Zoo Story Page 31

  214 a three-day trip to Paris: The city audit, pg 45.

  214 “Mr. Salisbury appeared to treat the operation”: p. 61 of the audit.

  215 “Plead for mercy”: Alexandra Zayas, “Zoo Leader Takes Issue with Audit,” St. Petersburg Times, December 16, 2008.

  216 many of the audit’s findings about Lex should not have shocked anyone: Numerous difficulties at Lowry Park were publicly disclosed many times in the two years before Lex Salisbury was forced out. Alex Pickett at Creative Loafing repeatedly sounded an alarm about conditions at the zoo, most prominently in “Endangered Species: How Safe Is Lowry Park Zoo?” a lengthy exposé that appeared on the magazine’s cover on October 25, 2006. Jeff and Coleen Kremer gave interviews to several reporters at different media outlets and documented problems at the zoo on their group’s Web site, tampaszooadvocates.com, long before the scandal exploded. The author, meanwhile, detailed Herman’s and Enshalla’s deaths in “Elegy for the King and Queen,” published in the St. Petersburg Times on October 1, 2006, and chronicled Salisbury’s fiery management style and morale issues at the zoo, as well as the potential for conflicts of interest at Safari Wild, in “Zoo Story,” a nine-part series published in December 2007.

  216 the staff routinely saw him driving a trailer: The author observed this repeatedly and heard zoo staffers talking about it as a matter of course, including at a docents meeting he attended in October 2003, where Lee Ann Rottman announced that four of the zoo’s zebras had come from Salisbury’s ranch.

  216 The Mayor’s Hour: Alexandra Zayas, “City of Tampa TV Showed Rhinos’ Delivery to Private Zoo,” St. Petersburg Times, October 23, 2008. As of this writing, photos of the two rhinos being transported to Safari Wild—and of Lowry Park employees observing the move—can still be viewed on the city of Tampa’s Web site, http://tampafl.gov/dept_Cable_Communication/programs_and_services/city_of_tampa_television/_behind_the_scenes/behind_the_scenes37.asp.

  217 Trent Meador thought maybe it was a coyote: This account of Meador’s shooting of one of the escaped monkeys is closely based on Ben Montgomery’s remarkable article, “The Real Fate of Monkey No. 15,” St. Petersburg Times, January 30, 2009.

  219 “You’re not going to catch those monkeys”: This account of Lex and Deana Brown’s experiences trapping the final four monkeys is based on an award-winning multimedia project written by Kelley Benham and illustrated by Don Morris, titled “Escape from Monkey Island” and published in the St. Petersburg Times on February 1, 2009. An interactive version of the story, featuring animation by John Corbitt and Desiree Perry, can be viewed on the Times’ Web site at http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/monkey-island/. Additional information from the original interviews with the Browns was also shared with the author, courtesy of Benham, and was woven into this account.

  17 CULL

  222 That Thursday broke bright and clear: This chapter is based on numerous news articles on the board meeting, especially Alexandra Zayas’s “Lowry Park’s Longtime Chief Forced to Resign,” St. Petersburg Times, and Baird Helgeson’s “Lowry Park Zoo Director Announces Resignation,” Tampa Tribune, both published on December 19, 2008. The author also relied on Web updates that these reporters and others filed even before the meeting was over. The account is also based on the author’s interviews with Salisbury and Sheppa and with two members of the Lowry Park board who voted that day.

  224 the nothingness of the hotel corridors: The descriptions of how the day felt to the reporters are based on the author’s interview with Alexandra Zayas.

  225 “You can’t possibly be serious”: Author interview with Marti Ryan, spokeswoman for Hillsborough County’s Animal Services.

  225 “in a car with the windows cracked?”: This scene is based on the author’s interviews with Elena Sheppa, Marti Ryan, and Corporal Denise Brewer, the animal services officer who cited Sheppa, as well as photos that Brewer took of the Pathfinder that day in the parking lot as part of her investigation. The author also relied on an article by Dennis Joyce, “Wife of Ex-Zoo Director Charged with Animal Cruelty,” Tampa Tribune, December 18, 2008.

  226 details trickled out: This account of the board meeting is based on the author’s interviews with Salisbury, with former board member Bob Jordan, and with another board member who wished to remain anonymous.

  227 board chairman went to the room: Based on the author’s interview with Lex Salisbury and on statements made by Robert Merritt, the chairman, during a press conference immediately after the board meeting.

  Epilogue DUSK

  228 search for a new executive director: Baird Helgeson, “Tampa Zoo Uses Vague Ad to Seek New CEO,” Tampa Tribune, September 30, 2009.

  229 “A business with two brands”: Quoted from a Lowry Park media release.

  229 “the number one zoo in America”: Heard by author repeatedly during calls to the zoo in the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010.

  229 Lee Ann remembered: This section, including the details of Bamboo’s and Sasha’s deaths, is based on the author’s interview with Rottman in early 2010.

  231 El Diablo Blanco stared into the flames: This section is based on the author’s interview with Salisbury and Sheppa at their ranch in Pasco County on February 28, 2010.

