Sailing with Noah

February 20, 2006
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
.

April 15, 2006
This is simply the best book about zoos written in recent memory. It is articulate, warm, anecdotal, scientific, and personal--a winning combination for an explanation of contemporary zoological parks and what goes on there. Bonner, the current president of the St. Louis Zoo, past president of the Indianapolis Zoo, and holding a PhD in anthropology, brings his academic training and practical experience to this lively view of modern zoos. Bonner works tales from his own and other zoos into the broader story of the conservation and education programs of the entire zoo community. Thus, the story of a pig hunter in Jamaica, whose dog retrieved a large (and, fortunately, still alive) lizard that was presumed extinct, works into a discussion of the role of captive breeding in species conservation. The balance among conservation, exhibition, and the financial bottom line is brought to light in contrasting the often expensive salvation of obscure animals when kept in captivity versus the moneymaking but circuslike inclusion of animal shows or carousels. Bonner writes of interzoo politics, interzoo cooperation, the problems and wonders of visitors, the care of endangered species, and, most eloquently, why zoos matter and why humans should care about the fate of the other species who share our planet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)