When it comes to the animals at the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, things can get pretty wild. And when a TV crew shows up to see what all the fuss is about, the peacocks are the first to make sure they get their 15 minutes of fame. Before we could even start our interview, the Zoo’s peacock started peacocking around our cameras making sure their massive feather fans were in the background of shots, much to the shagreen of zoo director Gordon Henley.
Gordon is the wild but not so crazy guy whose lead the charge at the Ellen Trout Zoo for a very long time. “Well, we have about a thousand animals from all around the world, from tropical and warm temperate areas. We don’t have anything that’s from the north that can’t take our heat,” said Gordon. “We have a lot of birds, mammals, reptiles.”
In between the proud peacock calls, Gordon let the cat out of the bag when it comes to why the zoo in Lufkin is so popular. “I think it’s the variety that we have to offer. A lot of people are surprised when they see the quality of the zoo here and just enjoy it. Let us help them connect with the natural world,” said Gordon.
Now Gordon isn’t the type of person to put a feather in his cap, but he should get the lion’s share of the accolades for the success the Ellen Trout Zoo has had over the years. Gordon has been the director of this zoo for an astounding 46 years! “It’s not like work. I like what I do, so I get paid to do what I like and that’s… can’t beat that,” said Gordon. “That’s all I ever wanted to do from 5 years old to now.”
Over the years, Gordon has gotten to see a lot of change. “It’s exciting. It enables us to offer more to our guests and participate in more conservation programs. It’s just very nice to see it grow,” said Gordon. “We get tremendous support from the city and the community. The two, the city and the community working together is what makes it happen.”
Surrounded by trees on The Ellen Trout Zoo is thanks to local businessman who had a vision for this place back in the 1960’s. “It was the concept of Walter Trout, who, at the time, was president of Lufkin Foundry and Machine Company, and he thought that Lufkin should have a zoo for kids so that they didn’t have to go to Houston or Dallas to see the animals,” explained Gordon. “During that process, one of his friends got a hippopotamus from the Dallas Zoo and they brought it to Lufkin and gave it to him as a Christmas present in 1965.”
I guess someone really did want a hippopotamus for Christmas! And this big guy even came with a Christmas card. “Merry Christmas, Walter. May all your troubles be big. That was a catalyst that really kicked it off,” said Gordon.
Today you’ll find a couple of hippos at the zoo. “One of the things about hippos, in a way, they’re like crocodiles because you can sit right there, and you can’t tell how big that animal is. All you see is that,” explained Gordon while showcasing the hippos. “That’s called an aquatic profile and that’s the same thing with crocodiles and alligators. Their nose is up, their eyes are up, and their ears are up, and the rest of them can be submerged so they can see, smell, hear and breathe without exposing the rest of their body.”
“It’s a better method of actually being able to see the animals than on programs or in books. You can’t appreciate the size of some things if you can’t see it. And there’s also smells and sounds and a lot of other subtle characters of these animals that you can see and appreciate,” said Gordon.
From big to small, Gordon knows every animal here and they seem to know him too. Only Gordon could get a jaguar just enjoying his day to jump down and say hello. “They recognize the sounds and some voices of people that are around them all the time,” said Gordon.
Gordon said working with people and the community is his favorite part of the job. “This community is really what drives the zoo. We are about 35,000 population and they all support the zoo,” said Gordon.
Seeing school kids getting a firsthand look at these curious creatures is what means the most to Gordon. Being in the middle of the piney woods, many of these little ones won’t get a chance to go to a big city zoo, so Gordon brings the world to them and helps create a memory that lasts a lifetime. “It’s just fun to watch kids like that and to know we’re trying to offer them something, a connection to wildlife so that they may not ever be a zoologist or may not ever work in a zoo, but they’ll have an appreciation for the animals that inhabit this planet. And if we can do that, then we’ve done something.”