Dr. Fisher’s Life on the Ark

Les Fisher’s life is one great adventure after another… He’s the only person I know who “speaks” gorilla, has flown pigeons for General Patton, and cashed a million dollar check from Ray Kroc. A generation grew up watching Les Fisher on TV. I know; I’m one of them. His influence on the Lincoln Park Zoo is profound, but more than a great zoo director, he’s a legendary Chicago icon. His stories of catching animals flying around TV sets, or running amuck on the wrong side of the barrier on zoo grounds are mind-blowing. If only we could live a life half as exciting as his…well, we’d be exhausted.

Dr. Fisher’s incredible experiences come to life in this entertaining account of his years working among the animals and the humans who cared for them.

His intimate look into the challenges of being both a veterinarian and zoo director is inspiring and at times hilarious.

Dr. Fisher has done it all—veterinary officer in General Patton’s unit, TV personality, animal handler, fundraiser, and worldwide tour leader—with style, a sense of adventure and the right balance of talent, humility, and humor, to thrive in a most challenging field.

Dr. Fisher’s book gives its reader the vicarious experience of the day-to-day challenges faced by a zoo director and veterinarian—demanding, rewarding, funny, sad, enlightening, and bizarre.

This story of Les Fisher’s life reflects a passion for all life and sets an example for people of all ages who want to work with animals and help save the natural world.

If you know Les Fisher, you know that his life has been as diverse and unique as that of the wildlife he has cared for. His knowledge of animal behavior has served him well, from handling escaped gorillas, city politicians, hungry tourists on a luxury African safari, to the millions of people who visit the zoo each year.

I found Les’s stories to be fascinating, fun, unpredictable, and very  rewarding. This book should be read by everyone who enjoys wildlife and remembers Marlin Perkins and Mutual of Omaha’sWild Kingdom.

Dr. Les Fisher—one of the grand gentlemen of the zoo world—shares incredible stories in Life on the Ark. Working with animals on a daily basis brings along its share of adventure, and after 45 years Les has experienced just about everything!

Dr. Fisher’s Life on the Ark takes us on a captivating voyage that challenges anything Noah faced. Not many members of the greatest generation can say they served in Patton’s Third Army in charge of 2,000 pigeons—Signal Corp Unit, of course. Fisher’s life didn’t start out in an ark. He was dedicated to saving individual animals, but as the world population encroached on animal habitats, Dr. Fisher realized that his ship had changed. Zoos became havens and Dr. Fisher became captain of a true Ark, trying to save whole species from extinction. This book is that ship’s log; a daily account of the adventure, crisis and love that occurred within every twenty-four hours of his command of the U.S.S. Lincoln Park Zoo. It’s an amazing life any one of us would trade for our own. In this book, now we can.

…Among some of my happiest zoo experiences has been visiting Lincoln Park Zoo in the company of Les Fisher and going backstage to meet his magnificent gorilla group—up close and personal.

Zoos aside, it has always been such fun to hear Les and his delightful wife Wendy’s accounts of their many adventures in Africa—some funny, some harrowing, but always interesting. These anecdotes make this book such a treat for those of us who travel vicariously, by armchair.

So sit back and take a cozy trip to the zoo, to Africa and beyond.
Enjoy!.