<\/div>

Who was Gerald Durrell?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Gerald Durrell was the boy who enjoyed an idyllic childhood and grew into a legendary, larger-than-life figure who revolutionised zoos and the world of conservation. It is more than two decades since Gerald passed away but the zoo he founded in Jersey, now a major conservation organisation, continues to thrive. More importantly, this passionate animal lover left a vision of how to save species that is perhaps more pertinent now than ever.<\/p>\n\n<h2>When and where was Gerald Durrell born?<\/h2>\n<p>Gerald Durrell was born on 7 January 1925 in India, the youngest of child \u00a0Louisa Florence Dixie\u00a0and\u00a0Lawrence Samuel Durrell. Lawrence died a few years later.<\/p>\n<h2>When did Gerald Durrell move to Corfu?<\/h2>\n<p>Louisa moved the family to Corfu in 1935 and it was here the Gerry as he was known began to be fascinated with local fauna. The family were on Corfu for just four years but his experiences stayed with him forever.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">The love of nature instilled by his Corfu childhood never left young Gerry, who became a trainee keeper at Whipsnade Zoo after World War II. A \u00a33,000 inheritance enabled him to travel to Cameroon to collect wild animals for British zoos. He began writing humorous accounts of his missions to fund further trips and struck gold with his sixth book, <i>My Family and Other Animals<\/i>, published in 1956.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">\u201cIt\u2019s very conscious craftmanship and meticulous plotting by an author at the peak of his powers,\u201d says nature writer Simon Barnes, one of more than five million people who have bought the book. \u201cHe knew he had the most amazing material from his childhood and he wasn\u2019t going to risk blowing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"><div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<h4>The lives of other famous conservationists explored<\/h4>\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/people\/david-attenborough-facts\/"\">Who is Sir David Attenborough?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/people\/facts-about-jane-goodall\/"\">Jane Goodall: who she is, what she discovered, and why she is world-renowned<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/tv\/best-david-attenborough-documentaries\/"\">Best David Attenborough documentaries to watch<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/people\/who-is-chris-packham-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-winterwatch-presenter\/"\">Who is Chris Packham? Everything you need to know about the Springwatch presenter<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section><h2>How and where did Gerald <span class=\""s2"\">Durrell start his zoo?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">It was a life-changing book. Suddenly Durrell <\/span>had the funds to open his own zoo on the island of Jersey. But his ambition didn\u2019t end there; he held a much bolder vision. Rather than zoos being menageries for entertainment, Durrell demanded that they become arks and save endangered species. He created captive-breeding programmes and also began saving wild animals in their country of origin.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Jeremy Mallinson was one of Durrell\u2019s growing army of young fans who got a job as a trainee keeper in 1959. \u201cHe was a very <\/span>warm person but he didn\u2019t suffer fools gladly,\u201d Jeremy recalls. \u201cOnce you came under the charm of Gerry Durrell it was very difficult to refuse him. He could be pretty annoying at times, but he wasalmost always right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s1"\">His friends and colleagues say his deep sense of wonder in the natural world was an enduring trait. \u201cYou\u2019d go for a walk and he\u2019d be just like a child \u2013 looking in hedgerows, picking up things,\u201d says Carl Jones, chief scientist of what is now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, who won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize \u2013 the \u2018Nobel Prize\u2019 of wildlife conservation. \u201cGerry saw great beauty all around him and he just loved the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\""p4"\"><b>How was <\/b><span class=\""s2"\">Durrell\u2019s zoo different?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p2"\">Durrell\u2019s zoo was different from the others. \u201cGerry always said: the animals come first, then the keepers, then the public. And so many zoos have it the other way round,\u201d remembers Lee Durrell, his widow, who still runs Durrell Wildlife Park today. In the 1960s, staff were trained to take scientific observations to help learn how to keep these animals alive in the wild.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">In the 1970s, Gerry turned his formidable energy to saving the endangered species of Mauritius. John Hartley who, like Mallinson, worked with Gerry for over <\/span>four decades, remembers travelling to ask for support from the Mauritius government. Driving between fields of sugarcane, their car received a direct hit from a revolving irrigation spray. \u201cA gazillion gallons of water came in one window and we were absolutely drenched,\u201d remembers John. \u201cWe had to stand in the government car park with our arms up to dry out. We were trying to be serious scientists but we looked like bedraggled rats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">Characteristically, before meeting the Mauritius government, Gerry told John he would offer the minister a scholarship for his new academy \u2013 a mini-university for conservationists. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t got a training programme yet,\u201d said John. \u201cThat\u2019s the problem with you Hartley,\u201d Gerry retorted. \u201cYou allow yourself to get bogged down in minor details!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">As John says now: \u201cGerry was an ideas generator \u2013 he came up with ideas which were way ahead of their time.