I cannot think of a better way to communicate my New Year's wishes and Rain Bird's important environmental messages to the Parade's worldwide audience. The koala is one of the world's most charismatic and popular animals, but the rapid destruction of its native environment has resulted in a decline in the wild koala population. It is imperative that education and conservation efforts continue to be implemented to protect koalas in the wild and ensure their survival. |
I must say that in the last 20 years, I don't know of one zoo visitor that has been killed or maimed that bad by an animal in the zoo. Obviously, as zookeepers, our job tends to be dangerous at times. |
It's a close-knit sport, a family sport. That's why being here this weekend is special. This family - McCormick - is pretty legendary. |
The buck has to stop here - from what I've seen, the new elephant exhibit is phenomenal. |
The L.A. Zoo is a respected institution, the general manager is highly thought of, the L.A. Zoo is one of the top zoos in the world, |
The most important thing is to preserve the world we live in. Unless people understand and learn about our world, habitats, and animals, they won't understand that if we don't protect those habitats, we'll eventually destroy ourselves. |
The world is the true classroom. The most rewarding and important type of learning is through experience, seeing something with our own eyes. |
They knew people so well. They communicated so well. They understood politics, especially patronage politics. |
They were an unbeatable duo, |
We can't forget Pearl Harbor, but I'm afraid that we might. At one time we had some young people from some of the schools helping us out with the ceremony, and they didn't even know what Pearl Harbor was. That's so sad. |
We have a little armadillo named David now. It's a true story - they bred right on his desk. |
Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild. |