Abstract
Gerald Durrell was a pioneer of captive breeding programmes and modern zoos. He insisted that the existence of any zoo is justified only if it meets three basic criteria: conservation, animal welfare, and education. The primary aim of zoos should be to save endangered species. Enclosures should enable the animals to express their natural behaviour. Zoos have to inspire visitors to respect animals and take action to protect them. Gerald Durrell, the self-taught naturalist turned conservationist introduced captive breeding as a conservation tool and he drew people’s attention to the wonders of the animal kingdom.
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Notes
- 1.
Durrell, G. (2004): My Family and Other Animals. Penguin Books, New York.
- 2.
Quoted in Zama, M. C. (ed.) (2004): Prose for Our Times. Orient Longman, Kolkata, p. 141.
- 3.
Quoted in Desmond, K. (2017): Planet Savers: 301 Extraordinary Environmentalists. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 112–113.
Worth Reading
Durrell, G. (1994). The Aye-Aye and I. New York: Touchstone.
Durrell, G. (2004). My family and other animals. New York: Penguin Books.
Durrell, G. (2005). A zoo in my luggage. London: Penguin Books.
Durrell, G. (2007a). Menagerie Manor. London: Penguin Books.
Durrell, G. (2007b). Golden bats and pink pigeons. Chichester: Summersdale.
Durrell, G. (2011a). The stationary ark. London: Bello.
Durrell, G. (2011b). Catch me a Colobus! London: Bello.
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The Wild Life of Gerald Durrell (2005)
To the Island of the Aye-Aye (1991)
Ark on the Move (1982)
The Stationary Ark (1975)
Himself and Other Animals (1995)
Gerald Durrell: The Man Who Built the Ark (1995)
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Erdős, L. (2019). The Modern Noah – Gerald Durrell’s Mission to Save Endangered Animals. In: Green Heroes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31806-2_21
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