\u201d The academy was duly established to educate people to save endangered species. Gerry, who never went to university, believed that teaching <\/span>practical conservation skills people could use in their own countries was the key to enduring conservation. His academy has trained more than 4,000 people from 141 countries. \u201cWe sometimes call them Durrell\u2019s army,\u201d says Lee.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">Gerry\u2019s love of nature lives on in his students, and in his millions of readers \u2013 for years his books were used to teach English to students overseas \u2013 but perhaps his greatest legacy is the species that might not be on this planet were it not for his foresight and perseverance.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\""p4"\">What animals did Gerald Durrell save?<\/h2>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Sheer determination helped Gerry pull numerous rarities back from the brink on the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, including the pink pigeon, orange-tailed skink and echo parakeet. A scientific paper in <i>Conservation Biology<\/i> that measured the impact of conservation work on species\u2019 survival found that Gerry\u2019s work moved eight species to a more favourable status on the IUCN\u2019s Red List, reducing the risk of extinction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Carl Jones was one of many inspired by Gerry\u2019s books as a child. In 1974, there were just four Mauritius kestrels left in the wild. Working in partnership with Gerry on the island from 1980, Jones\u2019s hands-on conservation techniques \u2013 including <\/span>captive-breeding, supplementary feeding, provision of nestboxes and predator control \u2013 has seen the rare raptor\u2019s numbers recover to 300 today.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s1"\">\u201cI loved him. He was the most amazing man,\u201d Carl says. \u201cHe saw the world in a very colourful and creative way. He thought not only like a scientist, but also like an artist and writer. Gerry said zoos should become conservation organisations and came up with the idea of using captive-breeding. He was very critical of the traditional zoo paradigm in the 1970s, saying that zoos were consumers of animals rather than producers of animals. And, now zoos have caught up with his thinking, we need to challenge them again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s1"\">According to Carl, some conservationists are still stuck debating whether we should save species or whole ecosystems. In fact, Carl argues, Gerry\u2019s legacy shows that saving species drives the repair of ecosystems. In 1976, Gerry sailed from Mauritius to tiny <\/span><span class=\""s2"\">Round <\/span><span class=\""s1"\">Island. \u201cGerry and I virtually cried,\u201d remembers John Hartley. This once-verdant island of unique endemic species, such as the Round Island boa, Guenther\u2019s day gecko and <\/span>another gecko now named after Durrell, was like the moon \u2013 destroyed by introduced goats and rabbits.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">\u201cGerry was really captivated by Round Island,\u201d says Carl. \u201cHe could see that to save these reptile species he had to restore the whole habitat.\u201d Rabbits were humanely eradicated and the ecosystem repaired. Now Carl is devising a 100-year vision for Round Island. The Mauritian giant tortoise is sadly extinct, but Carl has overseen the introduction of 500 Aldabra giant tortoises to replace that species\u2019 role as an ecosystem engineer \u2013 the tortoises spread seeds and maintain open areas for endemic grasses and herbaceous plants.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Carl remembers talking to Gerry about moving species onto islands where they\u2019d never been before. So if he were alive today, would he have been a rewilder? \u201cNo doubt about it,\u201d says Carl. \u201cGerry was a great believer in the power of the individual. Don\u2019t talk about it \u2013 go and build it,\u201d he\u2019d say. All this doom and gloom about how we can\u2019t save species \u2013 think hard enough and you can find a solution. We\u2019ve got to move on from <\/span><span class=\""s1"\">just conserving areas and become a lot more proactive. With climate change we cannot turn the clock back. We have got to take risks and build and rebuild systems, using different species and moving them around the globe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Carl declares he is an eternal optimist, although, on occasions, Gerry\u2019s own optimism faltered. \u201cThe world is being destroyed at the speed of an Exocet missile, and we are riding a bicycle,\u201d he once confessed. \u201cI feel despair 24 hours a day.\u201d Perhaps because of this, Gerry drank heavily and was prone to depression, though many friends say he was saved by Lee, the brilliant American zoologist he married in 1979.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>When did <b>Gerald <\/b><span class=\""s2"\">Durrell die?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Gerry dies on 30 January 1995 and his ashes are buried in Jersey Zoo<\/p>\n<h2 class=\""p4"\"><b>What is Gerald <\/b><span class=\""s2"\">Durrell\u2019s legacy?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p4"\">Since Gerry\u2019s death in 1995, Lee has tirelessly extended his legacy. \u201cHe was an action person and that\u2019s a legacy we\u2019ve got,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are still an action organisation.\u201d The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust still saves often-unfashionable endangered animals, hands-on in their country of origin. Take the pygmy hog \u2013 this tiny, Critically Endangered wild pig teeters on the brink of extinction, but the Trust is working with local conservation groups in Assam, India, to rescue it.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The organisation is also working in partnership with the Charles Darwin Foundation, San Diego Zoo and others to raise and release chicks of the mangrove finch from the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands, which is falling victim to a parasitic fly that kills newly hatched fledglings. \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Gerry was always for the underdog,\u201d says Lee. \u201cOf course we\u2019ve got still gorillas in the Wildlife Park on Jersey, but we also work with pretty obscure species.