Unleashing the Zoo Of His Dreams
Director Envisions Modernized Exhibits In D.C., Safari Tours at Front Royal Annex

By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 6, 2006

The new director of the National Zoo wants to open some areas of its sprawling Front Royal annex for regular public viewing of exotic animal herds, one facet of his ambitious plan to elevate the animal park's exhibits, research and operations to the "gold standard" over the next decade.

John Berry said he hopes to create a Northern Virginia attraction, with safari tours in open vehicles, that will outshine the San Diego Zoo's renowned Wild Animal Park. His vision also includes modernizing the zoo's exhibits and boosting its scientific research and education programs.

Set to open in September is the zoo's Asia Trail exhibit, featuring more space for the popular giant pandas and cub Tai Shan. Berry then hopes to break ground on a $60 million elephant facility, a three-year project to replace the 1930s-era Elephant House that would have six to eight different outdoor habitat areas.

"I don't want just a pretty zoo. I want to build the gold standard," said Berry, 47, who took over full time in October. He said his 10-year vision for the zoo, part of the Smithsonian Institution, would require major renovations and rebuilding the aging infrastructure "from top to bottom."

Berry, former executive director of the congressionally chartered National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was the top choice of a search committee to replace Lucy Spelman, who resigned as zoo director in 2004 amid concerns about management, animal deaths and deteriorating facilities.

A National Academy of Sciences committee, which reviewed animal care and zoo management at the request of Congress, reported last year that there were problems with record-keeping, preventive medicine, training and long-deteriorating facilities but concluded that most animals whose records it examined received appropriate care. The panel said the zoo had made important strides in correcting weaknesses but needed to do much more to regain its reputation as a first-class animal park.

Berry said his goal is to make the zoo the finest in the world by 2016. He said he will stress conservation concerns in zoo programs and adopt the latest environmentally friendly recycling technologies and alternative energy uses in everyday operations.

He also wants to make the park more user-friendly, perhaps by adding trams or a "skyway" to help visitors travel between the bottom of the zoo and the top. The three-quarter-mile hike, he said, is akin to climbing an 18-story building.

In an interview, Berry said he was not ready to put a price tag on the proposed 10-year overhaul of the zoo. "It's going to take a lot more resources," he said, adding that he hopes to persuade Congress, as well as private donors, to help.

The zoo, founded in 1889, is home to about 2,400 animals and has 365 employees. It has an operating budget of $31.7 million from Congress and capital funds totaling about $12.5 million and received $7.7 million last year from Friends of the National Zoo, its nonprofit support organization. It does not charge admission.

Berry said he is committed to a National Zoo with two campuses, the main 163-acre facility in Northwest Washington's Rock Creek Park, which draws about 1.8 million visitors a year, and the 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal. The Virginia facility offers summer camp programs for children and is open to the public only one day a year. Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence M. Small once proposed closing it to save money but backed off after widespread protest by scientists.

The center, Berry said, has been doing "Noah's ark" work to help build populations of highly endangered species and reintroduce them into the wild. These include the Scimitar-horned oryx, Przewalski's horse and Guam rail.

Berry wants to expand its programs for animal research and conservation education and add a breeding site for Asian elephants. He stressed that only 200 or 300 acres would be opened to the public to view animals on what he called "the prettiest property east of the Mississippi." He had no estimate of when this would happen, what it would cost or whether there would be an admission charge.

San Diego's Wild Animal Park is a popular 1,800-acre complex with protected habitat areas. Its Web site touts overnight camping adventures, guided walking tours and "intimate wildlife encounters."

As part of his reorganization, Berry has named several associate directors. Steven L. Monfort, a research veterinarian at Front Royal, heads conservation and science. Mara Mayor, a former director of the Smithsonian Associates, runs education programs. Fran Bernstein, Friends of the National Zoo's development and marketing director, has been reassigned to Berry's office to lead fundraising.

Timothy Walsh, an assistant professor at Washington State University, starts this month as the zoo's supervisory pathologist.

Berry is seeking someone to fill the key position of associate director for animal care.

Last summer, several outside veterinarians, including the zoo's former associate pathologist, raised new concerns about five animal deaths that occurred between December 2003 and December 2004, including a lion with a uterine infection that zoo veterinarians failed to spot.

A longtime veterinary resident provided much of the care for the five animals. Licensed in Mexico, he has worked at the zoo for 5 1/2 years but has not received a license to practice in the United States. The zoo said he planned to take a licensing exam last year but will now take it this spring.

"I hope we never have a misdiagnosis again," Berry said. He called animal care "job number one" and said he was "incredibly impressed" with the zoo's head veterinarian, Suzan Murray, and the four other zoo veterinarians and wants to hire a sixth to share the workload.

Animal-rights groups have questioned whether zoos, particularly those in cold climates, can offer sufficient space and the best environment for elephants. Berry said the zoo is making a commitment to help preserve the species.

"It's heading for the cliff," he said.

The new quarters, he said, would have one of the largest indoor natural surfaces for elephants in the United States and include a salt lick, mud bath, pool and other outdoor habitats. Elephants could be indoors or out, as they choose. He said the yard would be designed to keep much of it ice-free but noted that Kandula, the zoo's bull calf, likes the cold.

Berry, who receives a salary of more than $195,000, has hit the ground running since assuming zoo duties. The former congressional aide and Interior Department official has familiarized himself with every section of the park, even getting up before dawn to help deliver food from the animal commissary. He usually walks the two miles from his home to work.

As he drives around the zoo in a golf cart, he often calls out greetings to schoolchildren and other visitors. He has a special fondness for Maureen, the zoo's 28-year-old sea lion.

Upbeat about the challenges ahead, he concedes that it will take a lot of support from Congress and elsewhere to achieve his vision.

"Stick with me," he said, referring to lawmakers, "and in 10 years I'll give them a zoo that is worthy of the name National Zoo and that our nation and our city can be proud of."