SECRETARY'S REPORT 167 



FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL ZOO 



The Friends of the National Zoo, a group of civic-minded citizens, 

 continued their interest in the development and expansion of the 

 Zoo. Kobert McLaughlin, former Commissioner of the District of 

 Columbia, was elected president of the organization. Its member- 

 ship has been kept informed on plans for the modernization of the 

 Zoo, and at a luncheon on February 21 the director showed the 

 Friends the master plan for a 10-year capital outlay program for 

 the Zoo. 



The Friends are actively backing plans for a "Breeding Zoo" in 

 this country, to be established possibly as a cooperative venture by 

 American zoos under the direction of the Federal Government, and 

 John Perry, former president of the Friends, contributed an article 

 to the Saturday Evening Post (April 7, 1962) dealing with the ne- 

 cessity of some sort of "Operation Rescue" for animals now threatened 

 with extinction. 



From June 1 to June 10 the Friends sponsored a "Home Show for 

 Birds," which took place outside the birdhouse. The many types of 

 birdhouses, feeding stations, and bird baths displayed attracted much 

 favorable attention, not only from visitors but also from the native 

 wild birds. 



On June 6 the Friends gathered for their annual night visit of 

 the Park, and saw many of the animals under nocturnal conditions. 



INFORMATION AND EDUCATION 



The Zoo continues to handle a large correspondence with persons 

 all over the world and from every part of this country who write to 

 the Zoo, as a national institution, for information regarding animals, 

 proper diet, or treatment of disease. Visitors to the office as well as 

 to the animal exhibits are constantly seeking information. 



An innovation this year was the showing of films made of Zoo 

 animals over the new educational TV station in Washington, Station 

 WETV, channel 26. Five programs dealing with mammals, birds, 

 reptiles, and amphibians were beamed to the children of Maryland, 

 Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Lulu, the baby chimpanzee, 

 appeared on a Science Program entitled "Space," and her keeper, 

 Mr. Gallagher, spoke of the contributions chimpanzees have made to 

 space travel. One of this year's lion cubs appeared on channel 4, 

 WRC-TV, with M. Brown, keeper in charge of the lion house. 



The director addressed the annual meeting of the Dallas (Tex.) 

 Zoological Society on October 23, 1961. He also gave two radio 

 talks and several illustrated lectures to local clubs and civic organi- 

 zations, as well as a lecture on the white tiger to a Smithsonian 



672-174 — 63 12 



