The Zoo Lady: The Forgotten Legend Who Saved & Then Built The San Diego Zoo

She was a middle-aged, divorced mother who became the world’s first female zoo director and the first woman to lead the National Zoo Association (AZA)—so why has history forgotten her name?

While Harry Wegeforth was the founder, it was Belle Benchley who ensured the San Diego Zoo survived its darkest days. In 1925, she took a temporary bookkeeping job at the struggling four-year-old zoo—a position she admittedly ‘dreaded’—only to stay for thirty years. She didn’t just save a failing institution; she built it into a world-class treasure, reshaping global conservation long before Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey.

From wrestling rattlesnakes to orchestrating the historic cross-country giraffe trek that inspired the bestseller West with Giraffes, Benchley was a “leader of steel” who broke the glass ceiling.

Join award-winning author and historian Dr. Sandra E. Bonura for a journey through rare archival images as she uncovers how this unlikely pioneer transformed a struggling local park into a global icon.

Book Signing & Special Offer: Copies of Dr. Bonura’s brand-new book, The Zoo Lady: How Belle Benchley Built the San Diego Zoo, will be autographed and available for purchase at a special author’s discount.

Program ticket includes lunch