For example, the Congo Gorilla Exhibit was put together by a team. Many of the original concepts are mine, things I wanted to do for years like the movie screen and so on. But there were major contributions from the curator of exhibits. We had a marvelous man named John… Read More
We need to do this, we need to revise this part of the buildings to provide better for these animals. These took weeks and weeks and weeks. And of course our construction people looking at this and the architects sitting there somewhat fuddled by all this was going on ’cause… Read More
Can you describe your management style, and how do you think your staff would describe your management style?… Read More
I’ve often heard the term management style, I’m not sure I know what it means. When I hear it. I think of an old time, 1950 Chevy with tail fins. I’ve never been able to grow tail fins, it’d probably would be hard to sit with. I suppose my management… Read More
One of the first things I did was started curatorial training program. I found it difficult to get trained curators. So we brought in a number of young zoologists, those that we could find that had zoo training. For example, James Dougherty came in as a trainee, but he’d worked… Read More
Two part question. Read More
Did you change or how did you change and develop their training and upgrading?… Read More
So we gradually improved them adding more and more and making them better and better. And in one of the last years I was at the zoo, we built a major new cafeteria, major new guest services, souvenir facility, and book sales place and so on. And I think this… Read More
What was your relationship as director with the staff?… Read More
It has definitely changed. We’ve taught different lessons to different places, just as the Congo exhibit is a very different lesson. It’s about the tropical African forests and very specific geographically. And it shows a series of habitats that are ecologically different, but it hasn’t made, there’s not a big… Read More
The aquatic bird house, the first exhibit I did was tied into wetlands ecology, and the entire exhibit showed a series of habitats. A tropical lagoon, a tropical stream, a shore, sandy shore, a sea cliffs, and several additional swamps. Each of them waterbird habitats with birds that have adapted… Read More
Has that educational emphasis changed since then or has it been continued with all of the exhibits that have been put out?… Read More
The first major exhibit that I was able to do at the Bronx Zoo was a remodelment of the 1899 aquatic bird house, which was one of the zoos first two buildings. And, by getting support from the city and earning support in the zoos guest services program, I was… Read More
As you’re developing this vision for the exhibits, did you have a vision for the educational element that came with it or was part of it and how did that start to develop?… Read More
What was your first big development for the zoo society?… Read More
How did that come about?… Read More
Oh, I think many zoos, let me start again. I think many zoos are attempting to put their animals in exhibits that convey the best possible idea of the environment that the animal lives in, in nature. There are obviously limitations and this is not inexpensive, but there isn’t much… Read More
I don’t think they’re necessarily as powerful as ours, but they’re pretty strong and that’s a big help. So I think that as specialization goes on, we will undoubtedly see some movement of animals in relation to climate. What was, closed buildings, (indistinct) vision. Read More
We elected to choose one great ape and to specialize, to focus on it, to give it as much space as we could. And that one exhibit, as I say is bigger than the entire central park zoo. And we can breed as many gorillas as the gorilla species survival… Read More
Do you see zoos, other zoos embracing this type of vision on a regular basis or is financing not allowing them to continue that kind of vision?… Read More