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Lisa Stevens - Assistant Curator of Mammals

A color photograph of Lisa Stevens feeding a Panda a carrot. (89K)

MARC BRETZFELDER

NZP Staff Writer

TORCH

December 1990

The cloth-and-steel airplanes dangling from the rafters of the Air and Space Museum are not known to suffer reproductive abnormalities. Nor do the behemoths inhabiting Natural History's dinosaur hall test their keepers with adolescent monkey business unbridled by even the minimal social conventions observed in a junior varsity locker room. But for Lisa Stevens, collection manager for primates and giant pandas at the National Zoo, these are two issues involved in looking after one of the Smithsonian's more lively collections.

Stevens, who supervises l0 keepers, is charged with ensuring the well-being of 75 primates, many of which are as highly endangered as Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, the two giant pandas that are also under her care. Her's is the face seen by millions of television viewers each breeding season when "panda-mania" sets in.

Her calm and concerned countenance, occasionally teetering on the edge of tears in the heat of one of Ling-Ling's reproductive tribulations, has gained her the "stop-and-stare" recognition usually reserved for Hollywood personalities. "It's crazy," she says. "People approach me at the grocery store and say, 'You're the Panda Lady, aren't you?' "

Stevens has learned to use her celebrity status as a tool, however. "As a black woman, I appreciate the visibility," she says. "It is important for black children to see role models in non-traditional jobs. Maybe one of them will say, 'Gee, I might not ever be a famous athlete or movie star, but look what she's doing. I guess I can try anything I want.'"

Sometimes, the attention can get a little bizarre, Harper's Bazaar, in fact. In January, the New York City-based fashion magazine will-feature a pictorial article highlighting Lisa Stevens, panda proctor and family therapist to gorillas. The issue will focus on women and the environment, and Stevens' role as a caretaker for disappearing species will be highlighted-another indication that the conservation message is beginning to permeate popular culture.

The life of the "Panda Lady" is often punctuated by such strange media-related interruptions. In mid-October it was the five-person crew from Harper's Bazaar who came to the Zoo to dress-up, make-up and photograph Stevens. The following week this reporter showed up at sunrise to tag along as Stevens performed her morning duties and to get some perspective on what she does at the Zoo and how she came to be here.

"I was a military brat, and I lived for nine years in Southeast Asia," Stevens says. "When we went to the weekend markets in Bangkok, I headed straight for the pet section which was full of exotic, tropical animals. It was a prime example of animal exploitation, and fortunately, my parents never let me buy anything--but my fascination had taken root."

That fascination led Stevens to a bachelor of science degree in zoology from Michigan State University and an office at the National Zoo that affords the Zoo's tigers an intimate view of her work habits.

On this particular morning, an inquisitive tiger peering into Stevens' window-across a moat-is treated to an explanation of the plush toy gibbon and koala on Stevens' book shelf.

"We used these toys as surrogate mothers for two gibbon infants with bacterial infections," she says. "We were forced to temporarily separate them from their biological mothers for treatment. When it is necessary to raise an animal by human hand, it is very important to offer the security and comfort of a mother figure."

Hand-rearing highly social primates when their own parents cannot or will not raise them creates as many problems as it solves. "These offspring often do not know how to get along with members of their own species, and if they do mate, they frequently have problems caring for their own young," Stevens explains. "Interactions with parents and siblings provide experiences which are indispensable in primate social development."

Solving these long-term problems and dealing with the day-to-day disasters provides Stevens with constant challenges. "It's an exciting and unpredictable job," she says. "From an escape attempt or an illness to animals not getting along or exhibiting novel behaviors-I never know what a new day will bring."

But as a supervisor, all the excitement can be a little distracting. "It's impossible to sit down and do paperwork for any length of time, because I'm always putting out little fires," Stevens says. And the paperwork goes beyond approving leave and filing animal-health reports. "During the panda breeding season, I receive up to a dozen letters a day, and it's important to me to answer every one," she says.

"Often people write to me by name, and I feel a responsibility to answer their questions or help them with a project as much as I can."

It is very important, Stevens feels, to encourage children doing conservation science projects or research reports. "These children are showing an interest in the world that they'll inherit, and their curiosity should be nurtured. After all, the decisions they make when they grow up will affect the quality of the world for centuries to come."

She considers this to be one of the long-term goals for NZP's primates and pandas. "I'd like to see the Zoo do a better job of educating people about the obstacles we face in saving environments and animals in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world," Stevens says. "People need a better understanding of what they can do as rich consumers to save the world's ecosystems and species."

Another goal is a little more immediate.

"I want to see the Zoo produce a gorilla infant-for the first time in 18 years," Stevens says. She considers the gorillas to be ideal ambassadors to the public for NZP breeding and conservation programs.

"The problems we face trying to propagate gorillas in captivity and save them in the wild are classic," Stevens says. "The primate collection is perfectly suited to educating people about the tug-of-war that characterizes conservation efforts."

Habitat destruction due to human encroachment, negative effects of human warfare and the conflicting goals of political parties and nations, potential inbreeding and trade in wildlife products, she adds, have all conspired to create a dire situation for gorillas.

"I'm really very encouraged by what's happening in our gorilla group," Stevens says. "We have been able to form an operational 'family' out of unrelated animals, some of whom were hand-raised by humans. We've seen a female we thought was post-reproductive begin to cycle, and Gus, a hand-raised adolescent male, has copulated with two of the group's females. I hope there will soon be a new addition to our gorilla family."

Offspring from this group would buy a little more time for the gorilla, time for people like Stevens to figure out new ways to undo the damage our own species continues to inflict on this planet.

Stevens, who lives in suburban Maryland, says that she occupies her spare time with five hobbies: horses, reading, philately, traveling and crabs.

She has an Appaloosa gelding named Ranger and rides as much possible, entering competitions when she can. She is very involved in "Eventing," which consists of jumping and dressage.

Stevens is an omnivorous reader and continues her childhood hobby of stamp collecting. She likes traveling to exotic places to observe wildlife. Is that where the crabs come in? Well, not quite; Stevens enjoys crab feasts.


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