The News Star - Northeast Louisiana
May 31, 2007
By Robbie Evans

Original Article

Solomon James shares a moment with the white-tail deer
at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo.
Margaret Croft/The News-Star

Slide Show

Since 2000, Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo zookeeper Solomon James has become the unofficial face of the zoo.

James, who had cared for the zoo's Asian elephant Shirley for 21 years, was interviewed in a nationally acclaimed documentary titled "Urban Elephants." The 2001 documentary focused on elephants that were retired at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

In the documentary, James commented as he unlocked the leg chains that had been placed on Shirley to keep her immobile during transport to Tennessee, "I don't know who put the first chain on her, but I'm glad to know I'm the last one to take it off."

His profound and sincere statement touched the hearts of everyone who watched the documentary. Nearly eight years later, James will follow in Shirley's footsteps. He's set to retire today after spending 34 years as a keeper at the zoo.

"When I started here, it was called Bernstein Park & Zoo," said the 55-year-old James. "What made it thrilling and different was the fact that I'd never been to a zoo before I started working here. I never knew what a zoo was."

Like other keepers at the zoo, James has had his share of working with all the animals — and his share of close calls. His "battle scars" include being bitten by a tapir and being gored by a muntjack deer and an antelope.

"There's also been too many close calls to remember," he said.

Zoo Director Everett Harris said James had a knack for understanding animals and their needs, a valuable skill for someone helping care for zoo animals.

"At a time when animals were just animals and no one had any notion that animals had feelings, this zoo hired Solomon to be Shirley's companion — that was his charge for years," Harris said. "As a keeper, you develop the ability to watch the animals and identify their needs, and that's a special skill that Solomon has ... you never have to worry about animals that he's working with."

It takes only minutes of watching James work to spot his attachment to the animals. But since Shirley's departure, James said working at the zoo just hasn't seemed the same.

"It changed because when I come to work, I don't see her," James said. "Something's missing here."

He still smiles when asked about the fan mail he's received since his appearance in the documentary. A Florida man even traveled by private jet to the zoo to ask James if he would have his photo taken with the man's daughter.

"I'll miss the animals, but most of all I'll miss the people I work with — they're like my family," James said. "I'll probably even do some volunteer work at the zoo after I retire because I want to give something back to it. I'm crazy about this zoo. ... It's my home away from home."

James said the only thing he won't miss is cleaning up after the rhinoceros.

"Cleaning out that building isn't something you look forward to when you come to work," he said.