A new book, "Jim Clowers & His Magical Animal Friends at the IQ ZOO," tells some of the history of both Animal Behavioral Enterprises and the I.Q. Zoo, for years a popular tourist attraction in Hot Springs.
The book was originally written by Clowers in the early 2000s as his memoirs. His son, Jim Clowers Jr., said he found the memoirs a few years ago and finally decided to digitize his father's writings. Now, after a lot of work, the book is finished and for sale.
Jim Clowers Jr. said his goal for the book was that he "just wanted it to be fun," noting it is designed so that anyone between the ages of 2 and 80 can pick it up and enjoy it. Wanting to avoid a more technical, scholarly read, the two said they didn't want the book to be too in-depth.
The book covers the life of the elder Clowers from his boyhood in Hot Springs until the closure of Clowers' Zoo with I.Q. in 2003. The book chronicles how Clowers was an animal trainer who started working for Animal Behavioral Enterprises, a company that trained animals for the government, in 1967.
Having no experience in animal training, Clowers said he applied for the job because his mother told him to. In the book, he talks about how he helped trained birds and about an infamous cat that was supposed to act as a spy for America.
By the end of the decade, Clowers was working at the I.Q. Zoo, a popular attraction that had trained animals to do tricks for audiences. Jim Clowers Jr. said his father "made the zoo better" by making the show funnier. "I would ... say millions of people went through it," he said.
From 1997 until 2003, Jim Clowers, his sons Jim Clowers Jr. and John Clowers, and his grandson, Chase Clowers, ran Clowers' Zoo with I.Q. Jim Clowers Jr. said they were forced to close the attraction due to an illness his father was dealing with at the time. During this time, "The Daily Show with John Stewart" filmed at the attraction with correspondent Mo Rocca.
The elder Clowers said seeing the finished book is exciting. "It's really neat because of (the) history of Hot Springs," he said, noting "a lot of people don't know about this." John Clowers said the book is full of anecdotes about celebrities visiting the places that Clowers worked.
"It's like 'Forrest Gump,' there's so many famous people," he said. The book has many photos of the famous visitors and the famous animals.
Clowers said he loved all of the animals he spent decades working with, noting, "We took care of them; they were happy."
Clowers said this is only the first book in a planned trilogy of books about his career. He and his two sons also revealed they are looking into reviving the I.Q. Zoo.
"People want it to come back," John Clowers said. Jim Clowers Jr. revealed that they have been in contact with Ripley's. "They have some interest," he said.
Local on 11/18/2019