Lisa Marie Stevens facts for kids

Lisa Marie Stevens is an American zoologist who worked with amazing animals. She was a senior curator for mammals at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo. This means she helped manage the care of many animals.

Lisa Marie Stevens was in charge of both the giant panda program and the primate program. She worked at the National Zoo from 1978 until she retired in 2011. She became very well-known when the panda cub Tai Shan was born in 2005. Tai Shan was the first panda cub to survive at the National Zoo!

People often called her "the Panda Lady." As a curator, she helped decide how animal exhibits would look. She also supervised the people who worked with the animals. Besides pandas, she cared for primates like gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, and macaques.

Growing Up and School

Lisa Marie Stevens moved around a lot when she was a kid. Her dad was in the United States Army. She lived in places like Okinawa, Japan, and Bangkok, Thailand. This gave her a chance to see many different animals.

She said she was always the kind of kid who loved animals. She would pick up caterpillars and even hold snakes! When she was ten, she started taking horseback riding lessons. This sparked her interest in animal health. She watched veterinarians work on horses and thought about becoming one herself.

Stevens went to high school in Washington D.C. She later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology/Pre-Veterinary Medicine. She got this degree in 1977 from Michigan State University. She also completed special training for zoo and aquarium staff in 1986.

Her Career at the Zoo

After college, Lisa Marie Stevens moved to Washington, D.C. in 1978. She started working as an animal keeper at the National Zoo. This meant she helped care for the animals every day. In 1981, she was promoted to a management role.

She began managing the primate program in 1981. Then, in 1987, she started managing the giant panda program. Her job included many important tasks. She helped with daily operations and planning for the future of the animal programs. She also helped design new exhibits for the animals.

In 2005, a very special event happened. Lisa Stevens was helping to oversee the giant panda program when Tai Shan was born. This was a huge moment because Tai Shan was the first panda cub to survive at the National Zoo. He was also only the third panda cub born in the U.S.

Lisa Stevens became the main person to talk about Tai Shan's birth. She gave many interviews. People loved her simple descriptions of the cub's early adventures. She was featured in the Chicago Tribune newspaper. She also appeared in two Animal Planet documentaries: A Panda is Born (2005) and Baby Panda's First Year (2006).

Lisa Stevens also helps with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan. This plan helps protect different animal species. She also helped start an organization called Beads for Education, Inc. This group helps fund education for over 300 girls in Kenya.