“Wouldn’t it be
wonderful to have a zoo in San Diego? I believe I’ll build one”
- -Dr Harry Wegeforth
Nearly one hundred years ago, the City of San Diego held the Panama-Pacific Exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. During the course of the exposition over 3 million people visited Balboa Park and no visitor would prove to have more of an impact on our city than Dr. Harry Wegeforth of Maryland. Dr. Harry served as a physician as well as a member of the Board of Directors for the exposition. In the last days of the expo, Harry Wegeforth heard the roar of a lion in the distance. Upon hearing this, he wondered what would become of the exotic animals brought in for the exposition; as the animal handlers could not afford to have them shipped to their original locations. Then and there he decided to start the San Diego Zoo.
Within weeks, Dr. Wegeforth had secured deeded land from the
city, enabling him to exhibit the first animals in what would become known
today as one of the greatest zoological organizations in the world.
Dr Wegeforth was ahead of his time in many ways. Rather than
showcase animals in enclosures made of cold, dreary iron bars, he decided to
use moats that were out of the view of the visitor, giving guests an
unprecedented eye-level view of lions, tigers and other majestic beasts. While
those enclosures look ancient these days, when they first opened they were at
the forefront of zoo technology. He was among the first to recognize the
importance of long term care and conservation of animal populations; rather than
simply putting them on display as a money making venture.
Long after Dr
Wegeforth passed on, the Zoo remained at the forefront of zoo, establishing
itself as the premier zoo on earth. Almost 70 years after Ellen Scripps donated
the funds for the original lion grotto, the African Rock Kopje exhibit opened.
This set a new standard as a fully man-made exhibit that looked and felt like
the animal’s natural habitat. The rock kopje is still one of my favorite
exhibits; if it’s a slow enough day you really can feel like you’ve been
transported to another continent. You’ll get the same feeling at any number of
immersive exhibits. If you haven’t strolled down Tiger River just before
closing time, do yourself a favor and do it.
Just six years after the zoo opened, Dr Wegeforth asked
local electrician Laurence Klauber for help identifying a few snakes the zoo
had acquired. This began a career in herpetology that lasted nearly four
decades and Klaubers writings, now over 50 years old, are still considered the
definitive writings on rattlesnakes. In addition, he identified over 50 new
reptiles and amphibians and since then, scientific (latin) names of 14
different species have been named after him. Who knows what career Laurence
Klauber would have had if it were not for Dr. Harry!In 1925, the zoo was in need of an executive director and Dr Wegeforth asked a bookkeeper named Belle Benchley to step in for the time being. Mrs. Benchley held the position for the next 28 years and during that time, she was one of the only female Zoo Directors in the world.
In 1975 Dr. Kurt Benirschke urged the Society Board to
create a “frozen zoo” of embryos that would come to be known as the Institute
for Conservation Research. This research has led to the survival of countless
endangered species and animals that were previously extinct in the wild are
consistently being introduced into their original habitats.
One of their greatest success stories is of the California
Condor. In 1987, only 22 condors remained in the wild. All were captured and
brought into breeding programs established by the Zoological Society of San
Diego in conjunction with the Los Angeles Zoo. There are now over 400 condors
living in the wild and in zoos. They would have been extinct had it not been
for the roar that Dr Wegeforth heard a century ago.
In addition to captive populations the Zoo has through San
Diego Zoo Global; established conservation programs at over 200 locations
worldwide. In an innovative approach reminiscent of Dr Wegeforth’s far-seeing
ideas, the zoo has helped local artisans in finding other ways to earn an
income that is more in harmony with the natural environment rather than the
ages-old ways of harvesting, buying and selling of meat, pelts and the like
with little to no regard for the natural balance.
I often wonder where the animal rights whackos are when the
Zoo is doing such tireless work towards wildlife and habitat conservation. Many
are quick to speak up when they get a new elephant and now some are even trying
to sue Sea World for slavery, claiming that they are holding Killer Whales
against their wills. They’ll throw paint on people who wear furs, but they
won’t even acknowledge the fact that the Zoological Society of San Diego and
similar organizations around the world have dedicated their entire existence to
saving animals. But rather than pay lip service to those who only wish to bring
down the good work of others, I choose to pay tribute to that work. Holding up
a sign and calling zoo employees “murderers” and “slave owners” does nothing
for wildlife. Tireless research, work and public education does. And I am so
very grateful to have grown up in San Diego always within a 15 minute drive
from the World’s Greatest Zoo. And I’m even more grateful that I now have the
opportunity to share Dr. Wegeforth’s legacy with my children.
A century ago Dr. Wegeforth heard a roar in Balboa Park.
That roar signaled the dawn of a new age of animal care and research.
What roars have you heard, and where could it possibly lead?
Hope to see you at the Zoo or Safari Park sometime.
Rudy
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