Lester E. Fisher, DMV

Dr. Lester Fisher has earned every accolade that can be bestowed upon a zoo administrator and veterinarian. Considered a legend by his professional colleagues, he may be best known by people everywhere for his many TV appearances on The Ray Rayner Show’s Ark in the Park feature on WGN-TV's Ray Rayner Show.

Ark In the Park, 1982

As a city kid, Dr. Fisher didn’t set out to live life on the Ark. But, opportunity knocked and he found himself first as the Zoo’s part-time animal doctor and then in charge of the Zoo—one of the oldest, most-visited, and last free zoos in America.

Marlin Perkins’s national television show, Zoo Parade, had popularized the Zoo, but in 1962 it lagged far behind its peers in terms of exhibits and everything else that makes a good zoo good.

Thirty years later, when Dr. Fisher retired, he had helped transform the Zoo into a worldwide leader in breeding gorillas and other endangered species and pioneered critical programs in education, conservation, and scientific research.

He also had hundreds of stories to share with people who enjoy animals, want to know more about zoos and what goes on behind the scenes, and want to learn about famous—and not-so-famous—zoo animals and those who care for them.