He followed his uncle’s footsteps to Wagner College to become an economics and business administration major. SEAHAWK FAMILY: Mitchell names his uncle, Alex Mitchell ’57, an American Airlines executive who oversaw the company’s financial regulatory analysis, as an early influence. “I always had an interest in politics, civics, and law,” he says. But he had no boyhood dreams of becoming a zookeeper. LEGAL EAGLE: Mitchell grew up near the zoo, riding his bike through the leafy eight-acre property. “We are not just exhibiting animals, but making sure they continue to thrive and flourish for generations to come,” Mitchell says. The zoo specializes in reptiles, including such threatened species as the Aruba Island rattlesnake. Last year, the zoo’s scimitar-horned oryx, a Saharan antelope extinct in the wild, bore its first calf. Only 50 survive in the wild, and the hope is that the zoo’s pair will breed. SPECIES SURVIVAL: The zoo recently became home to the world’s rarest cat, the amur leopard. Annually, close to 200,000 people visit its 350 animal species, including 69 that are endangered or even extinct in the wild. Fun fact: The Staten Island Zoo is the only NYC zoo not run by the Wildlife Conservation Society.ĬLAIM TO FAME: Ken Mitchell ’87 is the executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, a small but vital institution of education and conservation. Her baby, Waffles (see its head on Cece’s chest?), was born on April 9. Cece the two-toed sloth takes her turn greeting zoo visitors.
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