Wild Zoofari Host Highlight’s

Saturday Library Program

By Nancy K. Crevier

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!

C.H. Booth librarian Alana Bennison is excited about a very special children’s program that will be presented at the library Saturday, March 24, at 2:30 pm. Newtown resident, television host, and wildlife educator Jim Knox will be on hand for an hour of fun and exploration with a few of his wild friends.

Mr Knox is the host of the new PBS wildlife series Jim Knox’s Wild Zoofari, a children’s educational program focused on wildlife conservation and filmed at some of the world’s premiere zoos and aquariums. It is the first wildlife series to secure the endorsement of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the DVDs were chosen as top video picks by Google in 2006. The Rhode Island Public Broadcast System has accepted the series for broadcast for the fall 2007 lineup.

Mr Knox is more than the star of a wildlife series. He is also a zookeeper and zoo educator with Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, with more than 15 years of zoo and field experience. Mr Knox, a 1988 graduate of Cornell University, has spoken at Yale University, University of Connecticut, and Fairfield University, as well as having given presentations for the CBS Early Show, WB Network, ABC and NBC news, and ESPN Outdoors. He is a wildlife consultant for The Children’s Television Workshop and as an educator for the Beardsley Zoo, has taken his show on the road to numerous tri-state area schools for the past ten years.

Growing up in Westchester County, Mr Knox found himself immersed in nature. “I was always out hiking, fishing, that sort of thing. And there were always deer, foxes, coyotes, and lots of other wildlife around there. I’ve always loved animals and working with animals.”

Following his graduation from Cornell — with a degree in applied economics and business management, rather than the animal science degree he had initially pursued — he gradually found himself drawn back to wildlife conservation. “I think you keep on gravitating toward what you love best,” he said.

Prior to joining the staff at the Beardsley Zoo as a predator keeper, Mr Knox worked at the Bergen County Zoo in Paramus, N.J. Presently, he works mainly with small to midsized animals that go out to the community programs. “At work, we wear a lot of hats,” he explained, and with one of his caps being that of a wildlife presenter for various organizations, it seemed logical to him to find a way to expand on that aspect of his job.

“I always wanted to do something like a DVD series,” he said. “As an educator, I can reach maybe 30,000 kids each year face to face. But [a DVD series] is a better way to reach more students, more quickly.”

Along with his brother, Bruce Knox, and director Robert Child, Mr Knox put together a proposal for a wildlife series and submitted it to PBS executives in 2005. They filmed 15 episodes in 2006, and were very pleased when two PBS offices made them offers. The choice to use an East Coast-based PBS station seemed logical to them, and they accepted the Rhode Island PBS offer.

Many of the episodes are animal specific, said Mr Knox, focusing on one animal family perhaps, or one species. A number of them are a sort of animal treasure hunt, though, in which Mr Knox guides four to six boys and girls through a zoo or aquarium. “We look at animal adaptations, diet, and habitat to yield clues to the identity of a secret animal. It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

Filming the series has been an amazing experience, said Mr Knox, with many memorable zoos and aquariums visited. “The Oregon Zoo in Portland was an amazing experience. They integrate the native fauna and topography seamlessly into the zoo environment. It is a beautiful place.”

Even more amazing, he said, was what he considers the highlight of the series to date. “With the National Aquarium of Baltimore, we were asked to accompany them for the release of a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle into the Atlantic Ocean off of Chincoteague Island in Virginia. The Ridley is the most endangered sea turtle, and this one had been tangled in fishing line, had a hook embedded in him, and was operated on and nursed back to health at the National Aquarium. [Releasing him back into the wild] was a really special occasion,” said Mr Knox.

The most gratifying thing about the whole series, though, said Mr Knox, is that while the scenery from place to place may change, the children and animals with which they work remain a constant, and a pleasurable constant, at that.

 Along with meeting Mr Knox, Newtown children will meet some of the fascinating creatures he works with and view special series clips at the March 24 program. Copies of the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo DVDs and Wild Zoofari Jr Alphabet Safari A-Z DVDs will be available for $12. Wild Zoofari Jr Alphabet Safari A-Z is designed for children aged 3 to 5, and was developed out of footage from filming that Mr Knox and his associates realized had visually arresting representatives of animals for all of the letters of the alphabet. As the father of a young child, he felt that it could be an ideal way to introduce younger children to the world of wild animals, and help them learn the alphabet. Mr Knox will sign the DVDs upon request.

For more information, contact Ms Bennison in the children’s department at 426-4533.