Gerald Durrell
Gerald ('Gerry') Malcolm Durrell (
January 7,
1925 –
January 30,
1995) was a
naturalist, ,
author, and
television presenter, best known for founding what is now called the
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the
Jersey Zoo (now renamed
Durrell Wildlife) on the
Channel Island of
Jersey in 1958, and for writing a number of books based on his animal-collecting expeditions, zoo-keeping, and conservation efforts. He was the brother of the novelist
Lawrence Durrell.
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The Gerald Durrell Memorial VHS cover, with a self portrait |
The Indian years
Durrell was born in
Jamshedpur, then Bihar Province,
India on
January 7,
1925. His parents had themselves been born in India but were of English and Irish descent. He was the fourth surviving and final child of
Louisa Florence Durrell (née Dixie) and
Lawrence Samuel Durrell. Durrell's father was a
British engineer, and as befitting family status, the infant Durrell spent most of his time in the company of the ayah or nursemaid. Durrell reportedly recalls his first visit to a zoo in
India, and attributes his life-long love of animals to that encounter. The family moved to
England after the death of his father in
1928.
The Corfu years
The family moved to the
Greek island of
Corfu in 1935, where Durrell began to collect and keep the local
fauna as
pets. The family stayed until 1939. This interval was later the basis of the book
My Family and Other Animals and its successors,
Birds, Beasts, and Relatives,
The Garden of the Gods and a few short stories. Durrell was home-schooled during this time by various family friends and private tutors, mostly friends of his eldest brother
Lawrence (later to be a famous novelist). One of them, the Greek doctor, scientist, poet and philosopher
Theodore Stephanides would be Durrell's friend and mentor, and his ideas would leave a lasting impression on the young Durrell. Together, they would examine and Durrell would house Corfu fauna in everything from test tubes to bathtubs. The other big influence on Durrell during these formative years, according to Durrell, was the writing of French naturalist
Jean Henri Fabre.
The London years and Whipsnade Zoo
The family moved back to
England in 1939 at the outbreak of
World War II. Gerald found it impossible to start formal education at the age of 15. Difficult as it was in the war and post-war years to find a job, especially for a home-schooled youth, the enterprising Durrell worked as a help at an aquarium and pet store. Some reminiscences of this period can be found in
Fillets of Plaice. His call-up for the war came in 1943, but he was exempted from military duty on medical grounds, and asked to serve the war effort by working in a farm. After the war, Durrell joined
Whipsnade Zoo as a junior or student keeper in 1945. This move fulfilled a lifelong dream: Durrell claims that his first spoken word was "zoo".
Beasts in My Belfry recalls events of this period.
The early animal expeditions
Durrell left Whipsnade Zoo in May, 1946 in order to join wildlife collecting expeditions of the time, but was denied a place in the voyages due to his lack of experience. Durrell's wildlife expeditions began with a 1947 trip to the
British Cameroons (now
Cameroon) with
ornithologist John Yealland, financed by a £3,000
inheritance from his father on the account of turning 21. The animals he brought back were sold to
London Zoo,
Chester Zoo,
Paignton Zoo,
Bristol Zoo and
Belle Vue Zoo (
Manchester). He continued for many decades, during which time he became famous for his work for wildlife
conservation.
He followed this successful expedition up with two further ones with fellow Whipsnade zookeeper Ken Smith: a repeat trip to the British Cameroon, and to
British Guiana (now
Guyana) in 1949 and 1950 respectively. On the first of these trips, he met and befriended the enigmatic
Fon of Bafut Achirimbi II, the autocratic
West African chieftain, who would help him organize future missions.
Because of his dedication towards animals, Durrell housed and fed his animals with the best choices possible, never over-collected specimens, and did not collect animals with only "show value" which would fetch high prices. Such practices differed from other animal collecting expeditions of the time, and, as a result, Durrell was broke by the end of his third expedition. Further, due to a falling-out with
George Cansdale, superintendent of the
London Zoo, Durrell was blackballed by the British zoo community and could not secure a job in most zoos, ultimately securing a job at the aquarium at Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester for some time.
