Les Stegenga began his career in wildlife biology after graduating from university with a BSc in 1979. His first job took him to the Arctic where he studied polar bears. He subsequently moved to western Canada and for 8 years researched grizzly and black bears along the eastern slopes of the Rockies during the summer, and moose, bighorn sheep and cougars during the winter. He joined the Calgary Zoo in 1988, the same year that the pandas arrived at the Zoo. In addition to the pandas, Les has worked with everything from leaf cutter ants to hippopotamus. He is now a senior keeper responsible for the Zoo’s gorilla troop. His passion for wildlife and unique cultures has taken Les around the world, and he has hosted groups in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and China. Les' next adventure is to Peru & Ecuador as host of a Zoofari in Jan. '08.