One to One with Bill Goodman:
John Walczak
premiered August 24, 2008
This edition of One to One with Bill Goodman, taped on location in the Gorilla Forest at the Louisville Zoo, features a conversation with zoo Director John Walczak.
The Gorilla Forest, which simulates a tour through an African wilderness, was named the Best Exhibit in North America by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2003. One of the stars of the exhibit is 49-year-old Timmy, the oldest male gorilla in North America. Timmy shares his home with several female gorillas and Mojo, a patas monkey previously owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart. Walczak uses the setting as a backdrop to outline plans for the zoo’s next big exhibit: Glacier Run, a $25 million habitat, scheduled to be completed in 2010, that will allow guests to observe polar bears close-up.
Walczak explains why he thinks a zoo makes a wonderful place for people to enjoy each other’s company—and even a good place for a first date. He then goes into modern zoos’ larger mission of allowing people to form a bond with the planet, thereby encouraging them to become conservationists. The Louisville Zoo, he says, is also an outstanding educational resource that annually hosts more than 100,000 student visitors, ranging from preschoolers to scholars in advanced degree programs.
Goodman and Walczak also discuss current events at the zoo, including the progress of baby elephant Scotty. Born in March 2007, Scotty was the first elephant ever born in Kentucky. Just past his first birthday, he weighed in at more than 1,400 pounds. Walczak recalls the preparation and planning involved in Scotty’s conception and birth, including a period of four months when zookeepers slept in the elephant barn in case the expectant mother needed them.