On
February 26,
1951, after an extended courtship, Durrell married Manchester resident
Jacqueline ('Jacquie') Sonia Wolfenden — they eloped after opposition from her father. Wolfenden would go on to accompany Durrell on most of his following animal expeditions, would help found and manage the
Jersey Zoo, and would write two humorous, bestselling memoirs on the lines of Durrell to raise money for conservation efforts. Durrell's work pressure, mood swings and drinking problem would ultimately lead to their divorce in 1979.
Based on encouragement from wife Jacquie, and advice from his elder brother Lawrence, Gerald Durrell started writing autobiographical accounts to raise money. His first book —
The Overloaded Ark — was a huge success, causing Durrell to follow up with other such accounts. While Durrell only made £50 for British rights (
Faber and Faber), he obtained £500 from the
U.S. rights (
Viking Press) for the book, and managed to raise money for a fourth expedition to
South America in
1954. This, however, ran into a political
coup d'etat in
Paraguay and was unsuccessful.
Foundations for the Jersey Zoo
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Durrell with chimpanzees from one of his African expeditions |
The publication of
My Family and Other Animals in 1956 caused Durrell to be well known as an author, and consequently as a naturalist for the first time. Royalties from the book, which made bestseller lists in the
United Kingdom, helped fund Durrell's next expedition.
Durrell's growing disillusionment with how zoos of the time were run, and his belief that zoos should primarily act as reserve banks of endangered species, caused him to contemplate founding his own zoo. His 1957 trip to
Bafut for the third and last time was primarily to collect animals which would act as the core collection of his own zoo. This expedition was filmed as well, in Durrell's first experiment with filming his work with animals. The success of the film
To Bafut with Beagles, together with a successful radio show documenting his memories
Encounters with Animals, made Durrell a regular on the
BBC Natural History unit for decades to come, as well as provide much needed funds for his conservation projects.
On return from
Bafut, Durrell put up with his sister
Margaret at her boarding house in the seaside resort of
Bournemouth. The animals were housed in her gardens and garage on a temporary basis, while Durrell looked at prospective sites for a zoo. To his dismay, both
Bournemouth and
Poole municipalities turned down his ideas for a zoo.
The Zoo and the Trust
Durrell founded the
Jersey Zoological Park in
1958 to house his growing collection of animals. The site for the zoo, a 16th-century manor house,
Les Augres Manor, came to Durrell's notice by chance after a long and unsuccessful search for a suitable site. Durrell leased the manor and set up his zoo on the redesigned manor grounds. Durrell undertook another, more successful expedition to
South America to collect endangered species for his zoo in 1958. The zoo was opened to the public in 1959.
As the zoo grew in size, so did the number of projects undertaken to save threatened wildlife in other parts of the world. Durrell was instrumental in founding the
Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, on
July 6,
1963 to cope with the increasingly difficult challenges of zoo, wildlife and habitat management.
The Trust opened an international wing, the
Wildlife Preservation Trust International, in USA in
1971, to aid international conservation efforts in a better fashion. That year, the Trust bought out Les Augres Manor from its owner, Major Hugh Fraser, giving the zoo a permanent home.
Durrell's initiative caused the
Fauna and Flora Preservation Society to start the
World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival in 1972 at
Jersey, today one of the most prestigious conferences in the field. 1972 also saw
Princess Anne becoming a
patron of the Trust, an action which brought the Trust into media limelight, and helped raise funds.
The 1970s saw Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust become a leading zoo in the field of captive breeding, championing the cause among species like the Lowland
Gorilla, and various
Mauritian fauna. Durrell visited Mauritius several times and co-ordinated large scale conservation efforts in Mauritius, involving captive breeding programs for native birds and reptiles, ecological recovery of
Round Island, training local staff, and setting up local in-situ and ex-situ conservation facilities. This ultimately led to the founding of the
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation in 1984.
Jacquie Durrell separated from and then divorced Gerald Durrell in 1979, citing his increasing work pressure and associated drinking problem.
Durrell met his second wife
Lee McGeorge Durrell in 1977 when he lectured at
Duke University, where she was studying for a PhD in animal communication. They married in 1979. She co-authored a number of books with him, including
The Amateur Naturalist, and became the Honorary Director of the Trust after his death.
