Oral history interview with Alicia Pike by Kyle Chapman conducted 05/08/2015. This project focuses on the significance of zoos and local volunteer groups on the promotion and successful implementation of conservation efforts. More specifically, this project focuses on the efforts of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium as well as the Point Defiance chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. This project includes an interview with fulltime keeper and Point Defiance AAZK president, Alicia Pike, who assisted in providing significant insight into the last fifteen years of conservation efforts in Tacoma. Ms. Pike has been working in the zoological field and an active member of AAZK for over a decade. She has worked at several zoological facilities in both Washington and Oregon. Furthermore, she has been directly involved in the implementation and success of several conservation efforts, including the red wolf breeding program at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. In the context of the zoo, she assists in the care, breeding, and maintenance of the Sumatran tigers, lowland anoa, small-clawed otters, and clouded leopards as well as the care for other endangered species at the zoo. She has lead and continues to lead many of the keeper talks at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, providing information and facilitating Q&A sessions with the community so as to inspire local participation and promotion of wildlife conservation. As both an active member and president of Point Defiance AAZK, Ms. Pike has helped organize and lead several local conservation efforts that work directly with members of the local Tacoma community. Over the course of our interview, Ms. Pike not only discussed the significance of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and AAZK as facilitators of conservation, but also discussed at great length the relation between these organizations and Tacoma, describing Tacoma's general receptiveness to the work of conservation efforts and citizen scientists.
