Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors

From Booklist
Zoos are the most popular attractions in the U.S., with attendance that annually outstrips all major professional sports combined. As Robinson, former director of veterinary services at the San Diego Zoo, states, caring for animals in a zoological park is a blend of art, science, and pragmatism. Zoos are still evolving from their bad old menagerie days, and the zoo profession has undergone major transformations in the past 30 years. The author has framed his treatise on the housing and care of zoo animals with his experiences in the profession, and the result is an intimate look at how animal exhibits are designed, how the animals are cared for, and how illness is detected in animals that want to hide any weakness. Enlivened with animal anecdotes, profiles of eccentric zoo staff, and stories he says are "better kept to myself," the author entertains while educating the reader. A well-annotated bibliography completes an excellent introduction to the zoo world that belongs in all libraries. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"His plain-spoken descriptions of these close encounters make for the most vivid reading." -- Julia M. Klein, Washington Post


Review
"Combines the very best in the development of zoo/wildlife medicine, zoo operation, and the evolution of the modern zoo.... Poignant and humorous." -- Lester Fisher, director emeritus, Lincoln Park Zoo


Book Description
From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it), Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian's personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. The book also tells how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected in patients and describes the hazards of working around dangerous creatures.+


About the Author
Dr. Phillip Robinson directed the veterinary medical program at the San Diego Zoo for ten years. He then became director of veterinary services and animal resources at the University of California, San Diego, for ten years. A founding member of the board specialty of zoological medicine of the American College of Zoological Medicine and a past president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, he has also worked on the medical problems of animals in private collections (including Siegfried and Roy's white tigers in Las Vegas) and has been on the design team for several major zoo-animal medical facilities in the United States.


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Robinson, a retired San Diego Zoo veterinarian, offers a thorough tour of zoos covering their history and issues of animal care, feeding, handling, and exhibition. Veterinary care, he reveals, has come a long way but is still sometimes primitive. Lacking prior cases, veterinarians often face uncertain treatment options (and some of the photographs show that this situation may be unsettling). The author highlights the veterinarian's sometimes adversarial relationships with the rest of the zoo staff adversarial until an animal falls ill, of course. His professional concern for animal care qualifies him to present fairly a comprehensive look at the animal welfare debate. An annotated bibliography is included. Readers looking more for humorous anecdotes than scientific insight should turn to Peter Brazaitis's You Belong in a Zoo!. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. Alvin Hutchinson, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


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