In 1978 Durrell started the training centre for conservationists at the zoo, or the "mini-university" in his words. As of
2005, over a thousand biologists, naturalists, zoo veterinarians, and zoo architects from 104 countries have attended the International Training Centre. Durrell was also instrumental in forming the
Captive Breeding Specialist Group of the
World Conservation Union in
1982.
Durrell founded
Wildlife Preservation Trust Canada, now
Wildlife Preservation Canada, in 1985. The official appeal
Saving Animals from Extinction was launched in 1991, at a time when British zoos were not faring well and
London Zoo was in danger of closing down.
1990 saw the Trust establish a conservation program in
Madagascar along the lines of the
Mauritius program. Durrell visited Madagascar in 1990 to start captive breeding of a number of endemic species like the
Aye Aye.
Durrell chose the
Dodo, the flightless bird of Mauritius that was mercilessly hunted to extinction in the 1600s, as the logo for both the
Jersey Zoo and the
Trust. The children's chapter of the Trust is called the
Dodo Club. Following his death, the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust was renamed
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust at the 40th anniversary of the
Zoo on
26 March, 1999. The Wildlife Preservation Trust International also changed their name to
Wildlife Trust in 2000, adopted the logo of the
Black Tamarin.
Final years
A hard, outdoor life, coupled with heavy drinking, led Durrell to health problems in the 1980s. He underwent a hip-replacement surgery in a bid to counter
arthritis, but suffered from liver problems. His health deteriorated rapidly after the 1990
Madagascar trip. Durrell died of post-surgical complications following a
liver transplantation, on
January 30 1995. His ashes are buried under a memorial plaque with a quote by
William Beebe in Jersey Zoo.
A memorial celebrating Durrell's life and work was held at the
Natural History Museum,
London on
June 28,
1995. Participants included personal friends like the famous television presenter
David Attenborough, and Princess Anne.
Gerald Durrell was ahead of his time when he postulated the role that a 20th century
zoo should play, primarily in
Stationary Ark. His idea relies on the following bases:
*The primary purpose of a zoo should be to act as a reserve of critically endangered species which need captive breeding in order to survive.
*They can serve the secondary purposes of educating people about wildlife and natural history, and of educating biologists about the animal's habits.
*Zoos should not be run for the purposes of entertainment only, and non-threatened species should be re-introduced into natural habitat.
*An animal should be present in the zoo only as a last resort, when all efforts to save it in the wild has failed.
Durrell's ideas about housing zoo animals also brings his priorities to the fore. The bases on which enclosures at Jersey are built:
*Enclosures should be built keeping in mind — firstly, the comfort of the animal (including a private shelter), secondly for the convenience of the animal keeper, and finally for the viewing comfort of visitors.
*The size of an enclosure should depend on how large their territories might be.
*The companions of an animal should reflect not only
ecological niche and
biogeographic concerns, but its social abilities as well — how well it gets on with other members of its species and other species.
*Every animal deserves food of its choice, sometimes made interesting by variation; and a mate of its choice; and a nice, and interesting environment.
Jersey Zoo was the first zoo to
only house endangered breeding species, and has been one of the pioneers in the field of captive breeding. The International Training Centre, and the organization of the conference on captive breeding are also notable firsts.
Gerald Durrell initially faced stiff opposition and criticism from some members of the zoo community when he introduced the idea of
captive breeding, and was only vindicated after successfully breeding a wide range of species. One of the most active opposition members was
George Cansdale, superintendent of the
London Zoo and
Zoological Society of London, and wielder of considerable influence in the zoo community.
See also:
Biogeography,
Biogeographic Regions,
Ecological niche,
Durrell's books, both fiction and non-fiction, have a wry, loose style that poked fun at himself as well as those around him. Perhaps his best-known work is
My Family and Other Animals (
1956), which tells of his idyllic, if oddball, childhood on Corfu. Later made into a TV series, it is delightfully deprecating about the whole family, especially elder brother Lawrence, who became a famous novelist. Despite Durrell's jokes at the expense of "brother Larry," the two were close friends all their lives.
