You don’t have to twist Jim Breheny’s arm to get him into JungleWorld, the exhibit at the Bronx Zoo that takes visitors into the jungles of Asia.
What You Need To Know
Longtime Bronx Zoo director Jim Breheny retired on March 1
Breheny was associated with the zoo for 53 years, starting as a part-time worker when he was 14 years old
He was also the executive vice president of Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Zoos and Aquariums
“This is probably certainly my favorite exhibit in the Bronx Zoo and probably my favorite zoo exhibit in the world,” Breheny, who retired as director of the zoo on March 1, said.
He introduced NY1 to a white-cheeked gibbon, which is a favorite with visitors since it actually also likes people watching.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
“Giving people the opportunity to see animals up close in natural settings and experience them as individuals. I think when you come here, if you take the time to look at her and watch her, you appreciate her as an individual as a sentient being. And you would not have that opportunity if there were not JungleWorld at the Bronx Zoo,” Breheny said.
He was director since 2005, as well as the executive vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Zoos and Aquariums since 2011. Those include the Prospect Park, Queens and Central Park zoos and the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Growing up in Throggs Neck in the Bronx, his connection to the Bronx Zoo began as a part time worker when he was 14 years old. He started full time in 1981, and in all he worked for WCS for 53 years.
“It really is strange for me now, especially stepping back when I think about running around here as a 14-year-old kid. And so much has changed yet so much is still the same. Yeah, I know every inch of the park. All the trees, all the nooks and crannies all the animals, all the people. Yeah, I’ve been very lucky to have that kind of history here,” Breheny said.
Among many career highlights include in 2017 when Breheny’s creation “Animal Planet’s The Zoo” premiered. It took visitors behind the scenes at the Bronx Zoo for five successful seasons.
“We never brought anyone behind the scenes we only allowed them to see what we wanted them to see. And when we committed to doing that show we just tossed all of that away and said we want to be totally transparent and let people see what really goes on here,” Breheny, a graduate of St. Raymond’s High School for Boys and Manhattan University, said.
He also earned a graduate degree from Fordham University in the Bronx.
The zoo has been part of Breheny’s life for more than half a century, and he believes in it thoroughly as the zoo is important in WCS efforts to save wildlife around the world and in educating people about the importance of protecting nature.
His advice to folks: Lose the phone, and come see some animals at the zoo.
“Lose yourself in a soft green natural world. It’s almost like mediation. I just wish more people could experience it,” Breheny said.
He says not only has he evolved during his tenure with WCS, but so did the zoo and the profession.
According to Breheny, the changes he has seen in the zoo world have been amazing, but through it all, he says the animals always must come first.