tried to keep my feelings and associations very, very private indeed. While I became attached to individual animals, such as some of the okapis, and some… Read More
Can you tell us the story of Ziggy the elephant and your involvement?… Read More
(George chuckles) Do I have a favorite animal?… Read More
It was a young giraffe, so it was going to go back to mom. We knew that, but we really chided them about their inadequate security, and so on, and so forth. So that was a wonderful day that Les Fisher, my colleague, of course, at Lincoln Park Zoo, and… Read More
Dr. Rabb, do you have a favorite animal, favorite animals?… Read More
In terms of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums fulfilling a mission, I think it’s only partway there. But one of the signal advances was the establishment of an accreditation system. And you might be interested that before, there was actually official Les Fisher. And I played a little game… Read More