Gerald Durrell always insisted that he wrote for royalties to help the cause of environmental stewardship, not out of an inherent love for writing. Gerald Durrell describes himself as a writer in comparison to his brother Lawrence:
The subtle difference between us is that he loves writing and I don't. To me it's simply a way to make money which enables me to do my animal work, nothing more.However, he shows a surprising diversity and dexterity in a wide variety of writing, including:
*autobiographical accounts: Most of his works are of such kind — characterized by a love for nature and animals, dry wit, crisp descriptions and humorous analogies of human beings with animals and vice versa. The most famous of these is the
Corfu trilogy —
My Family and Other Animals,
Birds, Beasts and Relatives, and
The Garden of the Gods.
*short stories: often bordering on the
Roald Dahl-esque, like "Michelin Man" in
Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium. The latter also has an acclaimed
gothic horror story titled "The Entrance".
Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories also has a few short stories.
*novels: Durrell's only two novels are
Rosy is My Relative, the story about the bequeathed elephant which Durrell claimed is based on real life events; and
The Mockery Bird, the fable based loosely on the story of
Mauritius and the
Dodo.
*technical essays:
The Stationary Ark is a collection of technical essays on zoo-keeping and conservation.
*guides:
The Amateur Naturalist is the definitive guide for a budding naturalist over the last 20 years.
*stories for young adults:
The Donkey Rustlers is an
Enid Blyton-ish feel good novel, while
The Talking Parcel is a fantasy novel for younger readers.
*natural history books for children:
The New Noah is a collection of encounters with animals from Durrell's previous expeditions, written with children in mind.
*stories for children:
Keeper,
Toby the Tortoise,
The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure, and the
The Fantastic Flying Adventure are lavishly illustrated stories for young children.
*board and picture books: the board book series
Puppy Stories are for infants, and the picture book
Island Zoo is for young children about the first animals in
Jersey Zoo.
Durrell was also a regular contributor to magazines on both sides of the Atlantic like
Harper's,
Atlantic Monthly, and
The Sunday Times Supplement. He was also a regular book reviewer for
New York Times. A number of excerpts and stories from his books were used by
Octopus Books and
Readers' Digest Publishing, including in the
Readers' Digest Condensed Books.
Durrell's works have been translated into 31 languages, and made into TV serials, and feature films. He has a large cult following in
Russia and
Eastern Europe, in
Israel and in various commonwealth countries, notably
India.
The
British Library houses a collection of Durrell's books, presented by him to
Alan G. Thomas, as part of the
Lawrence Durrell Collection.
Illustrators
Durrell was a talented artist and caricaturist, but worked with numerous illustrators over the years starting with
Sabine Braur for
The Overloaded Ark (published by
Faber and Faber). Two of his most productive collaborations were with
Ralph Thompson (
Bafut Beagles,
Three Singles To Adventure,
The New Noah,
The Drunken Forest,
Encounters with Animals,
A Zoo in My Luggage,
The Whispering Land,
Menagerie Manor) (published by
Rupert Hart-Davis) and
Edward Mortelmans (
Catch Me A Colobus,
Beasts in My Belfry,
Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons) (published by
Collins). The illustrations are mostly sketches of animal subjects.
Ralph Thompson has even visited the Jersey Zoological Park in-house during the sketching period for
Menagerie Manor.
Other illustrators who worked with Durrell were
Barry L.Driscoll who illustrated
Two in the Bush,
Pat Marriott who illustrated
Look at Zoos, and
Anne Mieke van Ogtrop who illustrated
The Talking Parcel and
Donkey Rustlers.
Gerald Durrell authored a number of lavishly illustrated children's books in his later years.
Graham Percy was the illustrator for
The Fantastic Flying Journey and
The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure.
Toby the Tortoise and
Keeper were illustrated by
Keith West. His
Puppy board books were illustrated by
Cliff Wright.
Durrell received the
Order of the British Empire in 1982.
Durrell featured in the
United Nations'
Roll of Honour for Environmental Achievement in
1988, becoming part of 500 people ("Global 500") to be given this honour in the period 1987 – 1992.
The
University of Kent started the
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) in 1989, the first graduate school in the
United Kingdom to offer degrees and diplomas in conservation and biodiversity.
The journal
Biodiversity and Conservation brought out a special volume of the journal in tribute to Gerald Durrell, on the theme of "The Role of Zoos" in 1995, following his death.
The Gerald Durrell Memorial Funds, launched in 1996, are granted in the field of conservation by the
Wildlife Trust every year.
The statue park in
Miskolc Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the world, created a bust of Gerald Durrell in 1998.
