Gil Boese was a wildlife conservationist and former director of the Milwaukee County Zoo

Gilbert Boese, an internationally known wildlife conservationist who studied bonobos and baboons as well as migrating birds, was a former director of the Milwaukee County Zoo who spearheaded major expansions there.

Boese died of cancer Thursday at his home in Pewaukee. He was 80.

Boese was a biology professor before he started working for Chicago's Brookfield Zoo in 1971. His career path included experiences as a Maya cave explorer, educator, photographer, film consultant, author and leader of more than 75 natural history safaris to Africa, Belize and other nations.

His legacy in Milwaukee rests on the $60 million worth of zoo remodeling and expansion projects he helped the county pull together after he became president of the Zoological Society, said Zoo Director Charles Wikenhauser. The list includes the Apes of Africa exhibit, an animal health center, Big Cat Country, Aquatic Reptile Center, aviary and Giraffe Experience.

"He was the fundraiser," Wikenhauser said of Boese's success with persuading donors to contribute to the capital campaigns.

"He was proud of what we accomplished," Wikenhauser said. "It was a time to bring the zoo into the modern era and he was committed to doing that."

Boese served as Milwaukee County Zoo director from 1980 to 1989.

During his tenure, Boese oversaw new exhibits for dolphins and polar bears along with the Great Ape Escape, Wolf Woods and African Waterhole & Savanna.

“I am sad to think of the passing of such a beloved leader in our community, but I feel fortunate to experience the many contributions that Dr. Boese made to the zoo and the society every day that I come to work," Jodi Gibson, president and CEO of the Zoological Society said. "While we mourn his loss, it is also important to celebrate his life knowing his legacy lives on through the joy so many families experience each day when they come to visit our zoo.”

Gibson described Boese as "a charismatic and passionate scientist known for getting projects done."

Boese married Lillian Haefeli Ramaker, then president of the Zoological Society, in 1986.

Wikenhauser was hired as zoo director in 1989 after Boese shifted to the Zoological Society, a private zoo support group.

"A zoo is a place to sensitize the public about the living creatures of the world, but it has to extend to the conservation of those creatures beyond that," Boese said in an interview with former Zoological Society publications coordinator Paula Brookmire.

So his life in zoos included the creation of conservation projects to save animals in the wild, the development of education programs to teach children to value the natural world, and using zoo space to protect endangered species such as great apes, jaguars and Guam kingfishers, said Brookmire, a former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and editor.

The Milwaukee County Zoo has sent bonobos from its group to other zoos in the world, and Boese created a Zoological Society of Milwaukee great apes conservation program to document the remaining population in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 2004, UNESCO in Paris honored Boese with its Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Achievement Award for the program's efforts to save bonobos in the Congo.

In 1988, Boese was the subject of an ethics complaint about his receipt of payments of a few thousand dollars a year from the Zoological Society while he was a county employee as zoo director. The county ethics board ultimately dropped the complaint, but the incident prompted officials to prohibit county employees from also working for the society.

In 1989, Boese became chief executive officer and president of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee after his wife stepped down from the job.

Boese retired as society president in 2005. At the time, then-County Executive Scott Walker commended him for "his exceptional leadership and involvement in education and conservation" during his 25 years on the zoo grounds.

"The zoo's visitors benefit from the numerous exhibits and projects he oversaw, and the research programs he implemented that extend beyond our borders," Walker said in 2005 in naming Boese as zoo director emeritus.

He retired as CEO of the society in 2006 and continued working on fundraising for zoo projects until 2008. He served as president of the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, a nonprofit group affiliated with the society, from its founding in 1993 to 2018.

Boese was born in Chicago on June 24, 1937. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry from Carthage College, a master's degree in biology from Northern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in pathology, behavior and ecology from Johns Hopkins University.

He is survived by his wife, Lillian; a son, Peter, of New Orleans; daughters Ann, of Savannah, Ga., and Sara Ramaker of Los Angeles; stepson Jay Ramaker of Springfield, Mo.; grandchildren; and a sister Judy, of Estero, Fla.

A celebration of life is planned for June.

The family suggests donations in Boese's memory to: the Zoological Society of Milwaukee; Lewa Wildlife Conservancy; the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation; or the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.