Praise to St. Betty

The Cult of Celebrity is a fascinating thing.  There are some actors/actresses, musicians, and athletes who have obvious superstar status.  Then there are others who, while famous - certainly highly recognizable - in their own right, don't quite have that universal adoration... until you slip into certain demographics or professions.

Before I became a zookeeper, I honestly never gave much thought to Betty White.

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Zoo 

A while back, one of those stupid internet hoaxes that claims that a celebrity just died started circulating, this time focusing on Betty White.  One former coworker broke down sobbing at the news, devastated - it took a lot of effort to convince her that it was fake news.

If you had shown me a picture of Ms. White at the time I entered the profession, I could have probably guessed correctly that she was one of The Golden Girls, though I couldn't have told you which one (now I know: Rose).  What I could not have told you was why so many keepers and educators, I found out, were obsessed with her.  As it turns out, Ms. White, like many celebrities, has a pet cause or two that she holds very dear to her heart and supports devoutly.

One of hers happens to be the Los Angeles Zoo.

Many celebrities visit zoos, especially as a fun activity with their families while on tour or filming in a nearby location.  Few - if any - have the level of dedication to a facility as Betty White does to LA Zoo.  She not only is a celebrated patron of the facility (honored with a plaque by the gorillas), she also has served on the Board of Directors and even as a Zoo Commissioner.  Perhaps most importantly, she has vocally spoken out in support of the zoo and its conservation efforts, while also attesting to the quality of its animal care.  Her support has also manifested itself in the form of a book of her experiences at the zoo, Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo.

Celebrity support for zoos is certainly not given, and there are definitely a few anti-zoo celebrities out there, especially when the subject is elephants (reasons I've never been able to become a fan of Cher or Lily Tomlin).  We mostly do have celebrity support, but with few exceptions (Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), I feel like it's somewhat lukewarm, and that they might back away if they felt it was dangerous to their reputations.

It's great to have a beloved cultural icon firmly in your corner.