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FeedThe Sky’s the Limit: Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo: Soaring to New Heights - part 1 of 4
An Interview with Dennis Pate, Zoo Director and CEO
That a city the size of Omaha supports a zoo the quality of the Henry Doorly is impressive to Dennis Pate, the zoo’s new Director and CEO. According to Pate, Omaha’s Zoo enjoys an outstanding reputation as one of the nation’s leading zoos, ranking in the Top 10. Most of its fellow contenders are located in larger metropolitan areas, making its esteem even more notable.
“The zoo exceeds people’s expectations,” Pate has witnessed. “It is outsized for the size of the city. Dr. Simmons was really a big thinker with long reaching projects.” Pate attributes the zoo’s outstanding quality to both his predecessor’s vision and ability to make that vision into reality.
An example of this vision currently under development is the upcoming Madagascar exhibit. Conceptualized during Dr. Simmons’s tenure as director, it will be realized under Pate’s direction. The Madagascar exhibit will be located between the gorilla complex and Garden of Senses. When it opens in the spring of 2010, the indoor and outdoor exhibit it will contain unique lemur species not found anywhere else in the world, bats, lizards and other animals indigenous to the Indian Ocean island. It will also include an orientation room for video projections.
Though cognizant of the wonderful facility of which he is now director, Pate would also like to update older parts of the zoo. On his short list: the elephant exhibit. Constructed in the 1960s, it has a dated feel. Space limitations prevent housing more than the two elephants currently on display. “We need acres for the exhibit, not square feet,” owns Pate. A larger space would allow the zoo to add four to six elephants to the pack, including a bull for breeding.
Other areas are ripe for improvement as well.
The Cat Complex is in need of refurbishing, having been built in the 1970s. Pate also will turn his attention to the bear exhibit and the Red Barn exhibit. The barn and adjoining yard house the petting zoo. Just up the hill, to the north of the barnyard, are older, caged exhibits of monkeys that seem out of place with the area’s farm theme.
Pate wishes to improve and update this entire region.
Guest amenities will also come under Pate’s scrutiny. He welcomes the high volume of visitors that come to Omaha’s Zoo but not the congestion at the front gate. Pate feels strongly that people should not have to wait in line to enter the zoo when they can be inside learning about its animals. New front gates with separate and additional entrances for zoo members and school buses are under consideration to alleviate this problem.
More bathrooms, especially by the zoo entrance, rerouted paths and a larger gift shop are also on the planning table.
Omaha’s Zoo has acquired the land once occupied by Rosenblatt Stadium. Exactly how the zoo will utilize all that property is undetermined, but Pate does know that at least some of it will be allotted for much needed parking.
Expanding and supporting existing programs while developing fresh ones is nothing new to Pate. As Executive Director of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida, Pate doubled zoo attendance, increased the budget and put the zoo on the map over his seven year tenure.
Pate’s first job after graduating from the University of Illinois was with Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Initially, he handled rabbits and guinea pigs for little zoo visitors in the children’s section of Lincoln Park Zoo. During his twelve year stay at Lincoln Park, Pate went on to become the senior keeper of the birds and assistant curator of mammals. His career path then took him to Portland, Oregon where he accepted the general curator position with the city’s zoo. Ten years later, he found himself back at Lincoln Park Zoo, this time as Senior Vice-President, until accepting the Executive Director’s job in Jacksonville in 2002.
Pate’s work experience is extensive. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and chaired the AZA Accreditation Commission. He has overseen research projects and veterinary medicine practices.
With his expertise, Pate also brings a keen appreciation for Omaha Zoo’s many strengths. Number one in Pate’s estimation is its “immersion” exhibits like the rain forest and desert dome. Traditional animal displays rely on encasing animals in cages or smaller, enclosed habitats, leaving the visitor with the definite sense of removal. Guests are set apart from the environment as outside observers.
Immersion exhibits seek to replicate an environment-including animal species, botanical life, even atmospheric conditions- that allow guests to become part of that environment instead of mere viewers of it. For Pate, the Desert Dome is an excellent illustration of an immersion exhibit. It recreates various deserts that span the planet, first by creating an authentic environment (think soil and sand), then through indigenous plantings, followed by the introduction of region specific animals and lastly through replicating necessary temperatures.
But the genius of the Desert Dome does not stop with the exhibit, maintains Pate; the building itself is important. Its elevated ceiling allows visitors to forget they are in an enclosed structure. Visitors become intrepid adventurers in the desert (minus the dehydration and scary bug factor) instead of playing voyeur at the city zoo. Acknowledges Pate: “The architecturally distinct building becomes part of the exhibit.”
Another draw is the zoo as a year round destination. In Omaha, where winters can last five or six months, it’s a godsend. The zoo remains a viable entertainment option when freezing temperatures and blustery weather requires us to take our enjoyment indoors. The warm, humid air of the rain forest may loose its allure in the sticky, summer months, but during the cold, dry winter, it’s a breath of fresh air.
And when Old Man Winter howls like a belligerent bear rudely awakened from his hibernation, it’s time to cast our thoughts to things tropical. While we may not be able to hop a plane bound for sandy beaches and salty sea air, a visit to the Scott Aquarium is a doable stand-in. Yes, the penguins and puffins in their arctic habitat are the first to greet you, but keep going. Round the corner and you are suddenly immersed in an underwater world where sharks swim overhead and colorful coral reefs provide the backdrop for gliding sting rays and schools of vibrant fish. You can almost smell the sun screen.
Also along the lines of fooling Mother Nature (or at least circumventing her for a short while) is the Kingdom of the Night, located under the Desert Dome. On a scorching summer day, a stroll “underground” where it is dark and cool is just the ticket. This immersion exhibit showcases the habitats and species of the planet’s nocturnal creatures. “It’s a whole other world,” enthuses Pate.
These world-class exhibits are what come to mind when Pate talks to Omaha’s citizenry about the zoo. What most do not know is the amount and quality of research and conservation study that takes place at the zoo. The public won’t remain unaware, for the research and development side of the Omaha Zoo truly excites it new executive director.
There exist four primary areas of study within the zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research: Comparative Nutrition, Conservation and Genetics, Plant Conservation and Reproductive Biology. The Center for Conservation and Research ranks with the best zoos in the United States. To illustrate, the Conservation and Genetics department has placed 28 graduate students in Madagascar to study its lemur population. Out of 100 documented species, the study has discovered twenty-two new ones. The Plant Conservation department has conducted DNA testing and then propagated ferns from Bermuda to be repatriated back to the island.
Endangered species of animals have had help in maintaining their respective populations through assisted reproduction thanks to the Reproductive Biology department. “A lot of zoos want to do what we are doing,,” says Pate. The depth of the program is unique.
“When you say ‘zoo’ here, people’s eyes light up,” Pate observes. With the new Madagascar exhibit opening next spring, older habitats brought up to date, and guest amenities improved, a day at the zoo will delight even more. Omahans already have a love affair with the Henry Doorly. Pate is working to intensify the romance.
