Watchingthe

Vikram Dewan WG’78 is leading the transformation of the venerable Philadelphia Zoo.

BY JOANN GRECO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS CRISMAN C’03

58 SEPT | OCT 2014 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE SEPT | OCT 2014 59 ikram Dewan WG’78 is sit- million operating budget in such a way they would benefi t from certain stimuli— ting at a table in a shaded that the zoo’s 1,300 animals—and its 1.27 such as toys, ropes and pulls, the chance Varea of the Philadelphia million visitors each year—are a happy to hunt for hidden food, and piped-in Zoo, watching a Canada lot. At the same time, he’s overseeing a acoustics that mimic the sounds of prey. goose waddle its way around the seating series of capital projects that are trans- Lately, the focus is once again on their area. Eventually the goose extends its forming America’s oldest zoo—which environments, with a goal of not just help- neck upwards for a better look. opened in 1874 on property once owned ing them get more exercise and experi- “It wants to know what’s going on,” by William Penn’s grandson, John—into, ence a greater variety of sights, smells, Dewan says. “I’m aware that I should try arguably, its newest. The last fi ve years and sounds (including those of their po- to stay away from terms like wants to, have seen a new avian center, a new park- tential prey or predators) but also of giv- but I recognize that watching animals ing structure, a new children’s zoo, and, ing them the chance to make choices. helps us understand our place as human most notably, the inauguration of an am- “The idea of rotating zoo animals in beings and puts us on a path to empathy.” bitious system, called Zoo360, of metal and out of spaces is not brand new,” says Dewan, the 60-year-old president and mesh-covered, tube-like “trails” that Andrew Baker, a zoologist who’s been at CEO of the venerable zoo, also listens to swoop through the property both over- the Philadelphia Zoo for 22 years and is animals, a trait that becomes clear when head and on the ground, connecting now its chief operating offi cer. “The Atlanta he talks about Tony, a Southern white rhi- habitats of varied species. By allowing Zoo has a facility along those lines for noceros. “He’s very docile, and loves to get animals to experience, and share, environ- gorillas, and in Louisville an exhibit called his belly rubbed,” he says. “I frequently ments outside of their normal habitats, Islands features multiple species, includ- turn to him for advice. He recognizes my the trails also give the zoo—hemmed in ing orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and wild voice; he responds.” (Kira, a female Amur by West Philadelphia neighborhoods and pigs, found in places like Indonesia. tiger, on the other hand, is “very good at Fairmount Park and confi ned to the same “Allowing animals to travel has been ignoring me,” he says with a sort of rueful 42 acres it’s always had—an opportunity done before, too,” Baker continues. “The admiration. “It’s no surprise, I guess, that to make the most of its limited space. poster child for that is the National Zoo’s I absolutely adore her.”) Orangutan Transportation System—the Dewan pays considerable attention to In his 1977 essay “Why Look at Animals?” so-called “O Line”— which was ground- the zoo’s two-legged animals as well. He John Berger sounded a rallying cry for a breaking. It allows the orangutan to adheres to the credo of Management By kind of anti-zooism that still reverber- swing on an overhead suspended cable Walking Around, chatting up members ates, albeit to a lesser degree than it once from the great ape house down to a space of the 400-person staff and asking ques- did. “Adults take children to the zoo to they call the Think Tank, an exhibit that tions of hundreds of interns and volun- show them the originals” of their toy examines animal cognition.” teers. Having worked in human resourc- animals, he carped. Once there, he con- What no other zoo has done before, es for Wachovia Bank before becoming tinued, the animals seem “lethargic and though, says Baker, is “put these two a regional president, he understands dull … isolated from each other and with- pieces together—animal rotation, which that, in a service business, interactions out interaction between species.” But is often likened to time-sharing, and with people are key. anyone who’s been to a zoo in the last animal travel. Plus, we’re blowing the “Within a much smaller organization, decade or two knows that things have ideas up, campus-wide.” it becomes that much more important,” changed dramatically since then—and, The system emerging at the Philadelphia he says. “I’m surprised, actually, by how in some places, had already been chang- Zoo has been unveiling itself in stages, much people are willing to share—and a ing for some time. New York’s celebrated, year by year. First came the Treetop Trail, lot of it is good. I try to carve out at least 265-acre Bronx Zoo opened its fi rst out- for small arboreal species like blue-eyed an hour a day to be a part of that. Some door enclosure, African Plains, in 1940. lemurs, which opened near the main en- days, it’s much more—I might spend the Though it took others a while to catch trance in 2011 and was expanded in 2013 whole day out there.” up, a rough trajectory of zoo history has to stretch toward the new children’s zoo; Dewan is short and stocky, with curly them shifting from collections assem- it now spans a total of 1,735 feet. In 2012, dark hair, and round glasses. Not for him bled simply for the watching of wild the 200-foot Great Ape Trail opened, giv- the khaki shorts and T-shirts of most animals to organizations with a mission ing orangutans and gibbons roaming zoo personnel; even on a hot day, he’s to watch out for them. In this model, the privileges. This summer, the 330-foot likely to be found wearing a white shirt, zoo became a vehicle for education and Big Cat Crossing emerged, showcasing gray slacks, and black loafers. His man- conservation. (Signifi cantly, the Bronx tigers and leopards and jaguars in all of ner is deliberate—he never loses track of Zoo’s manager, the New York Zoological their magnifi cence. a question’s multiple prongs—but enthu- Society, re-named itself the Wildlife Next year plans call for fi ne-tuning and siastic, his voice rising as he refl ects on Conservation Society in 1993.) expanding all three trails. The Great Ape an environment, and a set of duties, he Next, the art and science of behavioral Trail will grow, permitting gorillas to clearly loves. The opportunity to meta- enrichment emerged, based on a new un- enter the picture; the ground portion of phorically talk to the animals, he adds, derstanding that captive animals not only the Big Cat trail will expand so that it makes his the “best job in the world.” deserved bigger and more realistic rendi- takes the felines alongside Bird Lake He’s held it since 2006, managing a $25 tions of their natural habitats but that and parallels the Great Ape Trail over-

