Gerald Durrell: The visitor in his own zoo
The man who founded Jersey Zoo 25 years ago as a home for his collection of animals now feels almost a visitor to his own zoo, so little time does he have to walk around and enjoy it.
But although it is with more than a tinge of regret that Gerald Durrell recognises how removed his life and work is from the intimate contact with the animals which characterised the early days of his zoo, he accepts it as an inevitable result of his success.
That success has been not only in establishing a permanent home for what has become one of the most envied collections of animals in the world but in establishing a centre for captive breeding whose influence is being felt increasingly throughout that world.
But although it is with more than a tinge of regret that Gerald Durrell recognises how removed his life and work is from the intimate contact with the animals which characterised the early days of his zoo, he accepts it as an inevitable result of his success.
That success has been not only in establishing a permanent home for what has become one of the most envied collections of animals in the world but in establishing a centre for captive breeding whose influence is being felt increasingly throughout that world.
The role of its founder has been in spreading the gospel of conservation and in raising the money without which the work could not continue. Whether that is done in person or through the books which have made him as famous an author as he is a conservationist, it leaves precious little time to enjoy his zoo.
“In the early days it was much more intimate, but then I lost day-to-day contact, which is the way it should be. Provided that the people who look after the animals do so properly, it does not matter to me. Even when I am here, I spend the whole week answering letters and trying to write a book. I am lucky if I get out for an hour in the week. I am almost a visitor to that extent. I regret it but it is part and parcel of the growth and if you want the thing to grow, you have to expect that.”
“In reality I am a fund-raiser. I hate all the things I do, except getting in touch with animals, I hate committees, but I cannot really make the break. I think the urge to say that I have had enough is always present in a lazy man, but I believe so much in what I am doing that I cannot let up, at least for the moment. I will stop when they have to push me round in a wheelchair.”
“In the early days it was much more intimate, but then I lost day-to-day contact, which is the way it should be. Provided that the people who look after the animals do so properly, it does not matter to me. Even when I am here, I spend the whole week answering letters and trying to write a book. I am lucky if I get out for an hour in the week. I am almost a visitor to that extent. I regret it but it is part and parcel of the growth and if you want the thing to grow, you have to expect that.”
“In reality I am a fund-raiser. I hate all the things I do, except getting in touch with animals, I hate committees, but I cannot really make the break. I think the urge to say that I have had enough is always present in a lazy man, but I believe so much in what I am doing that I cannot let up, at least for the moment. I will stop when they have to push me round in a wheelchair.”
But did he really have ambitions of establishing a world-famous animal breeding centre those 25 years ago or was he simply looking for a home for his 50-plus collection of animals when he founded Jersey Zoo?
“The thoughts were in my mind, but first you have to establish a place which would inevitably get labelled as a zoo and make it financially viable. As far as I was concerned it was a grand scheme from the outset. Everybody I talked to thought I was mad.”
It is not recorded what the authorities in Bournemouth thought of Gerald Durrell's ambitions, but they put so many obstacles in the way of his plans to set up home for his animals there that he sought another holiday resort "where they make their own rules and regulations". ‘
So it was that he came to Jersey armed with an introduction from his publisher to Hugh Fraser, who showed him round Fort Regent (‘‘I said it would cost £25 million to turn into a zoo") and took him back to his Augrés Manor home for lunch.
With the co-operation both of Mr Fraser and the island authorities it was a matter of months before Augrés Manor became Jersey Zoo.
Bournemouth's loss was Jersey's gain and the island has had good cause in subsequent years to be pleased and proud of what has become a major tourist attraction and of the man who has become its best-known ambassador throughout the world.
How successful has the zoo been in fulfilling its founder's aim of establishing a conservation centre which would have a major impact on the declining populations of many of the world's wild animals?
“Enormously successful, but not successful enough in the sense that it is such a slow progress. You have to grope around for money and persuade governments and every year you read more horrible reports of what is being done to the world around us.”
“The world is being destroyed at the speed of an Exocet and we are riding on a bicycle. I feel despair 24 hours a day at the way we are treating the world and what we are piling up for ourselves. You have to keep fighting, or what are we on earth for?”
It is not only in the progress which has been made at Jersey Zoo that Gerald Durrell measures his success.
“Zoos in most parts of the world are realising that they have to face up to their responsibilities. We were pioneers in showing the way we thought things should be done, but now a number of bigger, powerful zoos are becoming more and more influential.”
