As a child, I had a great many very patient pets. They ranged from a baby alligator that somebody gave me to box turtles my mother would pick up on the highway when she was in the process of keeping them from being killed and became a collection in my… Read More
It was an absolutely marvelous place to grow up, there was so much wildlife. Read More
Did you bring snakes home?… Read More
Did you have pets as a child?… Read More
I used to visit the St. Louis Zoo almost weekly. It wasn’t easy, I lived in the suburbs and took three street cars and a bus. Read More
Are there any early stories?… Read More
Well, I suppose I decided that when I was five years old, but I wouldn’t admit it because my mother wanted me to be a doctor. I shouldn’t have put it that way, excuse me. I decided on my career when I was still in grade school, but I certainly… Read More
Were you a visitor to the zoo on a regular basis?… Read More
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