Peter Luscomb

General Curator, Honolulu Zoo

Today's Date: 3 Oct 06

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

I spent five years as a child in Puerto Rico and during that time I had the opportunity to have horses. Horses gave me the ability and excuse to spend many hours out in the forest where I lived. It was during this period that I developed a love for exploring and enjoying nature.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

My fondest memories are of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming . What a beautiful location with wonderful wildlife.

Now? Kuper Range in Papua New Guinea.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) A beautiful bird with a charismatic and great personality.

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

human population and the impact we have on our environment

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Conservation is about people and the impacts that they make on our ecosystems in the process of living. Many of our practices are exploitive, degrading and non sustainable. If these practices continue then the ecosystems we live in will be eventually degraded. As a conservation manager it is our responsibility to put value on maintaining an intact ecosystem, and encourage using the resources of that ecosystem on a sustainable basis.

The primary concerns are with habitat loss, ecosystem degradation, and exploitation of resources. Our work will need to focus on people, assisting them in developing sustainable practices that will allow them to meet their needs while preserving their native ecosystems.

VIKASH TATAYAH

CONSERVATION MANAGER, MAURITIAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

Today's Date: 1st OCTOBER 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

BEING ON SERPENT ISLAND , THE MOST PRISTINE ISLAND IN THE MASCARENES AND AMIDST A MILLION BIRDS, ZILLIONS OF CENTIPEDES, INSECTS, SKINKS, SPINNER DOLPHINS SWIMMMING CLOSE TO THE ISLAND ON A TINY ROCK OF 40 HA. MADE ME REALISE HOW BADLY WE HAVE MESSED UP THIS EARTH

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

I GREW UP IN AFRICA, AND ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SPOTS WAS GOING OFF TO A SMALL LAKE TO LISTEN TO THE FROGS

Now? ROUND ISLAND , A PROJECT THAT I AND COLLEAGUES ARE MANAGING AND WHERE I AM DOING RESEARCH TOWARDS A HIGHER DEGREE

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

THE ALAOTRAN GENTLE LEMUR, BECAUSE IT IS JUST TOO CUTE!!

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, UNSUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES, REDUCED SPACE FOR WILDLIFE, THREATENED ECOSYSTEMS and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future? THE SAME BUT ON A MUCH GRANDER SCALE, YET MORE UNSUTAINABLE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

SLOW DOWN, THINK WHAT DAMAGE YOU ARE CAUSING AND TAKE ACTION NOW TO REVERSE THIS TREND

MARY WYKSTRA-ROSS

CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND, KENYA PROGRAM DIRECTOR
www.cheetah.org

Today's Date: 1 OCT 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

MY FIRST RHINO SEEN IN THE WILD IS WHAT DREW ME TO CONSERVATION IN AFRICA.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

A WOODED AREA IN OUR BACK YARD.

Now? MANY PLACES IN KENYA – SAMBURU RESERVE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO GO WHEN I HAVE TIME. FOR A REAL BREAK I ALSO ENJOY NYALI BEACH MOMBASA.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

THE CHEETAH WAS THE FIRST ZOO ANIMAL THAT REALLY INRIGUED ME. THE EYES COUGHT MY ATTENTION THE FIRST TIME I WORKED WITH THEM AND THOSE EYES ARE WHAT STILL TELL ME THAT I HAVE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICES IN LIFE.

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

HABITAT LOSS – HOW CAN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY BECOME DEVELOPED WITHOUT RAPING THE LAND?

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

THINK ABOUT YOUR CHOICES IN EVERYDAY LIFE – THE RESOURCES YOU USE, THE RECREATION ACTIVITIES YOU CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE AND THE EFFECTS OF THOSE CHOICES.

Namory Traoré

Chef de la Section Promotion Communautaire de la Faune, Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature, Mali [Community section head Promotion of Fauna, National Direction of the Nature conservation, Mali]

Today's Date: 26 Septembre 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Le jour où j'ai caressé un éléphant dans le Jardin Zoologique du Caire en Egypte. [The day when I cherished an elephant in the Zoological garden of Cairo in Egypt.]

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Oui: Une mare à 1(un) kilomètre de mon village [Yes: A pond with 1(un) kilometer of my village]

Now? Oui: Le village de Banankoro à 30 kilomètre au sud-ouest de Bamako, capitale du Mali. [Yes: The village of Banankoro with 30 kilometer in the south-west of Bamako, capital of Mali.]

