SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Dickerson Park Zoo Director Mike Crocker has finished and released his book about his time at the zoo.

“I actually got to edit the book, and I can’t tell you how many times I went into his office and said, ‘How are you even alive?'” said Joey Powell, Marketing Director for Dickerson Park Zoo.

Powell said the stories are a great mix of things that have happened at the zoo and outside it as well.

“It’s a great story about working at the zoo, the dangers, the ups, the downs, the funny things that happen. It’s a great story of how the zoo has grown and you know, the animal husbandry, the improvement in animal husbandry that has happened over the years,” said Powell.

The book, titled True Tales From Dickerson Park Zoo, was locally published by Pages and Pie Publishing. You can find copies of the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at ABC Books.

Powell says they will soon sell the books at the zoo as well.

Crocker has been at the zoo for 45 years. He began as a reptile keeper and has worked his way up to now being director of the Dickerson Park Zoo.