Zoo visitors don't see the real behind-the-scenes drama - how the animals are exploited for financial gain and amusement. ZOO STORY will describe what it's like to live and die inside the contradiction of conservation and financial gain. Here, in an incredibly compelling narrative is an account of the secret life of a zoo and its inhabitants, both animal and human. The dramatic story will take the reader from the African savannah to the forests of Panama and deep into the inner workings of Tampa's Lowry Park, one of the fastest growing and most controversial zoos in the country. The personalities and lives of the animals will be explored in depth, as well as those humans charged with their care and well-being. Thomas French has immersed himself in this project for the past five years following Lowry Park as it reinvents itself and confronts some of the thorniest issues at the intersection of commerce and conservation.
