Oh, all the usual schools. I went to Washington University eventually where my father was a professor. But I would have to admit that the majority of my schooling was at the St. Louis Zoo. I was very fortunate in having some wonderful mentors there. The general curator of the… Read More
When did you decide that this was the profession you wanted to work in?… Read More
I found the zoo at treasure house, a wonderful place where everywhere I looked there was something new to see and there were creatures that were doing fascinating things. I was more than charmed, I was absolutely fascinated and I have been ever since. Read More
What type of schooling did you have?… Read More
My name is William Conway and I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. I grew up there and I guess I would have to admit that I almost grew up in the zoo. I spent so much time at the St. Louis Zoo of which I’m very fond. I was… Read More
(Mark laughs) So the zoos you saw when you were growing up, and what kind of impression did they have on you at that age growing up?… Read More
For the record, would you give us your name, where you were born?… Read More
What year, the date?… Read More
Then we say, well, how many of those populations are there?… Read More
Now, the problem we have with a social species like a penguin, is that generally speaking, they don’t breed as single pairs as a tiger would. They can on occasion, but mostly that is not successful because they have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years systems that are mutually… Read More
We often hear that zoos should be run like a business and animals should pay their way. I have trouble thinking about a hummingbird paying its way, it’d be a very small way I suppose, and a very expensive route to go. The fact is that businesses don’t last. We’re… Read More
You certainly must operate the zoo sensibly, accountably, transparently, and you must operate it in a business like fashion, but not like a business. You are not trying to make more money for stockholders. You are trying to make wildlife survive longer and make people care about it. That’s a… Read More
But when you get to the very small ponds, you’d have to have a little more intensive work on them to keep them going because they’re very small and need help. Can you talk about that concept as it relates to animals with large populations and where they’re needed as… Read More
Don’t even think about it. It’s more than that in another way, it’s an awful lot of fun. Read More
Though some people have said, run it like a business, what are the downsides when you start to think in that direction, if any?… Read More
Creatures that are living, dying, reproducing every day. You’ve taken pieces of nature and brought it in to the heart of human populations. It’s important that you bring it into the, heart of these populations in a broader way into the human heart. If that is your vision, you have… Read More
We’re good. Ideally, a zoo director should be a naturalist at heart. He should also be a naturalist by training. That’s not always possible and it’s not enough. If you’re going to be a zoo director, you’re going to arrange for the care and the public use because it is… Read More
That puts a whole different aspect to what you’re doing. You need a vision. If you don’t have a vision of what could be done with a zoological garden, maybe you should do something else. You’re not trying to return the highest possible income to stockholders, you’re trying to return… Read More
Ideally, whoops there’s some noise. Check those windows. That was a weird thing, it never happened before. I haven’t heard any vehicles, so maybe it was just like one of those little– Okay, I guarantee– It’s quieter in the hotel room. Yeah. Read More
Okay?… Read More