60 SEPT | OCT 2014 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE head; and a fairly short but critical exten- sion of the Treetop Trail will connect small primates to the Great Ape portion. The following year promises to intro- duce the pilot phase for a ground-level trail that will see zebras, rhinos, giraff es, hippos, and other large, hoofed stock walking (not necessarily at the same time) past zoo-goers in the manner of a train at a railroad crossing. By the end of the decade, most of the mammal col- lection will tie into the trail system, with the area vacated by the old children’s zoo to serve as a central meeting space, “lit- erally a watering hole,” as Baker notes. So far, there have been some surprises. “We initially thought the trails would be a way to get animals from one place to another, but now we’re seeing that they view them as habitats in their own right,” Baker observes. “Whether it’s temperature mammals. “I was part of the selection A time traveler from 1874, the year the or other conditions, they’re deciding, ‘This committee that chose him and was im- zoo opened, would recognize the entrance, is where I want to rest or spend some time.’” pressed by his commitment to the zoo but not much else. The behavioral opportunities those becoming the best in the world. We had trails provide are “pretty profound,” he been doing good work over the past 20 school that would best allow me to put continues. “The company you keep is no years, but he had very exciting and en- together a program to study fi nance with longer defi ned by the enclosure. I don’t ergizing ideas about enlivening the guest a bent toward community service.” want to ascribe motivations, but we see experience while forwarding our mission The pull of fi nance led him to a long this happening over and over again. It’s to create the best environment for the stint in banking. One of Wachovia’s cli- pretty fun to watch.” animals in our collection.” ents was the Philadelphia Zoo, and when Within the next year or so, Baker adds, While Dewan has been an avid student the position of president opened, sev- the zoo will more formally study and mea- of zoo trends, he is neither an animal eral members of the zoo’s board recom- sure this usage and will apply cognitive behaviorist nor an exhibit designer. True, mended Dewan as a qualifi ed candidate. bias testing, which comes out of human he owns a brood of eight cocker spaniels “The board was looking for a diff erent psychology, to measure mental-health and fondly remembers taking his kids to approach,” he says. “It was apparent that traits (such as optimism) in animals that the zoo. But his familiarity with animals its model wasn’t sustainable—it needed have participated in the trail network. was likely at the bottom of the checklist a long-term fi nancial strategy. There was The projects are all part of a 10-year mas- when the zoo’s board selected him to re- a book out around the time, one of those ter plan that the zoo adopted in 2010 to place its long-time leader, Alexander management-guru titles, called Blue guide its physical development. The plan “Pete” Hoskins, who at least had an ex- Ocean Strategy. Basically, it suggested was formulated with Philadelphia’s CLR tensive record of public service, including that the organization that opts to do Design, which has a long history of creat- posts at the city’s Streets Department and things diff erently than expected can do ing pioneering zoo exhibits (including the Fairmount Park Commission. By choosing really well.” Philadelphia Zoo’s PECO Primate Reserve), a career fi nance guy who knew how to Faced with signifi cant shortfalls for and Jon Coe, a co-founder of that fi rm who read a spreadsheet but had no idea how planned projects, the zoo’s leaders didn’t has since left to start his own consultancy to spread hay, the 32-member board took need much convincing. in Australia. It builds on an earlier exhib- a leap that raised eyebrows. “We have some of the best zookeepers, it, First Niagara Big Cat Falls, which uses some of the best educators in the world,” short bridges and tunnels to link outdoor was love that fi rst brought board chairman Peter Gould told The enclosures and an indoor education center Dewan to Philadelphia. Philadelphia Inquirer in announcing so that the six species can visit each other’s IT “My wife grew up in Penn- Dewan’s hiring. “We didn’t feel like we habitats. The $20 million exhibit opened sylvania, and we picked our graduate had to reach out into the community for in 2006 and won an award from the schools together,” he explains. (He was that set of skills. We needed all the oth- Association of Zoos & Aquariums. born in Iran to Indian parents and came ers.” It wasn’t long before other zoos, “Vik’s arrival dovetailed nicely with to the States to attend Cornell Univer- such as Zoo Atlanta and the Houston that opening, which had been in the sity, where he studied economics and Zoo, began opening their doors to chief works for a while,” says Baker, whose government.) “Jami selected Temple, and executives with successful careers in the fi rst gig at the zoo was as its curator of I chose Wharton. I was looking for the fi nancial world.

THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE SEPT | OCT 2014 61 Big Cat Crossing—and checking out the humans below.

Once on board, Dewan proposed a path to fi nancial sustainability that empha- “I rock at my grandkids’ show-and-tell,” sized looking further ahead and building on success. Dewan says. “I can definitely deliver in the “What typically happens for most zoos, and we were no exception, is that they build, very competitive world of grandparents.” say, a $20 million exhibit that generates a lot of excitement and then attendance $21.5 million when he arrived, Dewan and boats as she takes a selfi e with her son, spikes and everyone’s happy,” he explains. the board began an aggressive program to who’s just had his face painted. “They’re “After a year or two, the levels go back down. reduce it while at the same time increasing creating memories. The zoo appeals to This saw-toothing hinders you from making the endowment. The successes weren’t as every facet of the greater Philadelphia further investments, since you can’t reliably quick and hearty as a strategic plan called community, and to be involved in an or- predict revenues. Plus, you fi nd yourself for—the economic downturn of 2008-2009 ganization that reaches out to so many— lacking the resources to maintain the mega- got in the way—but by 2012, the debt had and so many diverse—people has tremen- exhibits you’ve created.” been cut by 21 percent, the endowment dous resonance for me. Around the time One way the zoo is keeping attendance boosted by 16 percent, and the annual draw I learned about this job, I had been think- on an even keel, he says, is by extending from that endowment was down to four ing a lot about how and where I could its “high season” beyond the traditional percent, a fi gure that put the zoo in align- make the best contribution. Seeing the Memorial Day-to-Labor Day and adding ment with not-for-profi t best practices. zoo at such an interesting crossroads in two months on either end. (It is, of course, Endowments and major donors (the 2006, it seemed that I could off er a lot.” open in the dead of winter, too.) In fact, zoo receives no operating funding from It off ered some benefi ts to Dewan as well. thanks to revved-up marketing, new in- the cash-strapped city) both help, says “I rock at my grandkids’ show-and-tell,” he door exhibits, and increased program- Dewan, but it’s critical that visitors con- says. “I can defi nitely deliver in the very ming related to the zoo’s pet environmen- tinue to stream in—and come back often. competitive world of grandparents. tal projects (including water conservation “The family who spends $120 for a “But in many ways, this is the most and protecting orangutan habitats from household membership is our primary complex job I’ve ever had,” he continues. deforestation by pushing for a sustainable driver,” he says. “Everything we do re- “Unlike in the for-profi t world, which is palm-oil industry), the busiest month for volves around keeping them engaged primarily focused on the bottom line and the last few years has been April. and delivering meaningful experiences. shareholders, the zoo has a very broad The numbers are encouraging in other “I love watching our guests,” he contin- sector of stakeholders, each with a dif- ways as well. Faced with a peak debt of ues, pointing to a woman near the swan ferent set of needs. It’s important for me

