Zoo Story (30 page)

  
74
    
tumbled into a snow bank:
Scene based on a family photo taken by Roger Schultz and shared with the author by Ed Schultz, as well as the author’s interviews with both the father and son.

  
75
    
incident in Stamford, Connecticut:
This account is compiled from several news reports, including Andy Newman, “Pet Chimp Is Killed After Mauling Woman,”
New York Times
, February 16, 2009; Stephanie Gallman, “Chimp Attack 911 Call: ‘He’s Ripping Her Apart,’ ” CNN.com, February 18, 2009; Anahad O’Connor, “Woman Mauled by Chimp Has Surgery, and Her Vital Signs Improve,”
New York Times
, February 18, 2009; and John Christoffersen, “Brothers: Victim of Chimp Attack Feared Animal,” Associated Press, June 28, 2009.

  
77
    
sued the city for discrimination:
Shannon Behnken, “Tuskegee Airman Demanded Equality,”
Tampa Tribune
, August 14, 2007.

  
77
    
Razor blades were flicked:
David Smith,
Evening Independent,
August 31, 1976.

  
77
    
Sea lions collapsed:
“Kindness Kills Old Sea Lion,” Associated Press article published in the
St. Petersburg Times
on June 6, 1963.

  
77
    
Two Bengal tigers died:
“Youth faces charges for tossing Tylenol tablets to otter at zoo,” United Press International article published in the
St. Petersburg Times
on May 29, 1983.

  
77
    
“I didn’t even want to talk about it”:
Richard Danielson, “Lowry Park Zoo Has Record Number of Visitors,”
St. Petersburg Times
, December 6, 1966.

  
77
    
stole one of the zoo’s lions:
“3 Charged in Lion Theft,”
St. Petersburg Times,
February 19, 1976.

  
78
    
the chimp hurled away:
“Mayor Greco Gets a Hand,” Associated Press article published in the
St. Petersburg Times
, Sept. 27, 1972.

  
78
    
Herman read the nonverbal signals:
Author interviews with Kevin McKay, Lee Ann Rottman, and Andrea Schuch.

  
78
    
staff left Schultz a key:
Author interviews with Ed Schultz. This detail was confirmed by Lowry Park staff.

  
79
    
“Wonderful,” she called him:
Details of Jane Goodall’s affection for Herman and Lowry Park are taken from Mary Dolan’s “Noted Expert on Primates Visits ChimpanZoo Site,”
St. Petersburg Times
, May 7, 1987; and Sue Carlton’s “Primate Expert Touts Zoo Project,”
St. Petersburg Times
, May 9, 1990.

  
79
    
a wild chimpanzee call:
Dong-Phuong Nguyen, “A Girl’s Curiosity Nurtured Expertise,”
St. Petersburg Times
, March 23, 2005.

  
79
    
just as Gombe’s chimps did in the wild:
Jane Goodall,
In the Shadow of Man
, pp. 35–36.

  
80
    
termite mound was not real:
Vicki Croke,
The Modern Ark
, page 39.

  
80
    
distaste for seeing animals in cages:
Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier,
Zoo
, p. 237.

  
80
    
simulated bird droppings:
Phillip T. Robinson,
Life at the Zoo
, p. 90.

  
80
    
“imitation freedom.”:
Baratay and Hardouin-Fugier,
Zoo
, p. 244.

  
81
    
In one gruesome case:
Frans de Waal,
Chimpanzee Politics
, pp. 211–212.

  
81
    
“an assassination”:
Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson,
Demonic Males
, p. 128.

  
81
    
waging war on other chimp groups:
Jane Goodall,
Through a Window
, pp. 98–111.

  
81
    
eating their flesh:
Jane Goodall,
Through a Window
, p. 108.

  
81
    
while others dismember him:
Jane Goodall,
Through a Window
, pp. 104–108; also Wrangham and Peterson,
Demonic Males
, pp. 17–19.

  
81
    
“so naturally aggressive”:
Author interview with Andrea Schuch.

  
81
    
just to maintain his dominance:
This account of Chester’s dominance, and of Herman’s confusion during that time, is based on author interviews with Lee Ann Rottman.

  
83
    
play through the scenarios:
Author interview with Rottman.

  
83
    
a hand on his daughter’s shoulder:
Author witnessed this scene.

  
84
    
their protector and leader:
This account of Herman’s reign in the renovated Lowry Park, including his reaction to Dr. Murphy’s dart, is based on author interviews with Rottman.

  
84
    
imbued with ruthless purity:
This account of Enshalla’s history and behavior is based on the author’s interviews with multiple members of Lowry Park’s staff, including Brian Czarnik, Pam Noel, Carie Peterson, Lee Ann Rottman, and Lex Salisbury, as well as interviews with Ged Caddick and Don Woodman, who worked with the tiger in earlier years, and from the author’s own years of observing her at the zoo and shadowing her keepers as they cared for her.

  
85
    
Tigers have distinctive personalities:
Lee S. Crandall,
A Zoo Man’s Notebook
, p. 133.

  
85
    
“true to her species”:
Author interview with Pam Noel.

  
85
    
“tofu shaped to look like their prey?”:
Ibid.

  
86
    
she treated him as an intruder:
Mary Jo Melone, “Tigers Take Time Breaking the Ice,”
St. Petersburg Times
, June 28, 1989.

  
86
    
Shere-Khan struggled and suffocated:
Kathleen Ovack, “Tiger Kills Rare Cub as Visitors Watch,”
St. Petersburg Times
, May 6, 1990.

  
87
    
“she wasn’t seeking human companionship”:
Author interview with Ged Caddick.

  
87
    
walked into the Bengal tiger exhibit:
“Fatal Mauling a Metrozoo Mystery,”
Miami Herald
, June 7, 1994; and “In the Zoo World, a Mistake Can Be Lethal,”
Boston Globe
, June 11, 1994.

