PRUITT: Zoo Atlanta Grew From Scandal To City Jewel

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John Pruitt anchors Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m Monday through Friday with Monica Pearson. John has covered Georgia and the South for more than four decades. Now he’s weaving his unique perspective on history into issues that are important to Georgians today.

One of the joys of being grandparents is taking the children to Zoo Atlanta. All five of "the grands" never seem to tire of the experience.

They know the excitement of seeing the elephants at feeding time, the thrill of seeing a gorilla several feet away through the glass of the viewing area, the joy of standing amidst a flock of chirping, beautifully colored parakeets fluttering around the seed sticks being offered them, and the anticipation of knowing that a carousel ride awaits at the end of the tour. There is no more kid-friendly place in all of Atlanta.

While walking through Zoo Atlanta on a recent visit, I was thinking about how this remarkable public treasure came to be. It was a rocky path, indeed. Growing up in Atlanta, I remember my trips to the zoo as a child. The animals were kept in relatively cramped enclosures. A few rated open areas to roam a bit, but most were confined to cages.

Willie B, the zoo's only gorilla, named for former mayor William B. Hartsfield, was the zoo's premier attraction and beloved by all. But this magnificent creature was always alone in his glass cage, usually swinging listlessly on a tire hanging from the ceiling, watching flickering images on a television set that had been placed there for his entertainment.

While there were some improvements in the 50's and 60s, the zoo had major funding problems. There was deterioration of the facilities, and in 1984 a series of scandals put the zoo in a state of crisis.

Caged animals were dying of neglect. The favorite elephant at the zoo, Twinkles, crippled by arthritis, was sent to a North Carolina traveling circus where she died. Two Kodiak bears, while on loan to a roadside zoo, were put to death for "unruly" behavior.

Two tigers were in such bad condition they had to be rushed on a flatbed truck to the Auburn School of Veterinary Medicine, but they were too far gone and had to be euthanized. The zoo had no full time veterinarian, and the part timer who filled that need was accused of negligence.

As these incidents were exposed by the news media, the Bronx Zoo demanded the return of a monkey and an ape it had loaned to the Atlanta Zoo. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association expelled the Atlanta Zoo and ended its accreditation.

The American Humane Society labeled it one of the 10 worst zoos in the country. Amidst the cries of outrage from citizens came calls to close the zoo.

Mayor Andrew Young called in experts to find a way to end the crisis. One of those asked for advice was a young Georgia Tech professor named Dr. Terry Maple, a psychologist who had done much research on animal behavior and great apes in particular. Maple agreed to be interim director for a few months.

He ended up staying 17 years and transforming the zoo into something our city could be proud of.

Among Maple’s many achievements: bringing in many more gorillas to keep Willie B company and giving them a range to roam and trees to climb. Of course none of it could have happened without the strong support of the Atlanta Zoological Society and the citizens of Atlanta.

So, as you enjoy the zoo with your children, remember that a little more than 25 years ago its very existence was threatened. Were it not for a probing news media exposing the scandal, a mayor stepping in to resolve it, leaders rallying the community, people and corporations willing to give generously, and a key figure like Terry Maple undertaking the great challenge to bring the zoo into the mainstream, Zoo Atlanta might have never come to pass.

In historical terms, you can't realize where you are if you don't know where you've been. The next time you see Zoo Atlanta's gorillas frolicking in their wide open spaces, or the pandas chewing their bamboo in their spacious facility, or the latest exhibition of exotic creatures you've only seen in National Geographic, I hope you'll consider how far the zoo has come to get to where it is today.

It's great to know that Willie B lived to see it all happen.

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