John Moore
BOCK REVIEW

LIFE IN A FiSHBOWL. CON-
FESSIONS OF AN AQUARI-
UM DIRECTOR. Murray
Newman. Douglas &
Mcintyre. $29.95

' RECENT Far Side car-
toon by Gary Larson
shows a theatre mar-

quee advertising a movie
called CATCH WILLIE-And
Make Him Do Tricks.

No doubt Murray Newman got
more than one rueful chuckle out
of that; among the highlights of
his 37 years as director of the
Vanccuver Aquarium were major

roles.in the drama of Moby; Doll,:

world’s first ‘captive killer whale,

“and the births and deaths in cap-
tivity of two orca calves which
kept him at the centre of the still
whirling pool of the animal rights
controversy.

The irony, as ‘Newman points
out'in his “confessions of an
aquarium director,” is that had
aquarium directors in the early
1960s decided it was impractical

or impossible to exhibit these
large, live mammals (and many
thought it was), the animal rights
movement wouldn’t have had one
of the high-profile
issues that have given
it a broader base than
the original anti-vivi-
section movement that
began in the 19th cen-
tury.

Newman argues
that “zoos and aquari-
ums have a crucial role
to play” in sustaining
conservation programs.
“They are institutions
that generate a love of
living animals in children and a
sense of appreciation in adults
that does lead to commitment.

“The births and deaths of belu-
gas and killer whales move peo-
ple as few other events can.
Aquariums can take credit for first
bringing dolphins and whales to
the world’s attention as remark-
able mammals that have family
life and social behavior analogous
to other mammals. Before this
these animals were seen merely as
sources of meat, oil and leather
products.”

‘He’s certainly caught me: with”

my moral high-waisted trousers
down. Historical revisionism
creeps up fike underwear and
Newman is right to remind us that
until the late 1950s very little was
known about killer whales and
they were generally regarded dan-
gerous predators and salmon-
stealing vermin.

Though ! personally disap-
prove of the confinement of large,

evidently intelligent mammals,
I'm forced fo admit that my appre-
ciation of orcas and dolphins is
largely a product of three decades

68 I’m forced to admit that my
appreciation of orcas and dolphins is
largely a product of three decades of

educational effort by people like

Murray Newman ....99

of educational effort by people
like Murray Newman and institu-
tions like the Vancouver
Aquarium.

Newman also points out that
when the Exxon Valdez spilled
150,000 barrels’ of oil into
Alaska’s Prince William Sound in

SEPARATE ADMISSION FEATURES
MAJOR LEAGUE 2
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THE PIANO
Nightly8:45pm

o “Culture Talks Craft Workshop
May 7th, 1994 1: 00 PM - 4:00 PM

Mother's Day is our very favourite day. -

“with Mums for your Mom

at our free

Culture Talks Craft Workshop.

May 7th 1994

from

,

A VALLEY OF FLOWERS

AT -

‘LYNN VALLEY CENTRE

: 1199 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver

1: £00 PM until 4:00 PM

“We treat you like Family”

1989, the Vancouver Aquarium’s
Jeremy Fitzgibbon was instantly
dispatched to help rescue endan-
gered sea otters. Without his
knowledge and experi-
ence of handling sea
otters in captivity, it is
unlikely any of them
would have survived.

The human life in
Newman's “fishbowl”
is at feast as colorful as
any of the denizens of
the Tropica! Gallery.

When Newman
was appointed head of
the aquarium in 1955,
he was a totally inex-
perienced PhD-candidate with
staff, no funding and, for that mat-
ter, no aquarium.

What he had was.a gift for
attracting exotic specimens;
eccentric philanthropists like H.R.
MacMillan and Rufus Gibbs,
visionary fundraisers iike Car!

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Lietze, monomaniacal hobbyists
like Bill Wong (who proved to be
more of an expert than any
“expert” when it came to main-
taining systems and keeping the
fish alive), a motley crew of fisher-
men turned specimen-collectors,
helpful bureaucrats (a species
thought to be extinct), and politi-
cians from the parks board to the
provincial legislature who
inspired the chapter Shark
Hunting and Politics.

As memoirs go, Life In a
Fisbowl is much more than a
“second-hand life.” As revealing
as the state-of-the-art exhibits that
have replaced the smalt, dark
aquarium he first proudly presided
over, it takes us behind the scenes
as well as beneath the waves for a
rare glimpse of how our public
institutions are created, funded,
managed and, above all, how
they evolve and contribute to our
evolution.

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SERIAL MON
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