Zoo Hero's

M

Mike11

Well-Known Member
I thought this would be a good thread because everyone has their own ideas and principles on what zoos should be built on and from that the successful ones have become our hero's.This is about the person behind a particular zoo - Eg: Gerald Durell - Jersey Zoo.
I would like to hear what your heros are and why i think it would be a good topic to discuss.
I will post mine once more have been followed. Please dont critisize peoples hero's as in a way it is a belief and should not be critisized.:)
Thanks for reading
Regards
 
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The Oakland Zoo in Oakland, CA - The habitats are much larger than the standard in most US Zoos. Much thought and planning has gone into the Elephant habitat. They do need a new barn and that will come, in time. They have made the wise decision not to breed until they do get a new barn. The elephants have 6 acres. They have full time keepers who scour the city for fresh cut browse for them. Every 2 hours the keepers rotate the elephants out of the enclosure and place the fresh browse in strategic locations where the elephants have to reach and stretch, much as they do in the wild. The focus is to keep the elephants moving, very much as they would in the wild.

Cynthia Moss of the Amboseli Trust in Kenya assisted the zoo in planning the elephant habitat. The zoo and its staff educates their patrons about the plight of elephants in circuses and ask them not to support circuses that use wild animals in their acts.

Although, there is much more that this zoo can do, they are restricted by their budget.

I recommend this zoo.
 
Thanks for that but this is for the people behind the zoos, your hero's lets say Gerald Durell etc. That sort of thing.
Thanks anyway
 
Oakland Zoo

Then my hero would be Colleen Kinzley, Curator, and her brother Jeff, Lead Elephant Keeper.
 
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John Knowles OBE, founder of Marwell Wildlife (where else?) He was fascinated by rare species', in particular big cats and ungulates (indeed the first animals at the zoo were Siberian Tigers and Prezwalkskis Horse) and unlike most zoos at the time which were built for entertainment, Knowles sought to build a zoological park that would specialise in the breeding of rare animals in an open enviroment.
 
Very interesting Marwell Dalek.
My Hero truthfully is John Aspinall his bonds with his animals have fascinated me about the levels of trust you need and what animals are really like, Friends to many but Wild Beasts to others.
A remarkable man who created some of the best zoos in the country going by what i think the best motto ever come up with "Animals allways come first".
I have loads of respect for the other Zoo People that have been here Gerald Durell,Jim Cronin,Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell. But it was Aspinall who caught me alot by what i believe in so there you go.
 
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Carl Hagenbeck has probably had more positive influence on how a zoo should LOOK than any other person. It can still clearly be seen a hundred years later in some of the much heralded modern exhibit designs.
 
I have several but I'll limit it to a few that really stand out. First and foremost would have to be the late Earl Wells who was hired in 1964 to open the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in 1965. He was instrumental in designing both our zoo and several others around the US. His love of animals and his desire for our guests to see these animals and care for them also shone through in every exhibit he designed. He was a wonderful human being who was taken from us much too soon.
Another hero would have to be Tony Vecchio. Tony is the director of the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon. Tony started out as a keeper and has never lost his love of zoos, the animals they house and the people who care for them.
Finally I have to mention our current director Jim Anderson. He never stops trying to make this zoo better in all ways: for the animals, for the keepers, and for the guests. Couldn't ask for a better man to work for! I've been here nearly 23 years and he's a big part of the reason I'm still here.
 
Jon Coe, one of the guys who made the first designs for immersion exhibits! Something most zoos have folloed or plan to follow.
 
Well George and Elizabeth Mottershead all the work at Chester that has been copied throughout the zoological world. And the fact they created a fantastic zoo in the Northwest of England.
 
Definitively Antoon van Hooff, the former Burgers Zoo director. He was responsible for the second "zoo-revolution" with Burgers Bush and he was the first one who kept a large group of chimpanzees at an island.
He was also very famous for his tv-programmes.
 
The late Charles Schroeder, former San Diego Zoo director, for single-handedly pushing through the formation of the Wild Animal Park. As early as 1959 he realized zoos would need to form large breeding areas to offset dwindling numbers in the wild. He was ahead of his time with this notion. Although zoo board kept putting off the idea, his tenacity basically forced the Wild Animal Park into existence. There is an excellent book on his life called Mr. Zoo (I think).
 
Durrell - for all the obvious reasons.

:p

Hix
 
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