the zoo grew substantially in the 1940s and 1950s, with 100 animals and more birds by 1947. the zoo's first foreman, eldon "curly" blocker, was hired from the san diego zoo. in 1949, the zoo's asian elephant nosey (a name determined by a citywide "name-the-elephant" contest) was acquired, with help from the fresno rotary club. her arrival coincided with fresno's "49ers days rodeo parade", and nosey's presence in that parade was popular enough to spawn the creation of the fresno zoological society, which would create interest in the zoo and provide a fundraising mechanism. in the 1950s, ten large exhibits were added to the zoo grounds with monkeys, sea lions, camels, giraffes, an african bird aviary, a flamingo habitat, and on-site feed and medical compounds. the zoo became an institutional member of the aza in 1957. in 1965 paul s. chaffee was hired as the zoo's first director. in the late 1960s, the animal exhibits were renovated, with climate control being added to increase the comfort of the animals. in 1967, the large bird of prey exhibit was constructed, and in 1968, a master plan for future development was drafted. something to support the rest of this