62 SEPT | OCT 2014 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE to be attuned at various times—or some- But kids dominate the scene on a Saturday ence it was to get on the school bus and times at the same time—to what a com- later in June, clustering especially at the go to the zoo.” Danzinger began donating munity partner or donor or visitor needs, new $32 million Hamilton Family to the zoo about 10 years ago, after his not to mention, of course, the living col- Children’s Zoo & Faris Family Education success in buying, selling, and turning lection. It can be hard to put all of the Center—or, as it’s more zippily referred around businesses led him to consider pieces together and to measure impacts.” to, KidZooU. Front and center, about 10 a more active philanthropic plan. “When kids are clambering up the twisting steps I thought about it, I realized that inspir- an early-summer weekday at and across the steel bars of a structure ing the next generation was very impor- IT’Sthe zoo, and at the $2.3 mil- that stands a few feet away from a simi- tant to me. And the zoo hits a lot of those lion Big Cat Crossing, a pair of male tigers lar one designed for goats. They’re all notes in terms of getting that next bus- has come to rest at the end of the tubular participating in what’s known as “paral- load of kids to the zoo, having an impact trail, which slopes off to ground level near lel play,” with the animals and the kids on a region that’s not always the most Bird Lake. The two-year-old twins, Dmitri mimicking each other. Nearby, a boy and prosperous, and then, on a more global and Wiz, sit facing each other, oblivious a girl peer into a fancy green-roofed pi- basis, impacting the environment. It’s a as a lunchtime crowd swarms to the win- geon loft whose cubby holes serve as unique triple play, and a lot of that is due dows of Tiger Terrace, the cafeteria that home for a gorgeous assortment of to Vik. He’s done a great job to bring overlooks the lake, for a closer look. snowy, downy birds that bear no resem- leadership and a cohesive vision to the Laura Houston, director of conserva- blance to anything fl uttering around zoo that went beyond what it had already tion engagement, is there, too, sharing Rittenhouse Square. Mostly, though, the determined for itself.” information. She divulges the names of kids line up to enter a children’s zoo the tigers, their ages—“They’re not full mainstay, the corral where they can pet grown; they’ll get to be around 500 sheep and goats. But in this case, many ewan has a good deal more pounds”—and the fact that they have re- of the inhabitants are extremely rare, a up his sleeve. cently arrived from the Columbus Zoo gift from Campbell Soup heiress “As a legacy organiza- in Ohio. As the tigers stretch, then stand Dorrance “Dodo” Hamilton, whose SVF tion, we want to honor that in tandem, Houston says: “They love Foundation is dedicated to collecting 19th-centuryD history and we don’t ever watching the swan boats. Lord knows and reintroducing heritage breeds on a want to grow at the expense of forgetting what they think they are.” research farm in Newport, Rhode Island. that mission,” he says. “But we recognize Eventually Dmitri tires of his brother Certifi ed LEED Gold (for Leadership that there is a need and an imperative and lopes off . He starts back onto the trail, in Energy & Environmental Design), for innovation, to keep on making us disappearing from view until a murmur KidZooU represents the largest capital better.” of excitement ripples through the zoo, an project in the zoo’s history, and off ers And so, in wide-ranging conversations, indication that he has appeared on the dramatic improvements over the old he and other zoo leaders dream about overhead portion of the trail that spans space—which opened more than 75 years convincing SEPTA to add a rail station the main visitor path. There, dozens of ago as the fi rst children’s zoo in North outside its historic Frank Furness gates people line either side of what is a literal America. This two-and-a-half-acre site and ponder how to take advantage of tech- catwalk that runs some 14 feet overhead. is much bigger and more prominently nologies like GPS so that zoo-goers can “Awesome,” says one woman, holding located near the zoo’s main entrance keep track of animals as they move about. the shoulder of a boy who looks to be gate, on land that was vacated a few years They talk of enhancing the guest experi- about fi ve and pointing: “Look, look at back (when the zoo moved its hippos and ence with new restrooms, restaurants, how big he is.” rhino and divested itself of its four ele- gift shops, even a boutique hotel. And “Look at his teeth!” the boy shouts in phants). The move also freed up a distinc- they think about expanding the menu of response. tive building designed in 1940 by Penn things to do and times to do them—such “Just two years old, and carrying all architecture professor Paul Philippe as the annual Summer Ale Festival, a that weight,” a man murmurs, perhaps Cret. The exhibit, designed by locally nighttime party fi lled with food trucks, thankful that the kid strapped to his based SMP Architects, incorporates such craft brewers, and musicians. chest isn’t quite that heavy. popular aspects of its predecessor as the And, of course, they envision new ways “There’s this notion, which can some- duck-feeding pond, then ups the ante of helping us watch animals. On a midday times be hard to get around, that the zoo with the rare domestic animals as well walk through Big Cat Crossing, Dewan is just for kids,” says Dewan. “But when as a new indoor component and an em- passes a lion napping, a snow leopard you look at our demographics, you see phasis on how kids can join in the con- dozing, a jaguar slumbering on an over- that that’s not true at all. We see sig- servation eff orts. head trail. nifi cant multi-generational attendees For Mike Danzinger W’80, the new “If we were here at night, having dinner and guests who are 50 or older.” kids’ area was a major factor in his fi nal at the zoo with a jazz combo in the back- He pauses to indicate one such couple capitulation to a six-month “courtship” ground, they’d all be up and about,” he walking hand-in-hand, nary a little one to join the zoo’s board. enthuses. “Just imagine it.”◆ in sight. “It makes a great fi rst date,” he “I grew up in Camden,” he says, “and I JoAnn Greco, a frequent Gazette contributor, says with a small smile. remember what a mind-blowing experi- is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia.

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