Dr. William Conway, 92

The zoo and conservation communities lost their leading light with the passing of Dr. William "Bill" Conway, Director Emeritus of the Wildlife Conservation Society.   Dr. Conway was the visionary director of the Bronx Zoo who transformed that already august institution to the global-spanning conservation organization that it is today - WCS.  

Along with Gerald Durrell, Bill Conway had a vision of a world in which zoos were directly integrated into conservation efforts to save species in their natural habitats.  To that goal, he leaves an admirable legacy.  WCS has field offices and projects in countries around the world as is one of the most active conservation NGOs on the planet.  Many legends of field conservation, such as George Schaller and Alan Rabinowitz, were funded by WCS.  Dr. Conway also wrote and lobbied extensively on conservation issues; I particularly enjoyed his Act III in Patagonia.  Granted, the Bronx Zoo doesn't have much in the way of South American wildlife, but that is what I like all the more.  He didn't think of conservation in terms of what animals his zoo had.  He looked at where the institution could make the biggest difference.

Dr. Conway's impact on the zoo world itself can't be understated.  Prior to his takeover, the Bronx Zoo was already known for its impressive collection of animals.  He transformed the campus itself into a series of habitats that, decades later, are still legendary among zoo aficionados, such as JungleWorld and World of Birds.  He is also responsible for taking the struggling Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and Prospect Park Zoo, where animals languished in subpar habitats, taking them under the wing and management of the Bronx Zoo, and rebuilding them as the wonderful smaller institutions that they are today.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Conway in person.  I corresponded with him once, when I was in college.  I wrote to him expressing my deep admiration for the Bronx Zoo (which I had not yet visited at that point, but served as my guiding star of what a zoo should be).  He sent me a copy of his famous paper, How to Exhibit a Bullfrog, which I'd heard about but had not been able to find at the time.  It meant so much to me.

I hope that Dr. Conway rests in peace, knowing that, because of his heroic, visionary efforts, the world is a better place for animals, both in zoos and in the wild.