Roaring Impact: How Our Zoo Enriches Community and Economy
David Pennock, Executive Director of the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park
David currently serves as the Executive Director of the Idaho Falls Zoo, a position he has held since April of 2016. In 1999, David returned to his hometown of Idaho Falls, Idaho to develop the Museum of Idaho where he served as Executive Director until 2016.
David has a Ph.D. in Systematics and Ecology from the University of Kansas as well as a M.S. and B.S. in Zoology from Brigham Young University. He is a published researcher and has taught various graduate and undergraduate courses in the Biological Sciences at the University of Kansas, University of Arkansas, and Fort Hays State University. David and his wife Gisele have six children.
About the Idaho Falls Zoo
The Idaho Falls Zoo cares for over 350 animals of 130 species from 6 continents. It is among the highest attended cultural/educational facilities in eastern Idaho with visitation as high as 160,000 visitors in a six-month season generating millions of dollars annually for the local economy. This includes over 8,000 schoolchildren from throughout the region on organized fieldtrips.
In addition to providing exceptional animal care and being a major tourist destination, the Idaho Falls Zoo is a proactive conservation organization. Nearly 40% of the animals at the zoo are managed in collaboration with national Species Survival Plans. These plans coordinate the care of species in danger of extinction in the wild. In addition, through its quarters for conservation program, the Idaho Falls Zoo raises over $50,000 a year to support the conservation of endangered wildlife in their native habitats around the world and here in eastern Idaho.