Outskirts Press, INC.

Working to Improve the Future for Wildlife

As a young boy growing up in southern California, Steve spent much of his time in nearby fields observing birds and other small animals. He had his own collection of alligator lizards, western toads and a desert tortoise named Myrtle behind the garage. In junior high school he started reading books by British zoologist, Gerald Durrell. From then on, he knew he wanted to work in a zoo and travel the world. After graduating with a degree in biology from the University of California, Irvine, he got his first job as an animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo. From there he went on to become the children’s zoo manager at the San Francisco Zoo and then became the director of the Sacramento Zoo. In the fall of 1988 he was recruited to be director of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, where he stayed until he retired in 2012. Sometimes managing a zoo is not much different than managing other organizations. Other times it is very different. The many stories told in this book illustrate unique decisions every zoo director must make on a daily basis. Throughout his career he traveled to observe wildlife, visited zoos and attended national and international zoo and conservation meetings. During his retirement he has continued this travel, especially leading safaris to Africa and other international destinations. He strongly believes that responsible ecotourism is very important in saving wildlife and wild places.