Conservation issues, 1958-1973

The collection contains records from Grace Davall’s time as a secretary as well as her time as Assistant Curator of Birds and Mammals. The correspondence series consists primarily of personal and public correspondence from the year 1965. Additional years of correspondence, as well as public correspondence from 1965 filed under A-V, were not transferred to the Archives as part of this collection. Correspondence with the public includes letters inquiring about various animals at the zoo, especially from students, and Davall’s responses. Correspondence relating to specific topics can be found in the subject files series. In particular, memoranda and correspondence from General Curator Lee S. Crandall can be found in the animal purchases, shipments, and trade folders. The subject files series contains information on the acquisition of animals by the zoo, including lists of desired animals, information on purchases and sales, records of shipments containing animals, correspondence with the US Department of Agriculture, and copies of laws governing animal importation. It also includes correspondence and minutes relating to the Zoo’s behavior research program, as well as reference materials on conservation (including material produced by the New York Zoological Society) and pollution kept by Davall. Of particular interest is a file documenting Davall’s attempts to locate information about the offspring of Dacca, the Zoo’s long-lived female tiger.