Then they go to see another gorilla after that, then another one that goes on, they’re surrounded by gorillas but,” he said, “They often come over and I have this lady hug me. What should I do?” I said, “keep quiet, don’t hug her back.” So I think we have… Read More
Yes, I closed a lot of buildings. And this was because you wanted to start this rebuilding process. Yes. I closed a good many buildings in the Bronx Zoo and when I opened the Congo exhibit, I closed the old ape house and made some choices, and zoos are going… Read More
We’re a long way from doing it. We’ve done it in some places, but we haven’t yet got Gene Kelly dancing in the rain. On the other hand, we’re beginning to make some breakthroughs. For example, when we did Congo, we made a specific effort, we did a thing I’d… Read More
And you see two wildlife conservation scientists going through the forest and they’re commenting upon what is happening, on everything from gorilla dung to cut huge trees. And you’ll see a seed sprouting from the gorilla dung and it’s explained. You see a wildlife conservation society airplane cruising over the… Read More
What do I mean when I say muddy boots?… Read More
If you’re working in the field, studying what prevents an animal’s population from increasing or what is causing it to decrease, you’re likely to get your feet muddy. So this, a shorthand for working directly with wild animals, whether they be up in trees or whether you’re scrambling through the… Read More
So the combination of field conservationist with zoo conservationist, was something that just wasn’t being done. And today this society has the largest muddy boots program in the world. Read More
Now explain, I understand, but explain, when you say muddy boots, you mean exactly what?… Read More
When I was offered the directorship, I was not entirely surprised although John Tee-Vans illness which led to my Ascension was quite unexpected. But I had certainly seen the opportunity to do things and to realize a developing vision, which were impossible as a curator. But I also had a… Read More
If you are in a conservation organization, studying wildlife, not related to a zoo, and an animal that you are studying dies, of course you’re saddened. It’s not your fault it died in nature. If you were studying an animal in the zoo and it dies it’s your fault, whether… Read More
You said that you were, I’ll use my words, reluctantly recruited to become director, but had you considered that position before you were approached?… Read More
And when you were approached, as you thought about it, did it interest you because now you would be able to make change or help affect change and did you want the zoo to be different?… Read More
And Laurence had been such a wonderful chairman of the board. And Laurence agreed to take it for a while. He’d been associated with the society for 40 years and it was a part of his life and his world. And he cares very deeply and was very, here’s a… Read More
to become our precedent. Marvelous president. He was president here for almost 22 years and we worked together on everything from conservation in Spain, Argentina to creating the Congo Gorilla Exhibit, changing the society’s name. And without Howard Phipps’ help, we would not have been able to affect it. Read More
Who proposed this change and how much arm twisting or convincing or intellectual understanding had to occur in this room or outside of this room for that to become memorialized in your bylaws?… Read More
I proposed the name, Wildlife Conservation Society after a lot of discussion with the societies staff, especially the staff of field biologist who were directly concerned. None of us were completely happy with the name and we experimented with many others over a period of months, but we finally settled… Read More
If you are applying for a grant from a Chicago Foundation, the California Foundation as the New York Zoological Society, we were told, “You know, we’re more interested in an international approach.” And we thought we could better portray what we were doing by becoming the Wildlife Conservation Society. Because… Read More
You say, we decided to change the name, was that we decided or was this your vision?… Read More
That is a conservation product. You can’t always do it and sometimes it takes many years. That is the proper criteria in my opinion, and it’s one I’ve applied for a long time to the distress of some who’ve found it did not support grant requests. So these two groups… Read More
Why did the society decide to change its name?… Read More