  232 clearly weary of the whole affair: Alexandra Zayas, “Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo and Former President Lex Salisbury Negotiate a Financial Settlement,” St. Petersburg Times, August 22, 2009.

  232 further prosecution is not warranted: Salisbury supplied the author with a copy of the letter.

  235 “the serial killer of the biosphere”: E. O. Wilson, The Future of Life, p. 94.

  235 golden frogs have all but vanished: Author interview with Kevin Zippel.

  236 a toddler, staring down a rhino: The author saw the poster during a visit to Mick Reilly’s home.

  236 “Nature . . . plays no favorites”: The author reported these scenes in Mkhaya, including the closing conversation at the watering hole, during an April 2007 trip to Swaziland.

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  SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

  “The Effects of Early Experience on Adult Copulatory Behavior in Zoo-Born Chimpanzees (Pantroglodytes),” Nancy E. King and Jill D. Mellen, Zoo Biology 13: 1 (1994); 51–59.

  “African Elephant Vocal Communication I: Antiphonal Calling Behaviour among Affiliated Females,” Joseph Soltis, Kirsten Leong, and Anne Savage, Animal Behaviour 70: 3 (2005); 579–587.

  “Anatomy of the Reproductive Tract of the Female African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) with Reference to Development of Techniques for Artificial Breeding,” J. M. E. Balke, W. J. Boever, M. R. Ellersieck, U. S. Seal, and D. A. Smith, Journal of Reproduction & Fertility 84 (1988); 485–492.

  “Aspects of the Reproductive Biology and Breeding Management of Asian and African Elephants Elephas maximus and Loxodonta africana,” T. B. Hildebrandt, F. Göritz, R. Hermes, C. Reid, M. Dehnhard, and J. L. Brown, International Zoo Yearbook 40: 1 (2006); 20–40.

  “Assessment of Elephant Management in South Africa”—powerpoint presentation delivered on February 25, 2008—authored by Bob Schole and 62 other elephant researchers.

  “Electroejaculation, Semen Characteristics and Serum Testosterone Concentrations of Free-Ranging African Elephants (Loxodonta africana),” JoGayle Howard, M. Bush, V. de Vos, and D. E. Wildt, Journal of Reproduction & Fertility 72 (1984); 187–195.

  “Elephant Communication,” W. R. Langbauer, Jr., Zoo Biology 19: 5 (2000); 425–455.

  “Elephant Culling’s Cruel and Gory Past,” article posted on International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Web site, http//www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=155902.

  “Liquid Storage of Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Sperm at 4°C,” L. H. Graham, J. Bando, C. Gray, M. M. Buhr, Animal Reproduction Science 80: 4 (2004); 329–340.

  “Managing Multiple Elephants Using Protected Contact at San Diego’s Wild Animal Park,” by Gary Priest, Jennine Antrim, Jane Gilbert, and Valerie Hare, Soundings 23: 1 (1998); 20–24.

  “Manual Collection and Characterization of Semen from Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus),” D. L. Schmitt, T. B. Hildebrandt, Animal Reprodu
ction Science 53: 1 (1998); 309–314.

  “A Review of Injuries Caused by Elephants in Captivity: An Examination of Predominant Factors,” M. Gore, M. Hutchins, and J. Ray, International Zoo Yearbook 40: 1 (2006); 51–62.

  “Reproductive Evaluation in Wild African Elephants Prior to Translocation,” Thomas B. Hildebrandt, Robert Hermes, Donald L. Janssen, James E. Oosterhuis, David Murphy, and Frank Göritz—from the proceedings of a 2004 joint conference of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, and the Wildlife Disease Association, pp. 76–77.

  “Responses of Captive African Elephants to Playback of Low-Frequency Calls,” William R. Langbauer, Jr., Katharine B. Payne, Russell A. Charif, and Elizabeth M. Thomas, Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 10 (1989); 2604–2607.

  “Rumble Vocalizations Mediate Interpartner Distance in African Elephants, Loxodonta africana,” Katherine A. Leighty, Joseph Soltis, Christina M. Wesolek, and Anne Savage, Animal Behaviour 76: 5 (2008); 1601–1608.

  “Semen Collection in an Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Under Combined Physical and Chemical Restraint,” T. J. Portas, B. R. Bryant, F. Göritz, R. Hermes, T. Keeley, G. Evans, W. M. C. Maxwell, and T. B. Hildebrandt, Australian Veterinary Journal 85: 10 (2007); 425–427.

  “Social Interactions in Captive Female Florida Manatees,” Jennifer Young Harper and Bruce A. Schulte, Zoo Biology 24: 2 (2005); 135–144.

  “Successful Cryopreservation of Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Spermatozoa,” Joseph Saragusty, Thomas B. Hildebrandt, Britta Behr, Andreas Knieriem, Jurgen Kruse, Robert Hermes, Animal Reproduction Science article in press, doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2008.11.010.

  “There’s No Place Like Home—‘The Swazi 11,’ a Case Study in the Global Trade in Live Elephants,” Adam M. Roberts and Will Travers, presented at the XIXth International Congress of Zoology, August 2004, Beijing.