Saul Kitchener — director ran S.F. Zoo for 15 years with no-nonsense style

Saul Kitchener, the former longtime director of the San Francisco Zoo who presided with nononsense professionalism during an era of visiting pandas and escaping monkeys and jaguars, has died.

Mr. Kitchener died Feb. 7 of cancer in his Sonoma home. He was 76.

He loved all animals, especially primates, which were his specialty. Among primates, he loved the nonhuman species that were less inclined to countermand his directives.

During his years as director of the San Francisco Zoo, from 1975-89, Mr. Kitchener oversaw the 1984 visit of two Chinese pandas, the 1985 escape and seven-weeklong search for two patas monkeys, and the 1976 escape of a sore-footed jaguar from the zoo hospital. On that occasion, it was Mr. Kitchener him- self who fired a tranquilizer dart to recapture the animal.

During the 1980s, he also oversaw the construction and opening of the zoo’s primate center and the popular koala exhibit, called Koala Crossing.

A native of New York and graduate of the University of Maine, Mr. Kitchener was a curator at zoos in Oklahoma City, Omaha, Neb., and Chicago before being named director of the San Francisco Zoo in 1975.

“Saul didn’t mince words,” said his friend Mark Rosenthal, curator emeritus of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. “He was outspoken on subjects he was passionate about. To Saul, taking care of the animals was the easy part of running a zoo.”

After leaving the zoo in 1989, Mr. Kitchener began a second career as a repairer of fountain pens, first in a downtown stationery shop and later in his Sonoma home, where he resuscitated fine writing instruments from around the world.

“He thought they were stylish, elegant and beautiful,” said his son, Joshua. “He always had a lot of old pens all over the house, but sometimes it could be hard to find one you could actually write with.”

Mr. Kitchener was especially fond of dogs. During his final days, his beloved standard poodle, Bart, stood faithfully by his side.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and by his son, both of Sonoma. A private memorial celebration will be held in Sonoma.