Richard “Dick” Warren was the founder of Launceston tourist icon Tasmania Zoo, at Riverside.

“He built the zoo because he was passionate about animals but he wanted to share it as well,” head zookeeper Emma Morgan said.

Mr Warren died on Monday after a fight with cancer. He had been diagnosed five weeks ago.

RELATED STORIES:

Ms Morgan said Mr Warren was the “heart of the zoo” and would be missed by both the zoo family and its regular visitors.

“He was always getting his hands dirty, there wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do,” Ms Morgan said.

Known for being a practical joker, nobody was safe from Mr Warren’s exploits.

“Everybody remembered him for how funny he was, he liked to play tricks on people,” Ms Morgan said.

Fake spiders and snakes would find their way into the bags or belongings of zoo staff, to the merriment of Mr Warren.

Ms Morgan said Mr Warren would also play tricks on zoo patrons, who enjoyed his sense of humour.

Mr Warren’s legacy will be in his beloved zoo but also in the population of Tasmanian Devils at the zoo.

“He was very passionate about the Devils, they were his favourite,” Ms Morgan said.

She said Mr Warren built his population of devils to help raise awareness of Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

Tourism Northern Tasmania chief executive Chris Griffin said while he didn’t know Mr Warren personally, Tasmania Zoo was an icon.

“Tasmania Zoo has been a feature piece of Northern Tasmania’s tourism industry for yeas, and it’s definitely been a forerunner in that space,” he said.

He said attractions like zoos were very important because they encouraged people to stay longer in a region.

Tasmania Zoo is something every Northern Tasmania should be proud of, he said.

“I’ve taken both of my kids there, it’s a great attraction,” he said.

Mr Griffin said while he didn’t know Mr Warren personally Tourism Northern Tasmania had worked with Mr Warren’s daughter Rochelle on projects related to the zoo, such as a proposal to improve the lion enclosure.

Mr Warren’s funeral will be held on Monday at Finney Funeral Services, Kings Meadows, at 12pm. 

Anyone wishing to pay their respects to Mr Warren are welcome to attend the funeral.

Tasmania Zoo will close for the day to allow family and staff to attend.

Ms Morgan said the zoo apologised to its customers for closing.

However, the zoo will reopen as normal on Tuesday.