Thomas Benner

Rogers High School

Class of 1983

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Thomas Benner - Class of 1983 - Rogers High School

First Name	Thomas
Last Name	Benner
Graduation Year	Class of 1983
Gender	Male
Current Location	Toledo, Ohio
Hometown	Toledo, Ohio
Relationship Status	It's complicated
About Me	Thomas Benner City: Toledo, Ohio Zoo: Toledo Zoo Biography: My name is Thomas Benner. I am a zoo keeper at the Toledo Zoo. Who I am, other then just a name and where I work? I was born in Toledo, Ohio, and from my earliest memories I have been fascinated by the natural wonder of the world around me. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my interest in animals and the earth would lead me to the career that I have taken. I have been a zoo Keeper for many years now and still I am amazed by the excitement that I get working with magnificent creatures that share our planet. I’m pretty much the same as everyone else when it comes to working and making money to help raise my two beautiful daughters, who obviously mean more to me then anything that exist. But the core values that drive me in raising my daughters are very different then the average person. There are others that share my feelings and commitment, but most go to work to make money and live life as 90% of other families live. Growing up as a kid I remember disappearing into the woods that were around my house and strolling through the farm fields that were abundant at the time. Looking back I ask where they all went. I know the answer, as we all do. They have been replaced by subdivisions and commercial businesses, to make life easier for the average person. But what they have taken away is the inspiration that led me to the path that I have taken today. The thing that really saddens me is that I have to travel miles now to show my children the same thing that I experienced as a child only a block from my house. I have taken care of polar bears at the Toledo Zoo for years now and I have always had that feeling that they are abundant in the wild and that such a strong and unique creature as the polar bear could never be replaced by the loss of its natural surroundings. Well, I guess I was wrong. The ice that the polar bears are dependent upon to hunt seals is melting at a rate that has left this awesome creature hungry and dying of starvation. The permafrost that has been in place for millenniums is rushing away in the Arctic melt down. Den sites have disappeared and forced females from giving birth to the next generation of the largest land carnivore on earth. Through my work at the Toledo Zoo I have been invited to attend Keeper Leadership Camp sponsored by Polar Bears International. Through this program I hope to be able to gather information and learn how to present it in a format that will help bring about a change in the way people view their day to day lives, and think about what we are taken away from the polar bears and all the animals that are dependent upon the frozen Arctic, not to mention what it takes away from the children that they are raising. I want to be able to take back to Toledo, Ohio the sense of awe and desperation that we can’t afford to lose any more woods and fields that surround our neighborhoods. I want to convey this message to them so they understand the impact that it has on all of us, and their kids. I want to be able to talk to the kids, that I teach in classes at the zoo in words that they can understand and the meaning of losing such a spectacular world called the Arctic, and all the animals that inhabit it. I don’t want the children of today and tomorrow to lose the inspiration of taking a stroll in the woods and fields, to dream of the wonders of the world and how it all came about to be so beautiful in every aspect. If I can change the way people view the world, even just a handful, I believe it can make a difference. I hope that in five years from now just a handful of people that I have impacted will make a difference in the whole scheme of things, and that the world of the polar bear will still survive for my children and my children’s grand children. I hope I can make a difference and we can preserve the natural wonders and diversity of not just the Arctic and the polar bears for who I am so passionate about, but for the Earth, and all that it is, with all the smallest t...(read more)