Rodricks: Baltimore’s elephant whisperer on Dolly, Samson and what makes a good zoo

Until recently, when he set out on his own as an international consultant, Mike McClure had worked for many years as the general curator at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Many will remember him for two big reasons — Dolly and Samson. McClure was the zoo’s elephant manager. Whenever African elephants Dolly and, later, Samson, needed care and feeding, McClure was there. Given his 27-year tenure at the zoo, I thought McClure deserved an exit interview. He was in Nepal, leading an elephant care workshop, by the time I caught wind of his departure from the zoo staff, so he answered questions by email. I asked about Dolly because she had been a star of the zoo for years, starting in the early 1980s.