David Jones has been the director of the North Carolina Zoo since 1994, more than half of the zoo’s existence. Since that time, it’s gone from being a relatively unknown regional zoo to having international recognition, especially in conservation. Jones, who is 71, is retiring this fall. We caught up with him in front of the polar bear exhibit, which he says illustrates how the zoo has kept current in the thinking on properly displaying animals.
Former Governor Jim Hunt, who recruited Jones to the N.C. Zoo, had this to say on Jones’s retiring:
"David Jones has really put the North Carolina Zoo on the map. Forty years ago when I was helping to
establish the North Carolina Zoo, we could only hope that we would get a world-class director such as Dr. Jones. And thank goodness we found him, and he has led our zoo for all these years."
