Dismissal of Zoo Director

The news of Thomas’ dismissal came as a great shock and disappointment to me as well as to many zoo employees, friends and supporters of the Los Angeles Zoo. Instead of celebrating Thomas’ 12th anniversary with the zoo, many of us are grieving the removal of a notable trailblazer for “our” zoo.

Under Thomas’ guidance, the zoo has become one of the top zoos in the United States. He has done an outstanding job with collecting and exhibiting animals in more naturalistic surroundings, thus in many cases eliminating cages and bars. His reconstruction of the animals’ environment has not only been a betterment for the well-being of the animals, but it has also made an environment more aesthetically pleasing for the public and community.

He has established breeding programs at the zoo for rare and endangered species such as the Indian rhino, bongo, wooly tapir, black rhino, gorilla and gerenuk. These programs have increased the captive population of these species and at the same time brought tremendous public awareness and support to the increasing problem of animal conservation.

He was actively involved in conservation programs that included salvage operations of wildlife in New Guinea, Belize and Brazil. And most meaningfully and significantly he was fully absorbed in the Sumatran rhino project, endeavoring to bring this extremely endangered, most fascinating creature to our city. It is of severe consequence that he is now unable to pursue this highly critical conservation project when the Sumatran rhino is listed as one of the top 10 most endangered species.

TERRI CHAPMAN

Burbank