Today we’d like to introduce you to Ron Magill.
Ron, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in New York City, the son of a Cuban immigrant father and a mother who is the daughter of a Colombian immigrant. Since I was a small boy, I have always been fascinated by animals. Though there are many different wildlife programs on television today, when I was growing up, there was really only one – every Sunday night at 7:30 pm – “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” Watching that show was the highlight of my week and helped plant a seed in me that grew into an insatiable passion to learn all I could about wildlife and hopefully be able to work with it one day. I originally thought I wanted to be a veterinarian but as I got deeper into my studies, I realized that chemistry was not something that I embraced and took another path that would still allow me to work with wildlife and its conservation. I got my first hands-on paid experience working at the Miami Serpentarium under one of the word’s most renowned snake experts, Mr. Bill Haast. I started as a tour guide and eventually became the Curator of Reptiles, and I was able to get a great deal of experience with a variety of reptiles ranging from crocodiles to cobras.
Then, while studying at the University of Florida, I had the opportunity to apply for a zookeeper position at the old Crandon Park Zoo on Key Biscayne. I knew that the County was in the process of building a much larger, state of the art zoo in Southern Miami-Dade County and thought that if I could get the job at the Crandon Park Zoo, it would give me a foot in the door for when it transferred over to the new Miami Metrozoo (it has since been renamed, Zoo Miami). I was hired as a zookeeper at the Crandon Park Zoo in early 1980. Eventually, I was soon promoted to Lead Keeper and then Senior Keeper where I played a significant role in the transfer of animals from the Crandon Park Zoo to the Miami Metrozoo. I eventually was promoted again to Assistant Zoo Curator and worked with a variety of animals including crocodiles, rhinos, birds of prey and big cats. It was during my time as Assistant Curator that the founding Director of Metrozoo, Robert Yokel, tapped me for yet another promotion to become the official spokesperson for the zoo and a new position was created for me titled, “Director of Communications and Media Relations” which is the position I hold today at Zoo Miami. In that position, I have represented the zoo and wildlife issues in a variety of local, national, and international platforms. In addition to being the face of the zoo, I presently serve as a wildlife expert for ABC News, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and Univision television networks. I am presently in my 40th year of working at the zoo.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, I feel I have been extremely fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time. Having said that, there have certainly been some tremendous challenges along the way, most notably the destruction of the zoo caused by Hurricane Andrew which many thought would be impossible to recover from. It was certainly a long hard struggle but ironically was also a tremendous opportunity to prove how passionate and dedicated everyone at the zoo was and we demonstrated a resiliency that ended up earning us the respect and admiration of many millions of people. And though there have been many wonderful, heart-warming stories such as the births of animals and the opening of wonderful exhibits, there have also been many heart-wrenching stories covering the death and illnesses of animals as well. One of the most difficult stories was dealing with the death of a co-worker (and good friend) when he was mauled by a tiger at the zoo in 1994.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Zoo Miami story. Tell us more about it.
At the risk of over-simplifying what I do, I believe that my main role is to connect people with wildlife and make them want to protect it for future generations. There is an old saying that states, “In the end, we protect what we love, we love what we understand, and we understand what we are taught.” It is my job to help teach people about the wonders of wildlife and hopefully inspire the love that is needed to protect it. As the spokesperson for the zoo and a national wildlife expert for a variety of television networks, I specialize in storytelling. Also, as a Nikon Ambassador, I am an internationally recognized wildlife photographer who uses my images to help tell those powerful stories that will hopefully leave an indelible impression on those who are listening. I’m very proud to know that Zoo Miami welcomes nearly 1 million guests annually and is helping to inspire the next generation to care about and protect wildlife. What I am most proud of in my 40-year career is being able to single-handedly establish the “Ron Magill Conservation Endowment” at the Zoo Miami Foundation. It is the only conservation endowment at Zoo Miami and is the largest account at the zoo dedicated strictly to supporting conservation work in the wild where the animals we choose to exhibit naturally exist. I have personally raised nearly $2 million for the endowment which provides tens of thousands of dollars annually for a variety of things ranging from radio collars and research vehicles to motion cameras and scholarships for students doing conservation field research. I look at this endowment as my conservation legacy because, as an endowment, it will continue to fund conservation work in perpetuity, long after I am gone. This is extremely important to me because I didn’t come to work at the zoo nearly 40 years ago to simply work for an attraction. I wanted to help make a difference for animals in the wild and I feel it would be very sad if the zoo were the last place where you could see some of these amazing animals. My ultimate goal is to continue to raise as much money as I can for the endowment so that it can provide more money each year for wildlife conservation where it is most needed – IN THE WILD!
Tell us about your childhood, what were you like growing up?
As mentioned, I have always been fascinated by animals – especially wildlife. I loved being outdoors and as a small boy growing up in New York would teach the squirrels and wild birds to eat out of my hands so that I could get a closer look at them. My favorite field trips were to the Bronx Zoo and the American Museum of Natural History where I would spend endless hours immersed in the wonderment of animals. Watching “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” on Sunday nights was the highlight of my week. The co-host of that show, Jim Fowler, was my idol growing up as a small child and he played a major role in inspiring me to do what I do today. One of the true highlights of my life was getting to personally meet Jim over 30 years ago when he came to Miami Beach during a national Wild Kingdom Tour and I was asked to assist him with some animals for his presentation. To make a long story short, Jim took me under his wing that day and became one of my most influential mentors and dearest friends for the next 30 plus years! We ended up working on several wildlife conservation projects together and he taught me how to be the presenter and spokesperson that I am today. On a sad note, Jim passed away earlier this year and it was a huge loss for me. To honor him, I established the “Jim Fowler Conservation Fund” at Jim’s Alma mater, Earlham College in Indiana. That fund is being supported by the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment and will provide money to university students doing conservation work in the field. Jim always told me how much he appreciated Earlham College and the opportunities it afforded him and my hope is that establishing this fund in his name will be able to inspire others the way that Jim inspired me.
Pricing:
- Zoo Adult Admission – $22.95 Child Admission (ages 3-12) $18.95
- Zoo Membership (Best value unlimited free admission all year) Family $169 / Dual $89 / Single $69
Contact Info:
- Address: Zoo Miami / Zoo Miami Foundation
12400 SW 152 Street
Miami, FL 33177 - Website: www.zoomiami.org
- Phone: 305-251-0400 / 305-255-5551
- Email: info@zoomiami.org
- Instagram: @zoomiami
- Facebook: Zoo Miami
- Twitter: @zoomiami
Image Credit:
Ron Magill
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