The
BBC Wildlife Photography Awards gives the Gerald Durrell Award for the best photograph of an endangered species, starting from 2001.
The Durrell School in Corfu, established in 2002, offers an academic course and tours in the footsteps of the Durrells in Corfu. Botanist
David Bellamy has conducted field trips in Corfu for the School.
The
Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary in the
Black River Valley in
Mauritius, is the home of the
Mauritius Wildlife Appeal Fund's immensely successful captive breeding program for the
Mauritian Kestrel,
Pink Pigeon and
Echo Parakeet.
The
Jersey Zoo has erected a bronze statue of Gerald Durrell by
John Doubleday, cast along with a
Ruffed Lemur at his knee, and a
Round Island Gecko at his feet.
Jersey brought out stamps honouring the
Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, and
Mauritius brought out a stamp based on a race of a rare gecko named after Durrell.
The de-rodentification of
Rat Island in
St. Lucia by the
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to create a sanctuary for the
St. Lucia Whiptail lizard on the lines of
Praslin Island has caused an official change in name for Rat Island. It is in the process of being renamed
Durrell Island.
Species and races named after Durrell
Nactus serpeninsula durrelli:
Durrell's Night Gecko: The
Round Island race of the
Serpent Island Night Gecko is a distinct race and was named after both Gerald and
Lee Durrell for their contribution to saving the gecko and
Round Island fauna in general.
Mauritius released a stamp depicting the race.
Ceylonthelphusa durrelli:
Durrell's Freshwater Crab: A critically rare new species of
Sri Lankan freshwater
crab.
Benthophilus durrelli:
Durrell's Tadpole Goby: A new species of tadpole
goby discovered in
2004Kotchevnik durrelli: A new species of
moth of the superfamily
Cossoidea from
RussiaMajor expeditions undertaken by Gerald Durrell| - | Year | Place | Primary Purpose | Book | Film | Species in Focus |
| 1947 / 1948 | Mamfe, British Cameroon (now Cameroon) | Independent animal collecting mission for British zoos | The Overloaded Ark | â€" | Angwantibo, Giant Otter Shrew |
| 1949 | Mamfe and Bafut, British Cameroon (now Cameroon) | Independent animal collecting mission for British zoos | The Bafut Beagles | â€" | Galago, Hairy Frog, African Golden Cat, Flying mouse |
| 1950 | British Guiana (now Guyana) | Independent animal collecting mission for British zoos | Three Singles to Adventure | â€" | Giant Otter, Poison arrow frogs, Surinam Toad, Capybara, Brazilian Porcupine |
| 1953 / 1954 | Argentina and Paraguay | Partially sponsored animal collecting mission | The Drunken Forest | â€" | Burrowing Owl, Ovenbird, Anaconda, Rhea, Giant Anteater |
| 1957 | Bafut, British Cameroon (now Cameroon) | Animal collecting mission for his own to-be zoo | A Zoo in My Luggage | To Bafut With Beagles | Reticulated Python, Patas, Galago, Grey-necked Rockfowl |
| 1958 | Patagonia, Argentina | Animal collecting mission for his own Jersey Zoo | The Whispering Land | Look (Argentinian Expedition) | South American Fur Seal, Patagonian Hare, Vampire Bat, Magellanic Penguin |
| 1962 | Malaysia, and Australia and New Zealand | Shooting of the BBC Nature series Two In The Bush | Two in the Bush | Two in the Bush | Kakapo, KÄkÄ, Kea, Tuatara, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Leadbeater's Possum |
| 1965 | Sierra Leone | Animal collecting mission for Jersey Zoo to be made into a TV series by BBC | Section of Catch Me A Colobus | Catch Me A Colobus | Colobus, African Leopard, Red River Hog, Potto |
| 1968 | Mexico | Animal collecting mission for Jersey Zoo | Section of Catch Me A Colobus | â€" | Volcano Rabbit, Thick-billed Parrot |
| 1969 | Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory and Queensland, Australia | Conservation fact-finding mission, with possible material for book never written | â€" | â€" | Great Barrier Reef species |
| 1976 , 1977 | Mauritius and other Mascarene Islands | Two back-to-back in-situ conservation missions and animal collecting expeditions for local breeding and Jersey Zoo | Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons | The Mauritius Conservation Mission, The Round Island Project | Pink Pigeon, Rodriguez Fruit Bat, Round Island Boa, Telfair's Skink, Gunther's Gecko, Mauritius Kestrel |
