If you’re asked to picture the CEO of a major U.S. zoo, the image you conjure might look a lot like David Jenike. Tall, friendly and decked out in logoed work shirt, pants and boots, he could as easily be heading to pitch in on exhibit construction as to a media interview.
What he does not have is a Smokey Bear hat. He’d expected one in his younger days.
The president and CEO since January of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology with thoughts of working at one of the country’s marquee national parks.
(Photo by Helen Adams for Movers and Makers)
Jenike steps into big shoes. His predecessors include two legends of the zoo world: Thane Maynard, who has been involved with the zoo for 48 years and its head for the last 20, and Ed Maruska, a protégé of Marlon “Wild Kingdom” Perkins who led the zoo for more than 30 years prior.
Jenike’s interest in nature was sparked by childhood curiosity nurtured by his parents, both teachers. His father taught history at Walnut Hills High School. (Jenike also graduated from there.) When he was a boy, weekends often meant trips to the zoo, including feeding the giraffes – the start of a theme, as it turned out. During summer vacations, the family packed up the car and explored major historic sites and national parks. Young Dave was fascinated by the natural world.
Fast forward to his undergraduate program at Miami University, and Jenike realized his degree was preparing him for a life in a lab, not the great outdoors. That triggered a pivot to carpentry. (So, yes, he could pitch in on a zoo construction project.) That, though, wasn’t the answer.
After a few years in that symbolic instead of literal wilderness, Jenike returned to Miami for its master’s program in environmental science. It’s offered through what’s now the university’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability – renamed in 2010 from Institute of Environmental Sciences – which focuses on interdisciplinary environmental education.
The IES program features hand-on experience through several partner organizations across the state. Its practical applications for natural interests resonated with him.
Nice kitty
It was at Miami that Jenike met a serval. Servals are slender, medium-sized wild cats, about 2 feet tall, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Loss of the grasslands and wetlands it calls home are stressing the species.
Jenike’s encounter came thanks to the Cincinnati Zoo’s ambassador program. A zoo staffer brought the serval to one of his Miami classes. Jenike was immediately intrigued to hear about the zoo’s many conservation-focused education efforts. With education already in his blood, he soon became a zoo education volunteer.
That was more than 30 years ago. He’s never left.
From volunteer leader on youth overnight experiences to intern to full-time employee to nearly two decades as chief operating officer, he has been integral to the success of most of the zoo’s major projects, both in Cincinnati and around the world.
On the zoo’s Avondale grounds, a short list includes the Africa exhibit, the new Asian elephant habitat, the Bear Ridge and sea otter displays, and the Mexican wolf habitat slated to open later this year. All told, the projects he’s managed represent investments of more than $250 million.
All those improvements mark big upgrades to the quality of life animals lead, with space to roam and opportunities to engage actively with their environments. They simultaneously offer humans the chance to connect with nature in meaningful ways.
That’s key to Jenike’s vision.
Solutions for coexisting
That inspiration isn’t limited to the institution’s home grounds. When he met with M&M, Jenike had just returned from a two-week trip to Kenya, where the zoo has for 20 years worked with the Maasai people to develop solutions to coexist with wildlife. Together, they’re keeping more rangeland open, which helps not just the herd animals the Maasai depend on but helps other roaming animals – like giraffes – thrive.
Giraffes, coincidentally, are next on the zoo’s list for a habitat upgrade. With elephants now moved to their spacious new digs on the north side of the grounds, Jenike said the giraffes will move into the old elephant house – one of the zoo’s most historic and architecturally iconic structures – along with a greatly expanded outdoor space that will more resemble the Serengeti. The giraffes will be joined there by zebras and okapis, and the new location will make them among the first animals visitors will encounter.
The new habitat is to be dubbed Giraffe Tower, a nod both to the historic building’s dome and the collective noun for a group of giraffes, “tower” (not “herd”). Like most of the zoo’s recent construction, Jenike said there’ll be as much work done behind the scenes as publicly visible. The exhibit will include a new water reclamation system and batteries to take better advantage of the solar power arrays that cover the zoo’s parking lots.
(The solar panels already provide most of the zoo’s electrical needs, Jenike said, “and – bonus – you get to park in shade.”)
Growing green
The floor-to-ceiling windows of Jenike’s office in the zoo’s modest administration building are shaded by trees. The lights of the Swan Lake carousel flicker through the leaves. It’s a handy reminder of the other half of the zoo’s mission: a botanical garden.
While much of our discussion focused on animal welfare, the success of those initiatives are rooted in greenery. A dedicated team of horticulturalists maintains the grounds in Avondale, where landscape architecture is integral to the design.
(Photo by Helen Adams for Movers and Makers)
“When you come in to the zoo, the trees frame your experience,” Jenike said. “People visit us from other zoos, and they’re just blown away by it.”
He said he was proud that a recent survey of zoo attractions ranked the annual spring tulip display among respondents’ top 10 favorites.
Beyond the main grounds, the zoo owns a 600-acre farm just north of Mason. Bowyer Farm was willed to the zoo in 1995 on the condition that the land be used only to further the zoo’s mission. The farm now supplies the zoo’s hay and straw, and it’s the home of a native plant program whose goal is to revive the diversity of North American flora – and by extension the animals and insects that depend on them.
Last year, the zoo partnered with Hillsboro, Ohio-based Ohio Solar Grazing to build an agrivoltaics facility on 140 acres of Bowyer Farm. The project combines a 30-megawatt electricity-generating system with farming and conservation programs on the same land. It also will provide $150,000 annually to Lebanon City Schools.
When its plantings are fully grown, the development will use up to 800 sheep to control the vegetation. They’ll in turn restore soil health, eliminate emissions from mowers and supply meat. The zoo’s conservation plan for the land also includes installing bird boxes, restoring a vernal pool and creating more than five acres of pollinator plants.
The zoo’s plant expertise, Jenike said, offers one of the easiest ways for people to benefit from nature. Its horticulturalists can help guide local plantings, whether you’re in a city townhome or on your own farm, to minimize invasive species and expand native varieties.
The horticulturalists are just some of what Jenike calls the zoo’s heroes – the keepers, animal behavioral scientists, veterinary staff and volunteers that share a commitment to the organization’s mission.
Natural joy
Underlying these ambitious undertakings, teaching remains Jenike’s core passion. “For me, teaching isn’t about facts; it’s about experiences and new perspectives. Experiences here then lead to action – lasting impact, whether it’s across the street or across the globe.”
He also believes it lies at the heart of our environmental future. “Teaching about plants, animals and nature is more important now than 30 years ago. It’s the role of a zoo to inspire people with wildlife. Hope, inspiration – they connect with action.”
Many people appear to agree with the formula. The zoo’s annual attendance of more than 1.7 million makes it Hamilton County’s largest attraction, and more than 79,000 Greater Cincinnati households hold zoo memberships. The zoo also has benefited from philanthropic largesse. Recent multimillion-dollar gifts from Harry and Linda Fath and from Hugh Hoffman are just the latest examples.
“I recognize this is an organization that is beloved and respected,” Jenike said. He sees his role as one of service to the community “to maintain this organization’s momentum.” His legacy, he said, will be the lasting impact people’s experiences through the zoo have on the well-being of the world’s wildlife.
His goal is for those experiences to start with fun and joy.
“If we’re connecting people to nature and can’t have fun, we’re not doing something right.”
Discover more from Movers & Makers
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.