  
87
    
lion bit down on her hand:
Logan Mabe, “Lion Bites Off Worker’s Arm,”
St. Petersburg Times
, May 13, 2002; and Kathryn Wexler, “Zoo Keeper Put Fingers in Lion’s Cage,”
St. Petersburg Times
, May 14, 2002.

  
87
    
nothing like holding a housecat:
This description is based on the author’s firsthand experience at the home of Don Woodman, a veterinarian who worked with Enshalla as a young tiger. At the time of our interview, his family was foster caring for a litter of ten-week-old tiger cubs orphaned after they were confiscated from a facility where they were being neglected. During our interview, one of those cubs kept climbing into my lap and trying to gnaw on my notebook.

  
88
    
cubs were an instant hit:
Marty Rosen, “Tiger Kittens Make Debut,”
St. Petersburg Times
, November 27, 1991.

  
89
    
the explosions startled him:
Author interviews with Don Woodman.

  
89
    
they found Rajah dead:
Ibid.

  
89
    
something set them off:
Janet Shelton Rogers, “Zoo’s Female Tiger Dies after Fight with Mate,”
St. Petersburg Times
, March 12, 1994; also “Crushed Windpipe Killed Tuka,”
St. Petersburg Times
, March 16, 1994.

  
90
    
trained to check and recheck every lock:
Author interviews with Pam Noel, Carie Peterson, Brian Czarnik, and Lee Ann Rottman.

  
90
    
answered with a half-roar, half-snort:
Author witnessed this scene.

  
91
    
“All our girls are like that here”:
Author interview with Carie Peterson.

  
91
    
chasing his minders:
Author interviews with Kevin McKay, Andrea Schuch, and Lee Ann Rottman.

  
92
    
race toward her, running on all fours:
Author interviews with Pam Noel and Lee Ann Rottman.

6  COLD-BLOODED

  
93
    
died in Virginia’s arms:
Author interviews and e-mail exchanges with Virginia Edmonds.

  
94
    
“They’re good at birthing”:
Author interview with Dan Costell.

  
95
    
calculus of life and death:
Author interviews and observations of the herps staff.

  
95
    
“Whoever hatches first, wins”:
Details on frog eggs and mortality rates among K-selected and r-selected species based on author interviews with Dan Costell, Dustin Smith, and Kevin Zippel.

  
95
    
running catalogue of stereotypes:
The author heard these stereotypes constantly bandied among the zoo staff during his years of reporting.

  
96
    
Dustin and Dan—as they were invariably called:
The portraits of the two herps keepers’ personalities are based on many interviews with them and other keepers, as well as years of observing them both at the zoo and outside the zoo.

  
97
    
the minor god who held sway:
The author followed Dan Costell many times as he nurtured the frogs and their artificial rain forest.

  
98
    
a Komodo dragon coiled itself:
Author witnessed Dan Costell getting this tattoo.

  
98
    
“Loser,” he would say, smirking:
Author witnessed this exchange, and many others like it, while following Dustin Smith on his rounds.

  
98
    
hurled her droppings at him:
Author interviews with Dustin Smith. Lee Ann Rottman confirmed the orang’s general dislike of men.

  
99
    
Gabremariam had visibly shuddered:
Author witnessed this moment on the elevator while following Gabremariam and Lex Salisbury to a Tampa city council meeting.

  
99
    
Dustin could quote the studies:
These studies were confirmed in Vicki Croke’s
The Modern Ark
, p. 97.

100
    
a cluster of howler monkeys:
Author witnessed these keeper scenes, including Kevin McKay’s comment on Grimaldi, Carie Peterson’s encounter with the geese, and Dan Costell’s fascination with the frogs.

101
    
Led Zeppelin wailed on:
The author noticed that Zeppelin songs almost always happened to play on the radio inside the venomous snake room. ZZ Top also serenaded the snakes regularly.

101
    
“I’m no bunnyhugger”:
This section on keeper culture is based on the author’s numerous interviews and months of reporting with Costell, Carie Peterson, and many other members of Lowry Park’s staff.

103
    
especially fond of Bamboo:
Author interviews with Costell, Carie Peterson, Dustin Smith, and Lee Ann Rottman.

7  FRONTIER

104
    
Code One drill, again:
Author witnessed the scene.

105
    
Lowry Park’s Code One protocols:
Based on author interviews with Lee Ann Rottman, Lex Salisbury, and many other keepers.

105
    
At the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo:
Phillip T. Robinson,
Life at the Zoo
, p. 77.

105
    
most likely to kill humans:
Vicki Croke,
The Modern Ark
, page 105.

105
    
rainstorm flooded the polar bear moat:
Ibid.

106
    
Hurricane Andrew roared:
Tai Abbady, “Miami’s Zoo Teems with New Life 10 Years after Hurricane Andrew,” Associated Press, 2002; also, the Miami zoo’s Web site describes the devastation of the hurricane at http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/about-metro-zoo.asp?Id=93&rootId=8.

106
    
Lowry Park . . . had never taken a direct hit:
In the decades prior to 2003, the worst hurricane to come close to Tampa Bay was Hurricane Elena, a Category 3 storm that stalled just off the central Florida coast in 1983 before turning northward.

107
    
a Siberian tiger named Tatiana:
This account is based on numerous
San Francisco Chronicle
articles and on a fifteen-page report compiled by several AZA inspectors in the wake of the attack. The inspectors interviewed many of the San Francisco zoo employees who were on the grounds the evening of the attack, and together their accounts offer a comprehensive and detailed time line of the incident. The inspection report was completed in March 2008 and was accessed by the author on the
San Francisco Chronicle
’s Web site at http:www.sfgate.com/ZCTQ.