BLOOMINGTON - John Tobias walked into his career as a zoo director through the side door.

He was working at a tire plant when he decided nature photography would be more to his liking. He became enthralled with zoos during visits to take pictures of animals at a facility in Topeka, Kan., where he lived at the time.

He eventually was hired to work at a zoo in Denver. He transferred to the Minneapolis State Zoo in Apple Valley, designed his own college major in zoo management, graduated and worked at zoos in Indianapolis and elsewhere. He moved to the Twin Cities to become director of Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington in 1991.

It's been a great life, said Tobias, 64. But it's one that has its own unique on-the-job hazards.

"I've been swatted by an elephant and kicked by a camel," said the soft-spoken Tobias, a grin appearing on his bearded face.

No elephants or camels live at the Miller Park Zoo. They're just too expensive to house, he said. But the zoo is home to leopards, tigers and bears, oh my! Lemurs, red wolves and wallabies live there, too. Sea lions and a pair of river otters play in the ponds, and

various creatures slither, flutter, bellow and bark at the park on the city's near southwest side.

Tobias still finds time to take nature photos. Several are displayed at zoo exhibits, and two were used to create an Amazon landscape on the wall of the Rainforest, a year-round, indoor exhibit where visitors can watch colorful birds fly through thick green foliage.

Zoo attendance soared in 2007. Credit goes to a mild spring and summer and a drama involving the zoo's two resident eagles and a wild eagle that paid a visit to the park during spring mating time.

After 13 infertile years, Beauty, the zoo's female eagle, suddenly laid her first egg, and another egg followed a few days later. Tobias and his staff of 11, a contingent of volunteer adult and junior zookeepers, kept their fingers crossed that one of the eggs would hatch. Hundreds of people visited the zoo to watch in person. Thousands more watched via a Web cam the city aimed at the nest, which the birds built on the ground out of necessity. A tree nest was out of the question: Like many other birds at the zoo, Beauty and her exhibit mate, Mathata, a male, are in captivity because of injuries they received in the wild that left them unable to fly.

The visiting eagle? It moved on before the story took a mysterious twist. One of the eggs vanished overnight and was never found.

The remaining egg never hatched, and the couple eventually abandoned it. When it was clear that chances of an eaglet were past, Tobias followed the directions of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, took the egg and cracked it to see if an embryo had tried to develop inside. The egg had been infertile all along.

But the story, which took more than a month to play out, gave birth to a new interest in the zoo. Many of those people hadn't visited the zoo since they were children. They learned that the city had added several exhibits and built a new visitor center and other buildings, including ZooLab, where animals entertain children for hours.

Now under construction, a veterinarian hospital will permit visitors to view medial procedures on animals. Scheduled to open around Jan. 1, it furthers the zoo's mission as a classroom, said Tobias, zoo marketing director Susie Ohley, and Dean Kohn, director of the parks and recreation department. The zoo staff and the animals are its teachers, they said.

"There is such a disconnect between people and nature anymore," said Tobias, who's heard all the animal rights' arguments against zoos. "You can't get it all from television and books. …We give people a chance to have a wildlife experience (to develop) a better appreciation for wildlife, a respect for life, and maybe they'll swerve to miss that snake on the road next time.

"… My personal view is that we can preach conservation all we want. But if we don't get people to buy into it, we aren't getting the job done," he added. "There is a reason to see things. That's what we can do. … We just want people to be happy here and leave the zoo with a smile on their face and a greater appreciation of nature."

"It's not just about an entertainment factor. It is more than that," agreed Kohn. "It has an educational value, too. The education programs we offer are great benefits to the community. They teach conservation. … It's become more 'participation by the patrons' rather than, 'Here's an animal in a cage.' "

Ohley noted that zookeepers give seminars during feeding times and conduct bird shows between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Classes are held in several classrooms and zookeepers travel to schools and other venues to give wildlife seminars to provide up-close animal encounters.

In addition, Miller Park Zoo takes part in international programs to preserve endangered species. Under the Species Survival Plans, zoos like the Bloomington facility agree to take specimens of 105 species struggling to survive in the wild due to habitat destruction and disease.

As a result, the zoo is home to a Sumatran tiger; a Sun bear; callimico, a species of small monkeys; pallas cats; a red panda; radiated tortoise; Snow leopard; and two red wolves.

Tobias took care to choose animals that can withstand Illinois' blazing summers and chilly winters. Indeed, some thrive in the colder months, so the zoo is never without something to see.

Many of the mammals stay on exhibit outdoors all year. The antics of the river otters keep their pond from freezing. Reindeer are willing to pose for photographs during the Christmas holidays. New Guinea singing dogs bark in their distinctive way. The Rainforest transports visitors to a tropical jungle setting even in January and February. The ZooLab has snakes and rare endangered frogs and small Golden frogs that face extinction from a fungus in their native Panama. The Children's Zoo has a variety of year-round residents, including the ever-popular goats.

But don't ask Tobias to pick one animal above the others. They all hold a special place with him.

"I don't think I have a favorite. I have favorites," he said.

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If you go

Miller Park Zoo

Location: 1020 S. Morris Ave., Bloomington, at Miller Park.

Hours: Open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Daily feeding schedules: Big cats and bears, 4 p.m.; marine animals, 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Zootique: The gift shop offers souvenirs and animal-related educational materials.

Admission: Youths, ages 3-12, $3.50; adults, ages 13-59, $4.50; senior citizens, ages 60 and up, $3.50. Children under 3 are admitted free. Call (309) 434-2824 for group rates.

Parking: Free

Funding: Zoo operations are paid for with $1.1 million from the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. Ticket proceeds return about $400,000 to the city. Annual memberships, which include free visits and 10 percent-off purchases at the Zootique, range from $25 for individuals and $50 for families to $10 for seniors 60 and up. Private donations for capital improvements are collected through the Miller Park Zoological Society. Fundraising is ongoing for the $400,000 construction of the veterinarian hospital scheduled to open in January. About $50,000 is still needed. In addition, more funds will be raised to equip the facility after donations are sought from veterinarians.

More information: (309) 434-2250 or visit www.millerparkzoo.org