Author Talk with Sandra Bonura: The Zoo Lady

Sandra Bonura will be at the San Carlos Branch Library on Friday, October 16, to talk about her book, The Zoo Lady: How Belle Benchley Built the San Diego Zoo. It's a local history story that hits close to home for anyone who's spent a weekend at the zoo.

The book centers on Belle Benchley, who was hired out of desperation and became the San Diego Zoo's first female director. She took over when the institution was on the brink of bankruptcy and led it back from the edge. Benchley was an outsider to the scientific establishment of her time, and that worked in her favor: she rejected the Victorian cages that were the standard back then and pioneered the open-air, moated enclosures that have since become the norm for modern zoos. She also developed an intuitive sense for animal care that often baffled trained veterinarians, and her tenure fundamentally reshaped how zoos house and display their animals.

Bonura's book puts a name and a face to the woman behind those changes, so if you've ever wondered how the zoo we know today came to be, this is the person who actually built it. It's a look at a woman who stepped into a mess and left it as one of the most recognizable institutions in the city.

The talk runs from 2 to 3 PM on Friday, October 16, at the San Carlos Branch Library, 7265 Jackson Dr, San Diego, CA 92119.