March 27, 2017
Source/Elmwood Park Zoo
David Wood holds a bald eagle at a Philadelphia Eagles football game. Wood, the animal curator at the Elmwood Park Zoo, died Wednesday. He was 61.
A longtime zoologist known in part for bringing a bald eagle to the Philadelphia Eagles' home football games has died, the Elmwood Park Zoo announced on Monday.
David Wood died Wednesday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania due to complications from dermatomyositis. He was 61.
Wood had served as the Elmwood Park Zoo's animal curator for the last 12 years, overseeing an expansion of its animal collection. He brought giraffes to the zoo for the first time in 2013, an addition that boosted the Norristown zoo's attendance figures.
During the last three years, Wood would bring the zoo's bald eagle, named Noah, to Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles home games.
Wood's four-decade zoology career began at the Philadelphia Zoo in 1973, where eventually became the zoo's large mammals curator. He brought the famous white lions of Timbavati to North America in 1993, making numerous public appearances with the lions and their cubs, including stops on Good Morning America and the David Letterman Show.
Wood also became the first person to breed naked mole rats on exhibit. He even credited playing WMMR at all hours with desensitizing the rats to noise and vibrations.
In between his stints in the Philadelphia region, Wood worked at zoos in West Palm Beach, Florida and Roanoke, Virginia, where he successfully raised two red wolves, a critically endangered species.
At Elmwood Park Zoo, Wood was heavily involved in the design of its new "Trail of the Jaguar" exhibit, which will open on May 5. He oversaw the zoo's jaguar breeding program, which birthed two cubs in January.
Al Zone, executive director of the Elmwood Park Zoo, called Wood's death a "tremendous loss" in a statement released by the zoo.
"I can't overstate how important Dave Wood's work was, certainly to our zoo, as well as the community worldwide," Zone said. "He had an incredible amount of knowledge and I learned so much from him. He was also a great advocate for wildlife and the environment."
Wood is survived by his wife, Laurie Smith Wood, brother Glenn, sister-in-law Alesia Vasta, brother-in-law Bruce and seven nieces and nephews.
The family is planning a celebration of David's life to be held at a later date.
The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Elmwood Park Zoo Development Department, 1661 Harding Blvd., Norristown, PA 19401.
