PEORIA, Ill. – Growing up in Chillicothe and Bradford, Yvonne Strode says she used to visit the “big town” zoo at Peoria’s Glen Oak Park.
But she never imagined that she would be spending her career focused on animals.
“Oddly enough, I was scared of animals as a kid,” Strode said. “Wasn’t going to work in zoos at all until I took a course in college on primate behavior, and I just fell in love with that group. And I just decided, y’know, I want to work with these animals.”
Strode then started volunteering at the Peoria zoo, eventually taking a job there. She returned in 2002 after more than a decade at a Wisconsin zoo, before becoming the zoo’s director in 2005.
Strode’s run as director of the zoo will come to an end on Friday, announcing her retirement from the role. She says one of her proudest moments is helping build the zoo’s Africa exhibit. Other moments include helping save endangered animals at the zoo, such as bald eagles and alligator snapping turtles, and helping with the birth of giraffe calves and baby lions.
She says her ability to work as director for 19 years is due to having a great staff to work with, along with the zoo’s animals. But it was the people of Peoria who made the zoo a wonderful place.
“If they didn’t come to the zoo, we would have no reason to be here. They’ve just been great. I know when we’ve lost animals, their comments on Facebook really boost the staff at one of their low points,” Strode said.
Strode says a successor has been named, and will be announced at a later date.
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