| 1978 | Assam, India and Bhutan | In-situ conservation mission and filming for an episode in a BBC series | â€" | "Animals Are My Life" episode in The World About Us series | Pigmy Hog |
| 1982 | Mauritius and other Mascarene Islands and Madagascar | In-situ conservation mission and animal collecting expedition for local breeding and Jersey Zoo to be filmed for a BBC TV series about the Trust's role in other countries | Ark on the Move | Ark on the Move | Pink Pigeon, Rodriguez Fruit Bat, Round Island Boa, Telfair's Skink, Gunther's Gecko, Mauritius Kestrel, Indri, Madagascan Boa |
| 1984 | Russia | Shooting of the Channel 4 TV series Durrell in Russia | Durrell in Russia | Durrell in Russia | Przewalski's Horse, Saiga, Cranes, Russian Desman |
| 1989 | Belize | As part of Programme for Belize — a conservation project which aimed to conserve 250,000 acres of tropical rain forest | â€" | â€" | Belizean rain forest species |
| 1990 | Madagascar | In-situ conservation mission and animal collecting expedition for local breeding and Jersey Zoo | The Aye-Aye and I | To the Island of Aye-Aye | Aye Aye, Indri, Ring-tailed Lemur, Alaotran Lemur, Tenrec |
 |
1st edition cover of Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium |
 |
1st edition cover of Catch Me A Colobus |
 |
Cover of the Amateur Naturalist, which countless naturalists read growing up |
 |
In his later life, Durrell wrote a number of beautifully illustrated books for children |
Autobiographical
The Overloaded Ark (
Faber and Faber,
1953)
Three Singles to Adventure (
Three Tickets to Adventure) (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1954)
The Bafut Beagles (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1954)
The New Noah (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1955)
The Drunken Forest (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1956)
My Family and Other Animals (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1956)
Encounters with Animals (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1958)
A Zoo in My Luggage (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1960)
The Whispering Land (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1961)
Menagerie Manor (
Rupert Hart-Davis,
1964)
Two in the Bush (
Collins,
1966)
Birds, Beasts And Relatives (
Collins,
1969)
Fillets of Plaice (
Collins,
1971)
Catch Me a Colobus (
Collins,
1972)
Beasts in My Belfry (
A Bevy of Beasts) (
Collins,
1973)
The Stationary Ark (
Collins,
1976) (mainly non-fictional content)
Golden Bats And Pink Pigeons: A Journey to the Flora and Fauna of a Unique Island (
Collins,
1977)
The Garden of the Gods (
Fauna and Family) (
Collins,
1978)
The Picnic And Suchlike Pandemonium (
The Picnic and Other Inimitable Stories) (
Collins,
1979) (with some fictional short stories)
Ark on the Move (
Coward McCann,
1982)
How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist (
Collins,
1984)
Durrell in Russia (with Lee Durrell) (
MacDonald (UK) /
Simon and Schuster (USA),
1986)
The Ark's Anniversary (
Collins,
1990)
Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories (
Harper-Collins,
1991) (with some fictional short stories)
The Aye-Aye And I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction (
Harper-Collins,
1992)
The Best of Gerald Durrell (edited by Lee Durrell) (
Harper-Collins,
1996)
Non-fiction
Island Zoo: The Animals a Famous Collector Couldn't Part with (photographs by
W. Suschitzky) (
Collins,
1961)
Look At Zoos (
Hamish Hamilton,
1961)
A Practical Guide for the Amateur Naturalist (with Lee Durrell) (
Hamish Hamilton (UK) /
Alfred A. Knopf (USA),
1982)
Fiction
The Donkey Rustlers (
Collins,
1968)
Rosie Is My Relative (
Collins,
1968)
The Talking Parcel (
Battle for Castle Cockatrice) (
Collins,
1974)
The Mockery Bird (
The Billion Dollar Brain) (
Collins,
1981)
The Fantastic Flying Journey: An Adventure in Natural History (
Conran Octopus,
1987)
The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure: A New Adventure in Natural History (
Conran Octopus,
1989)
Keeper (
Michael O'Mara Books,
1990)
Toby the Tortoise (
Michael O'Mara Books,
1991)
Puppy Tales:
Puppy's Beach Adventure,
Puppy's Field Day,
Puppy's Pet Pals,
Puppy's Wild Time (
Andrex,
1993)
Books edited by Gerald Durrell
My Favourite Animal Stories (
Arrow,
1962)
Note: In case of simultaneous releases in many countries, the UK edition is referred to, except for companion books to TV series where both the UK and USA editions are referred to.
