While looking for work to fund his expeditions, Gerald Durrell had a falling-out with the superintendent of the London Zoo which resulted in his being blacklisted by the British zoo community preventing him from getting a job in most zoos. He eventually found work at the aquarium at Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester, where he remained for some time. [1]
Gerald Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter whose engaging humour made him one of the most popular teller of animal stories. He passed away aged 70 on 30 January 1995, after contracting septicaemia following surgery.
Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India in 1925 and from an early age, he had a strong interest in animals. His family moved around before settling on the Greek island of Corfu, where he spent much of his childhood. It was on Corfu that Durrell began to collect and keep the local animals as pets.
His brother suggested he write about his animals, so Durrell started penning humorous autobiographical accounts about his escapades resulting his first book The Overloaded Ark in 1953 which was a huge success. The publication of My Family and Other Animals in 1956 made Durrell a notable author and brought him public recognition as a naturalist. Royalties from his books, which made best-seller lists helped to fund Durrell’s expeditions collecting endangered species.
During his lifetime he received many honours, and as an author he left an impressive number of books of considerable variety. He wrote travel books, children’s fiction, adult fiction, autobiographical accounts, short stories, articles, technical essays and guides. He illustrated several of his own books.
As a conservationist and zoo-keeper, his legacy was immense. In addition to establishing his own zoo, he founded a training centre for students and zoologists from around the world, saved several species from extinction and caused zoo-owners think about the issues of breeding animals and returning them to the wild. He made thousands of readers around the world aware of animal conservation issues.
A hard, outdoor life, coupled with heavy drinking, led Durrell to health problems from the early 1980s. He underwent hip-replacement surgery for arthritis and suffered from liver problems. His health deteriorated rapidly after 1990 and he died of post-surgical complications following a liver transplant on 30 January 1995. His ashes are buried under a memorial plaque in the garden of his zoo.