With some civilized partygoers crowded around him, Wynton Marsalis’s trumpet playing Tuesday night at the Central Park Zoo wasn’t quite a call of the wild. But the managing partner of Kuhn, Loeb & Company, David Schiff, got called some wild things at the safari-themed event in his honor, a fund-raiser for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Noting that a past honoree, Howard Phipps, had “practically a whole colony of Naked Mole Rats” at the Bronx Zoo named after him, Mr. Schiff’s daughter, Ashley, gave her father his own personalized photo of a red river hog, named David T. Hog, “with a sleek look and ears just like our dad.”

Ever the diplomat, the current chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Ward Woods, responded brilliantly: “That’s the handsomest hog I’ve ever seen. It’s very well-groomed.”

But comparing him to a “hog” wasn’t the only way Ms. Schiff found to describe her father, the fourth generation of Schiffs to be involved in the Wildlife Conservation Society (he joined the board in 1965 and was chairman for 11 years).

“He instilled in my brothers and me the understanding that conservation is critical, and that we all have a responsibility to give back to our community,” Ms. Schiff said.

Family ties were strong at the event. Mr. Marsalis’s presence was the work of Mr. Schiff’s wife, Lisa, the chairwoman of Mr. Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Schiffs’ son, Dr. Drew Schiff, helped bring along his wife Karenna’s parents, Al and Tipper Gore.

With the Gores and Mr. Marsalis serving as honorary chairmen, the event raised a record $1.8 million, with 650 guests attending cocktails and dinner and 750 young professionals joining later for dancing.

agordon@nysun.com