Sailing with Noah: Stories from the World of Zoos

Bonner, president and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo, has entertaining stories to tell—gorillas that act in surprisingly human ways, endearing lemurs, keepers who take heroic measures to save ailing elephants—and he also presents a fascinating picture of the complexities and pitfalls of a zoo director's job. But these stories are merely window dressing for his powerful message: zoos must do more than keep a few animals safe; they must take a major role in efforts to halt extinctions that result in the loss of 50,000 animal species each year. In zoos, people know how to breed small populations of endangered species, manage them and release them back into the wild; these people also know how to educate the public about their work and gain support for conservation. Consequently, Bonner contends, zoos can take the lead in efforts to save wild animals and the places they inhabit, and he demonstrates this with examples of how zoos are working toward these ends. His concern for animals in the wild as well as in zoos is infectious, and his impassioned book should help people understand zoos in a new and enlightened way. 20 color and 11 b&w illus. not seen by PW . (Apr.)