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Mon animal préféré est l'éléphant. Ses dimensions énormes font de lui à la fois une curiosité scientifique et une curiosité touristique. [My preferred animal is the elephant. Its enormous dimensions make of him at the same time a scientific curiosity and a tourist curiosity.]

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Le défi le plus important de nos jours est la déforestation. Dans l'avenir, c'est la crise de l'eau potable qui sera le grand défi à relever. [The most important challenge nowadays is deforestation. In the future, it is the crisis of the drinking water which will be the great challenge to take up.]

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Eviter le gaspillage des ressources. [To avoid the wasting of the resources.

[translations done using Babel Fish Translations, http://babelfish.altavista.com]

PARK, Sung Jin

Graduate student, Wildlife Lab, Seoul National University

Today's Date: Sep. 23 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

My little house rabbits, which were brought from my maternal grandmother, raised in elementary school

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

a small remnant area near house where I could catch grasshoppers and nearby elementary school where I used to catch frogs, insects and so on.

Now? My rural house with a pair of tits inside of nest box nearby small stream and cliff

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Siberian Chipmunk! So cute and curious animal!

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Construction! Development! now and in the future. Immense habitats are being destructed and deteriorated!

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Please no more "waste" construction for election. Do not vote them.

Mrs. Madelaine Jay

Mount Usher Gardens, Ireland

Today’s Date: September 12, 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Visiting the majestic Redwoods with their lovely bird and animal life

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Sitting on a great fallen hemlock tree with my dog in our Eucalyptus grove with the sun shining on my back!

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

A dog, because they are faithful, clever, courageous, and delightful companions

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Overpopulation, if nothing is done about this

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Do not waste water, us it as sparingly as possible

**sent via postal mail**

Bernard O'Callaghan

Program Coordinator - IUCN Viet Nam Country Program

Today's Date: 17 September 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

2. Did you have a favourite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Long summer evenings were spent on the rocky shores of coastal southern Australia. This lead to a love of the coast, rock pools and marine life..

Now? - Any wind-blown beach....

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favourite animal is, and why?

Seals...... So beautiful and graceful underwater..... On land a little goofy !! We all like familiar territory - but sometimes must spend some of our lives in places less comfortable...

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

- Greatest current challenge is the high level of consumption of resources in developed countries- with no change in sight. In developing countries, poverty / need for income for consumption is the greatest challenge......

- Responding to the change in the natural environment as a result of climate change due to over consumption...

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Tread lightly with a small footprint..

Harry Schram

Executive Director, European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA)

Today's Date: 13 September 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Perhaps early childhood in the immediate vicinity of Antwerp Zoo, and daily walks through the zoo on the way to and from home.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Depends on what you consider “the great outdoors”. A large nearby city park was quite “outdoors” to us, urban kids. It was where I first went looking for chestnuts in autumn, or went sleighriding in winter, and birdwatching a few years later.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

I don’t really have any favorite animal (or species).

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Now and in the future : changing the behaviour of people/consumers to make them act in a sustainable way, is our only chance for global survival!

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Always keep in mind that you have the power to make a difference.

Emily Sanson

Communications Department, the Jane Goodall Institute
www.janegoodall.org

Thank you for your interest in the Jane Goodall Institute. We would love to take part in your survey, however we simply do not have time at this moment and on short notice. Dr. Goodall is currently on a world tour, which makes things very busy here at the Institute. However, many of the questions presented in your survey are addressed in Dr. Goodall's books. It may be helpful for you to consult these books; they are available at all bookstores and our web store http://commerce.janegoodall.org/store/customer/. Reason for Hope would answer many of the questions you posed. Hopefully, this will provide you with some assistance. We apologize that we cannot be more involved at the present. We appreciate your interest in wildlife, the environment, and Dr. Goodall.

John Berry

Director, National Zoo

Today’s Date: 9/6/06

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Scuba diving opened my eyes to the wonders of a whole new world.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Hiking along the C and O Canal and Potomac River

Now? The same

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Maureen, our 28 year old sea lion, who is the sweetest animal

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

current: habitat loss
future: availability of clean water for fish and wildlife

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

We should all work to make the world richer and more abundant in wildlife and natural resources for the next generation by living more carefully and sustainably.

**sent via postal mail**