Ape Advocates
By Brenda Posada© Los Angeles Zoo View, Winter 2008
More than 1,600 individuals and organizations contributed funds to the construction of Campo Gorilla Reserve. The motivations behind their donations are as diverse as the donors themselves, but one thing holds constant: their love for and fascination with gorillas.
"Gorillas are the most fascinating animals that walk the face of the earth," says Gary Kaplan, who has served on the Board of Trustees for GLAZA since 1997. "They're remarkably similar to us in many ways--behavioral patterns, intelligence, group dynamics. They truly are kin to humanity."
For retired music executive Roz Schrank, seeing gorillas firsthand in Africa inspired her to take action on their behalf. "I have seen gorillas in the wild, and I have seen gorillas in zoos," she says. "And because of the disappearance of their natural habitat, it is important that we keep these animals alive for future generations to enjoy."
A personal connection with one of the Zoo's gorillas is what prompted docent Barbara Dawson to help build them a new home. "I love Evelyn," she explains, describing the gorilla matriarch as "a character." Dawson, who got to know the gorillas quite well during more than 20 years of zoo service, visited the family troop during their four-year stay at the Denver Zoo. "Evelyn was way across the exhibit, and I called her name, and she came running over to me," Dawnson recalls, describing the emotional moment when she knew that Evelyn recognized and remembered her.
Carole Stepp, an L.A. Zoo docent since 1970, also has close ties to the gorillas. In 1978, the Zoo celebrated the birth of two gorilla babies, Cleo and Brutus. In those days, it was customary for the infants to be hand-raised in the nursery, and Stepp was chosen to assist keepers in caring for them. "We got to sit in the nursery window with the babies, and let them crawl on us," she says. Cleo passed away in 2000, but her legacy lives on at the Zoo: her son Kelly is the silverback of the family troop.
Stepp feels a special connection to Kelly, and to the species as a whole. "Once you fall in love with gorillas, that's it."
To each of these donors, contributing to Campo Gorilla Reserve extends beyond giving our gorillas a better home--it's also about participating in the preservation of the species. "I worry a great deal about the fact that these creatures are increasingly endangered, and I want us to do whatever we can as an institution to play a role in their conservation," Kaplan says. "Part of that conservation role is exposing the children of our region to gorillas, so when they grow up they'll want to make certain they don't become eradicated in the wild."
Dawson likens zoos to "living, breathing museums" and says, 'If not for zoos, many animals would no longer exist anywhere." Schrank echoes this sentiment. "When I see people coming into the Zoo, I think, 'Good. They've got to see these animals before they are gone.'"
To learn how you can join the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association in its mission to support the Zoo's capital projects, conservation, or animal care programs, please contact Genie Vasels at 323/644-4767 or gvasels@lazoo.org
