Bob Truett

Felix Bob Truett (born 1932 in Jacksonville, Texas) was director of the Birmingham Zoo from September 1, 1960 to 1989 and from 1992 to 2000.

Truett was raised in Texas and the vicinity of Hot Springs, Arkansas. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with high honors in 1955 and spent a few years in the U.S. Army. During part of his service he was the wildlife conservation officer at Fort Chaffee. He worked at the Alum Rock Park Zoo in San Jose, California and the Cincinnati Zoo before being hired to manage the reptile house at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. He was brought to Birmingham to succeed Tom Briskey as director.

Truett inherited a troubled park with very few resources to properly maintain and improve its facilities. Over time he ushered in improvements in management that allowed the zoo to survive.

Truett served as an Accreditation Commissioner of the American Zoological Association from 1974 to 1979. During that period, two hippopotamuses died as they were being prepared for transport to another zoo in February 1978. Truett was acquitted in Birmingham Municipal Court of charges of cruelty stemming from the incident.

Truett retired in 2000 and was succeeded by Bruce Read.

During his tenure in Birmingham, Truett and his wife, Lisa lived in the WPA-built director's house in Lane Park. He kept several pets, including five dogs and a boa constrictor.

Truett has been active in the Church Of The Natural Way and the Alabama Freethought Association, and was the owner and manager of the Gymno-Vita Park, a nudist camp near Pell City. He caused some confusion in early 1984 when he accidentally listed the zoo's telephone number in a classified ad for the nudist camp.

References

• "A nudist zoo?" (January 25, 1984) Associated Press