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| Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors | 
| Author: Phillip T. Robinson
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $10.81
You Save: $7.14 (40%)
New (29) from $10.81
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 393589
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 7 x 0.7
ISBN: 0231132492
Dewey Decimal Number: 590.73
EAN: 9780231132497
ASIN: 0231132492
Publication Date: March 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Please Do Not Annoy, torment, pester, plague, molest, worry, badger, harry, persecute, irk, bullyrag, vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the Animals. -- sign at zoo Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn't offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century -- and its gradual integration into the twentieth -- has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian's personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. Based on fifteen years of work at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, this charming book reveals the hazards and rewards of running a modern zoo. Zoos exist outside of the "natural" order in which the worlds of humans and myriad exotic animals would rarely, if ever, collide. But this unlikely encounter is precisely why today's zoos remain the sites of much humor, confusion, and, occasionally, danger. This book abounds with insights on wildlife (foulmouthed parrots, gum-chewing chimps, stinky flamingoes), human behavior (the fierce competition for zookeeper jobs, the well-worn shtick of tour guides), and the casualties -- both animal and human -- of ignorance and carelessness. Phillip Robinson shows how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected and describes the perils of working around dangerous creatures. From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it) and from operating on an anesthetized elephant ("I had the insecure sensation of working under a large dump truck with a wobbly support jack") to figuring out why a zoo's polar bears were turning green in color, Life at the Zoo tells irresistible stories about zoo animals and zoo people.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great real-life account of zoo life - past and present March 8, 2008
The author is very clear in his introduction to his book by saying that it is not a "how-to" book. It is instead a very insightful and anecdotal account of what it's like to be a veterinarian/zookeeper/curator in a zoo. His stories about his own experiences and historical accounts of advancements in the industry do well to remind us how far we have come and how far we have yet to go in caring for our animal charges. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the zoo industry and wants a better understanding of what it's like behind the scenes.
 Great general view of complexity of zoos October 18, 2007
This was an easy to read, very well described, first-hand account of the complexity of working in a first class zoo.
Of beasts and bureacracies December 5, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a delightful book. From the dust jacket to the illustrations and index, it is beautifully produced. The author, standing on the left in the dust jacket photo, provides an important inside look at life in the zoo. Robinson's career as a field biologist and zoo veterinarian at the world famous Zoological Society of San Diego provide him great insights into the minds of beasts and bureaucracies. Much of this book is will be great interest to historians of animal collections and veterinary medicine for exotics. However, any dedicated zoo patron will find this account rich and the book will reach a very broad audience among students of animal behavior, aspiring veterinarians, animal lovers and zoo keepers. The anecdotes are lively and poignant, and will resonant with those who have worked behind the scenes in similar facilities. I especially liked the tale of the infamous Ken Allen, an orangutan Houdini!
This is a book that needed writing and Phillip Robinson was the one to do it. A leading authority on zoo medicine, the author also proves himself a skillful writer and storyteller. Life at the Zoo should be at the top of your shopping list for any animal lovers or aspiring ethologists.
Witty, Funny and Infomed Look at Zoos November 21, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
"Life at the Zoo" opened up the zoo world for me and provided a long and candid glimpse into how zoos function. Before reading this book I couldn't imagine how anyone could begin to provide medical care for such a diverse population of animals. I got the feeling that I was looking over the fence, peeking through the cracks and peering over the shoulder of veterinarians, animal keepers and visitors. The author writes authoritatively about what animals experience in zoos and the grave responsibility that zoo personnel have in nurturing and protecting them from both people and themselves. I appreciated the parts that discussed wildlife conservation and ethics, and others about the construction of zoo exhibits and some of the nuts, including employees, who frequent zoos. This book made me a better informed zoo visitor. I now have more of a sense of purpose and understanding when I go to my zoo. One of the high points was the author's dry sense of humor and unassuming way of sharing his experiences. Anyone who likes animals and who is curious about the role of zoos in wildlife conservation will find this valuable.
 Bibliography's the highpoint November 14, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a zoo docent, I've read better books on related topics such as Hancocks' A Different Nature, and would give this 3 stars personally but maybe a 4 for the general public. In fact, Hancocks' book though published two years earlier has more current info on a couple specifics but it's also more academic in style.
Early chapters seem to feature quite a few zoo deaths of animals and keepers to grab your attention. Middle chapters feature vet-specific topics such as drugs and nutrition but not in any great depth. Lots of anecdotes make up most of the book, some amusing, many of which could have been left out with no loss.
I got the sense the book was written in bits and pieces. There are repetitions such as the nearly identical descriptions of elephant teeth on pages 157 and 222. Quite a few typos involving grammar and missing words, especially annoying in a book from a university press.
I'd call him a middle of the roader on animal issues--he now finds hunting of deer and rabbits distasteful, but still hunts ducks; he criticizes the extreme folks in both animal rights and animal experimentation. He's stronger on environmental issues and thinks zoos should become involved in local environmental issues such as the area's wildlife habitat and pollution.
The bibliography features description/comments on 22 zoo-related books on a variety of topics. Very good leads for people interested in further reading.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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