Reference books
Biographies and other references
Himself and Other Animals — A Portrait of Gerald Durrell,
David Hughes (
1976)
In The Footsteps of Lawrence Durrell and Gerald Durrell in Corfu (1935 – 1939),
Hilary Whitton Paipeti (
1998)
Gerald Durrell — The Authorized Biography,
Douglas Botting (
1999)
"Durrelliania": An Illustrated Checklist of Inscribed Books of Lawrence Durrell and Gerald Durrell and Associated Publications, Letters and Notes in the Library of Jeremy J.C. Mallinson, edited by
Jeremy Mallinson (
1999)
Jersey Zoo and Durrell Wildlife Preservation Trust books
A Brush with Animals,
Ralph Thompson (illustrations by author) (
1963)
Okavango Adventure: In Search of Animals in Southern Africa,
Jeremy Mallinson (
1973)
Earning Your Living with Animals,
Jeremy Mallinson (
1975)
The Facts About a Zoo: Featuring the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust,
Jeremy Mallinson (
1980)
State of the Ark: An Atlas of Conservation in Action,
Lee Durrell (
1986)
Travels in Search of Endangered Species,
Jeremy Mallinson (
1989)
Gerald Durrell's Army,
Edward Whitley (
1992)
Jambo: A Gorilla's Story,
Richard Johnstone-Scott (
1995)
Companion books to TV series not co-authored by Durrell
Ourselves and Other Animals: From the TV Series with Gerald and Lee Durrell ,
Peter Evans (
1987)
Books by family and friends
Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corcyra,
Lawrence Durrell (
1945)
Beasts in My Bed,
Jacquie Durrell (
1967)
Spirit of Place: Essays and Letters on Travel,
Lawrence Durrell (
1969)
Island Trails,
Theodore Stephanides (
1973)
Intimate Relations,
Jacquie Durrell (
1976)
Whatever Happened to Margo,
Margaret Durrell (
1995) (written in
1951)
 |
Sketches for the Talking Parcel |
Featuring Gerald Durrell
Encounters With Animals, Radio series,
BBC (
1957)
To Bafut With Beagles, TV series,
BBC (
1958)
Look (Argentinian Expedition), Single episode in TV series,
BBC (
1961)
Zoo Packet, TV series,
BBC (
1961)
Animal Magic, Early episodes in TV series,
BBC (
1962 –
1983)
Two In The Bush, TV series,
BBC (
1963)
Catch Me a Colobus, TV series,
BBC (
1966)
The Garden of the Gods, TV series,
BBC (
1967)
The Stationary Ark, TV series,
Primedia(Canada) /
Channel 4(UK) (
1975)
Animals Are My Life, episode in the TV series
The World About Us,
BBC (
1978)
Ark On The Move, TV series,
Primedia(Canada) /
Channel 4(UK) (
1982)
The Amateur Naturalist, TV series,
CBC(USA) /
Channel 4(UK) (
1983)
Ourselves & Other Animals, TV series,
Primetime Television (
1987)
Durrell in Russia, TV series,
Channel 4(UK) (
1986)
Durrell's Ark, one hour documentary,
BBC (
1988)
A Day at the Zoo with Phillip Schofield, one hour episode featuring Durrell and Jersey Zoo (
1989)
Gerald Durrell — Himself and Other Animals, documentary,
Green Umbrella Productions (
1999)
Gerald Durrell — Jambo the Gentle Giant, documentary,
Green Umbrella Productions (
1999)
Gerald Durrell — To the Island of the Aye-Aye, documentary,
Green Umbrella Productions (
1999)
Safe Hands in a Wild World, documentary,
Green Umbrella Productions (
1999)
Inside Jersey Zoo, re-release, UK PC Advisor magazine (
2001)
The Round Island Project, re-release, UK PC Advisor magazine (
2001)
The Mauritius Conservation Mission, re-release, UK PC Advisor magazine (
2001)
On Gerald Durrell
A Memorial Celebration for the Life of Gerald Durrell (
1995)
The Wild Life of Gerald Durrell,
BBC 4 (December
2005)
Book by Gerald Durrell
The Talking Parcel, Animated movie, directed by
Brian Cosgrove,
Cosgrove Hall (
1979)
My Family and Other Animals, TV series,
BBC (
1989)
The Fantastic Flying Journey, Animated TV series, directed by
Catherine Robbins and
John Coates,
Two Sides TV /
TV Loonland (
2001)
My Family and Other Animals(remake), TV series,
BBC (
2005) (
homepage)
Screenplay by Gerald Durrell
Tarka the Otter, movie, directed by
David Cobham (
1979)
*The movie
Fierce Creatures was dedicated to him.
