Zoo’s furry, feathered ambassadors bring need for conservation efforts to life
Shane Gorbett and Jen Dew show off a serval cat’s jumping ability during the Wild Africa show.
The African wild cat leapt 10 feet in the air and effortlessly snatched its prey. In the wild, it could have caught a bird in tall savanna grasses.
But at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Wild Africa stage, the serval seized a feathered toy on the end of a stick. The feat wasn’t any less impressive, though.
The audience gasped. And within minutes, a standing-room-only crowd gathered on the humid July afternoon to watch an educational demonstration involving a variety of zoo critters.
When the show ended, guests had an opportunity to meet some of the animals, including Nico, a bluethroated macaw taking cash donations in his beak for a tortoise conservation program.
Five-year-old Corbin Kneisley, of Washington Court House, didn’t leave the stage’s edge until zoo employees carted away the last animal, a snake he
petted without flinching. His grandmother grinned in disbelief.
“He doesn’t even like snakes,” said Tonya Pollock, 48.
While guests watched the animals, Suzi Rapp, the zoo’s vice president of animal programs, watched the people and smiled.
Since its creation 30 years ago, the animal programs department has come a long way from being just one of Jack Hanna’s pioneering visions as the new zoo director. It’s now an operation with 25 year-round employees and 188 animals representing 83 species.
They travel to Hanna’s TV programs and public presentations, but also participate in educational demonstrations at the zoo, including the Wild Africa show, new this year.
In the 1980s, it was just Rapp lugging wildlife behind the scenes, apologizing to hotel staff if an ornery cheetah clawed expensive upholstery or a penguin wandered into a hallway. With 34 years at the zoo, she’s second only to Hanna in years of experience.
“It started as a one-person show, and A baby cheetah sits in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s promotions office. The cheetah was one of three that vice president of animal programs Suzi Rapp rescued from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas.