ALUMNI NEWS

Modern-Day Noah Began His Journey at Mizzou

By Nancy Moen

Job description: kayak with river dolphins, lead safaris in Africa, convince communities to plant more butterfly-friendly plants, and oversee the care of hundreds of animals.

As a kid watching Marlin Perkins on TV's Wild Kingdom, Jeffrey Bonner wondered what it would be like to have such a cool career.

Now when he tells people that he has the best job in the world, he's not exaggerating. He has Perkins' job. Bonner, BA ’75 anthropology, is president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo.

“My degree in anthropology prepared me very well for graduate studies,” Bonner says. “Getting through grad school made it possible for me to pursue a great career in both museums and zoos, but it was all built on a solid undergraduate education.”

Although most people consider a float trip on the Colorado River an adventure, Bonner floats the Zambezi, checks research at the Galapagos Islands, and leads safaris to Botswana, Eritrea, Madagascar, and Costa Rica. Adventures such as these offer him the satisfaction of working to benefit endangered species and participating in global animal conservation programs.

Bonner has the helm of a zoo that's considered one of the top four in the nation and that functions as a center for wildlife conservation.

As a conservator, the Saint Louis Zoo establishes, preserves, and helps to save some critical animal habitats from deforestation. Its researchers track declining species and oversee studies of habitat. They keep detailed medical and genetic records of their charges in St. Louis and around the globe.

“I like the feeling of being able to make a difference in places,” Bonner says of the off-site work and research components. While working on a world zoo conservation strategy that will set the tone for the next 50 years, he's focusing some of his time on establishing a preserve in Madagascar.

Even with all that planet-altering work, this CEO still can take a break to feed the penguins.

Fur and feathers

It’s nearly lunch time when Bonner heads to the children's petting zoo, where a noisy parrot is shrieking for attention among the menagerie. Bonner plucks a sleepy spring hare named Twiggy from its nest. An armful, Twiggy is an unusual critter who resembles a cross betwen a rabbit and a cat. With short ears, a long tail and a pudgy, pink nose, Twiggy could challenge Shrek's Donkey for cuteness.

But this is reality, and there's a reason Bonner holds the hare securely. The animal has the surprising ability to cover 18 feet in one leap. Nonchalantly, Bonner brushes some white fur from his dark suit coat after returning a now-awake Twiggy to a handler. He bids the still-complaining parrot goodbye and heads off to a meeting.

Such opportunities keep a busy CEO’s blood pressure in the normal range, for even at zoos, there are difficult issues to manage. Favorite exhibit animals die, and so many species need help. Civilization encroachment on animal habitats expands. Poacher problems grow as more roads cut through rain forests and other habitat. Frogs are disappearing all over the world. Missouri's hellbender population needs a breeding program.

Bonner handles these issues with a confidence born of academic training and experience. He has master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University and was one of the last students to study under noted anthropologist Margaret Mead. Before taking the Saint Louis position, Bonner was president and CEO of the Indianapoliz Zoo and White River Gardens.

Among the current problems Bonner faces is the declining primate population. Gorillas and orangutans are in danger from poaching and habitat destruction. “We can't control animal populations around the world,” he says. “People have always eaten primates, but now the tools are AK-47s. They used to be bows and arrows.”

Also in need of help are the burying beetles, named for their habit of embalming and burying any dead quarry they find. “Maybe we can get the undertakers association to support this effort,” he says. And he’s only half-joking.

Safaris save the animals

People have loved the Saint Louis Zoo for more than 100 years. An estimated three million visitors come to commune with the animals annually.

“There’s a reverence for this zoo,” Bonner says. For its operation, the zoo draws property tax support of more than $13 million, donations from corporations and individual philanthropists, and free labor from a huge system of volunteers.

The zoo reaches out to a breed of animal-lovers who want to experience the animals in their native habitats. Zoo personnel lead public safaris as a method of linking research and conservation programs with visitor experience.

But any lay adventurer who signs on must be willing to serve as a philanthropist as well. “If you can afford to go on a safari, you can help us save the animals,” Bonner says.

Van Lear Black, BA '53 economics, of St. Louis joined a March 2003 expedition that Bonner led to game camps in Botswana and South Africa. It was Black’s fourth trip to Africa, and he appreciates the experience.

“These animals can't exist in our world,” he says. “When you go there, you see them in their world. There’s such a feeling of seeing it happen.”

Black was delighted as well with the Mizzou camaraderie in the group. Of the 14 people on that adventure, five were alumni: Bonner, Black, Jerry Ritter BS BA ’57, Karen Condie, BS Ed ’64, and Jack K. Higgins, BS BA ’49.

As Bonner says: “People are the problem and the solution. That's why it's nice to be an anthropologist in this job.”

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Last Update: November 15, 2007