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">Like Durrell, Lee remains an outspoken critic of many zoos for focusing on \u2018box-office species\u2019 and only paying lip-service to conservation. \u201cGerry always said his answer to the anti-zoo movement was: where would we be if Florence Nightingale had gone round trying to shut down hospitals? But zoos need to put their money where their mouths are and work with other zoos on conservation programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\""p5"\">Even in his final years, Gerry would take a break to collect caterpillars and watch them pupate. \u201cHe never lost his sense of wonder over nature,\u201d says Lee.<\/p>\n<h2>Gerald Durrell books<\/h2>\n<p>Including his Corfu Trilogy Gerald Durrell wrote around 40 books. Here are some of our favourites<\/p>\n<div class=\""swiper-container\" swiper-container-horizontal=\"\">\n<div class=\""swiper-wrapper"\">\n<div class=\""swiper-slide\" book-preview=\"\" swiper-slide-active=\"\" data-carousel-position=\""0"\" data-isbn=\""9780241951460"\" data-productid=\""12490"\" data-preorder=\""0"\" data-buy=\""1"\" data-cnc=\""1"\" data-plusexclusive=\""0"\">\n<div title=\""My\" family=\"\" and=\"\" other=\"\" animals=\"\">\n<div class=\""image-wrap"\">\n<div class=\""image-container"\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><em><span id=\""scope_book_title"\" class=\""book-title"\">A Zoo in My Luggage<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Read how Gerry strove to set up his own zoo after years helping other zoos<\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\">Latest deals<\/h5> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1376","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"A\" zoo=\"\" in=\"\" my=\"\" luggage=\"\"\/> <div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3><em>Encounters with Animals\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Join Gerald as he recounts his travels across the world and the extraordinary animals he encounters<\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\">Latest deals<\/h5> <div id=\""monetizerdeals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1376","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.waterstones.com\\\/book\\\/encounters-with-animals\\\/gerald-durrell\\\/9780241955833","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"5.6-10.4","sid":"term-discoverwildlife-826-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""title"\"><em><span id=\""scope_book_title"\" class=\""book-title"\">The Aye-Aye and I\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Follow Gerald as he goes in search of the \u00a0Aye-Aye in Madagascar<\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\">Latest deals<\/h5> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1376","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.waterstones.com\\\/book\\\/the-aye-aye-and-i\\\/gerald-durrell\\\/9780670920686","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"5.6-10.4","sid":"term-discoverwildlife-826-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""title"\"><em><span id=\""scope_book_title"\" class=\""book-title"\">The Whispering Land<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Gerald has got his zoo! Follow the zoo\u2019s early years on the island of Jersey.<\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\">Latest deals<\/h5> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1376","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.waterstones.com\\\/book\\\/the-whispering-land\\\/gerald-durrell\\\/9780241955840","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"5.6-10.4","sid":"term-discoverwildlife-826-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""title"\"><em><span id=\""scope_book_title"\" class=\""book-title"\">Fillets of Plaice<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Gerald shares humorous anecdotes about his family and animals<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.waterstones.com\/book\/fillets-of-plaice\/gerald-durrell\/9781509827183"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Buy from Waterstones<\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"><div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul><li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/reviews\/best-david-attenborough-books\/"\">Best David Attenborough books<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section><p>Main image: Gerald Durrell in 1966 by \u00a9Hulton-Deutsch Collection\/ Getty Images<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Patrick Barkham Published: Saturday, 17 September 2022 at 12:00 am Gerald Durrell\u2019s Corfu in the 1930s was beautiful, funny and full of very strange beasts: Geronimo the insect-ambushing gecko; Quasimodo the pigeon who loves music but refuses to fly; and elderly Mrs Kralefsky, who believes that flowers talk. It all comes alive so vividly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20358,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"9"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored.jpg",1024,657,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored-300x192.jpg",300,192,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored-768x493.jpg",768,493,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored.jpg",800,513,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored.jpg",1024,657,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/who-was-gerald-durrell-the-life-of-the-renowned-conservationist-explored.jpg",1024,657,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Patrick Barkham Published: Saturday, 17 September 2022 at 12:00 am Gerald Durrell\u2019s Corfu in the 1930s was beautiful, funny and full of very strange beasts: Geronimo the insect-ambushing gecko; Quasimodo the pigeon who loves music but refuses to fly; and elderly Mrs Kralefsky, who believes that flowers talk. It all comes alive so vividly…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}