* Durrell's book
Fillets of Plaice is a pun on the name of the book
Spirit of Place by elder brother
Lawrence.
*In the
Discworld series of books, there is reference to a fictional book titled
My Family and Other Werewolves — clearly a parody on
My Family and Other Animals.
*Two actual books punning the name are
Simon Doonan's humorous memoir
Nasty: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints and
Josephine Feeney's comic novel
My Family and Other Natural Disasters.
*Gerald Durrell's debut book
The Overloaded Ark, and Lawrence Durrell's
Reflections on a Marine Venus were published simultaneously by
Faber and Faber, with an advertisement which read:
Quests animal ... and human — a dual demonstration of the enviable art of Durrelling.
Whatever Happened to Margo was written by
Margaret Durrell in
1951, but was only discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later. It describes, among other things, Gerald Durrell's visit to her house in
Bournemouth with a full menagerie of animals.
*The film crew of
Durrell in Russia were the first Western film crew from beyond the
Iron Curtain granted permission to film in the erstwhile
U.S.S.R. as part of
Mikhail Gorbachev's
glasnost policies.
*The titles of several of Gerald Durrell's books were changed for release in the
USA, a policy similar to that followed for many other
British authors, in which words not common in America were changed — e.g.,
Beasts in My Belfry was changed to
A Bevy of Beasts. The
Garden of the Gods title was changed because there is a location in the
USA by the name
Garden of the Gods.
*The "fight scene" between Durrell's pet
gecko Geronimo, and a larger
praying mantis was directed by the Assistant Producer
Nigel Marvin in the BBC 1989 TV series
My Family and Other Animals.
*Gerald Durrell was voted "South West Hero" in a poll conducted by the
BBC in
2004, ahead of other contenders like Sir
Walter Raleigh,
Albert Bedane and
Billy Butlin. He was also voted the greatest ever
Channel Islander by readers of the
Jersey Evening Post in
2002.
*Gerald Durrell quotes numerous raunchy
limericks in his
Corfu Trilogy which have not been documented elsewhere, and it is probable that some of these owe their origins to
Lawrence Durrell,
Edward Lear and
Theodore Stephanides. Gerald Durrell is himself the subject of a few limericks written later (see
here).
*A
time capsule buried at Jersey Zoo in
1988 contains the following popular quote by Durrell, often used in conservation awareness campaigns:
We hope that there will be fireflies and glow-worms at night to guide you and butterflies in hedges and forests to greet you.We hope that your dawns will have an orchestra of bird song and that the sound of their wings and the opalescence of their colouring will dazzle you.We hope that there will still be the extraordinary varieties of creatures sharing the land of the planet with you to enchant you and enrich your lives as they have done for us.We hope that you will be grateful for having been born into such a magical world.Institutional links
*
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust*
The Wildlife Trust, USA*
Wildlife Preservation Canada*
Mauritian Wildlife Federation*
The Durrell School,
Corfu*
The Lawrence Durrell Collection at the
British Library*
Jersey Zoo architects page*
Children's chapter of the
Wildlife Trust (US).
Database links
*
BBC database of Gerald Durrell
Tribute websites
*
A tribute website for Gerald Durrell*
Another tribute website for DurrellWeb Biographies
*
H2G2 article on Durrell