“We are still pioneering. We have just signed this accord with Madagasgar and Mauritius. We are spreading our tentacles out to influence conservation in the world, which is what all zoos should do and .very few still do today.”
“We are getting to the stage where we can influence governments as to how to preserve habitat and you will ultimately get to the point where you do not need to have animals over here. More and more as we grow we are getting to have a voice that governments trust, because we take animals and breed them but say: ‘They belong to you and you can have them back tomorrow if you want’. , We can go and tell them how we can help them to breed them and raise money for them, and be a conservation organisation rather than a zoo. It is an awful word. I wish I could expunge it from the English language. ‘”
Although Jersey Zoo has indeed become the centre; of a worldwide conservation organisation, it cannot forget that it is still a major public attraction in a holiday island, and Mr Durrell regrets that the public of the island have not always shown as much interest in his activities as he would have liked.
“There are still people in the island after 25 years who say that they have never been to the zoo. If you have something on your doorstep and profess to have an interest in conservation, you should support it”, he says, while admitting that some of the fault lies with the zoo.
“We think that perhaps we were too international I think we also tended to be a little too smug and thought that everybody should come to us,’ but now I think we have turned the corner.”
The zoo, and the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, which has run it for 21 of its 25 years, relies enormously on voluntary help from islanders and on the money it receives from the public passing through its gates.
Yet it is in many ways far removed from the popular public image of zoos.
“Inevitably you are disappointing people who want elephants and giraffes. I think that if you put up the right sort of thing as to what your aims and objects are, people are fascinated. You have to explain to people.”
However important the public are to the zoo, they rate only third in Gerald Durrell's list of priorities.
“The first priority is the animals, second the people who look after them and third the public. But they are not incompatible. There is no reason why you should not create a world for animals which will be suitable for the people who want to see them.”
“One of the nicest things people say to us is that they have never been to a zoo where the animals look so happy. If everybody came and said the animals did not look happy I would close the place down.”
“The thoughts were in my mind, but first you have to establish a place which would inevitably get labelled as a zoo and make it financially viable. As far as I was concerned it was a grand scheme from the outset. Everybody I talked to thought I was mad.”
It is not recorded what the authorities in Bournemouth thought of Gerald Durrell's ambitions, but they put so many obstacles in the way of his plans to set up home for his animals there that he sought another holiday resort "where they make their own rules and regulations". ‘
So it was that he came to Jersey armed with an introduction from his publisher to Hugh Fraser, who showed him round Fort Regent (‘‘I said it would cost £25 million to turn into a zoo") and took him back to his Augrés Manor home for lunch.
With the co-operation both of Mr Fraser and the island authorities it was a matter of months before Augrés Manor became Jersey Zoo.
Bournemouth's loss was Jersey's gain and the island has had good cause in subsequent years to be pleased and proud of what has become a major tourist attraction and of the man who has become its best-known ambassador throughout the world.
How successful has the zoo been in fulfilling its founder's aim of establishing a conservation centre which would have a major impact on the declining populations of many of the world's wild animals?
“Enormously successful, but not successful enough in the sense that it is such a slow progress. You have to grope around for money and persuade governments and every year you read more horrible reports of what is being done to the world around us.”
“The world is being destroyed at the speed of an Exocet and we are riding on a bicycle. I feel despair 24 hours a day at the way we are treating the world and what we are piling up for ourselves. You have to keep fighting, or what are we on earth for?”
It is not only in the progress which has been made at Jersey Zoo that Gerald Durrell measures his success.
“Zoos in most parts of the world are realising that they have to face up to their responsibilities. We were pioneers in showing the way we thought things should be done, but now a number of bigger, powerful zoos are becoming more and more influential.”
“We are still pioneering. We have just signed this accord with Madagasgar and Mauritius. We are spreading our tentacles out to influence conservation in the world, which is what all zoos should do and .very few still do today.”
“We are getting to the stage where we can influence governments as to how to preserve habitat and you will ultimately get to the point where you do not need to have animals over here. More and more as we grow we are getting to have a voice that governments trust, because we take animals and breed them but say: ‘They belong to you and you can have them back tomorrow if you want’. , We can go and tell them how we can help them to breed them and raise money for them, and be a conservation organisation rather than a zoo. It is an awful word. I wish I could expunge it from the English language. ‘”
Although Jersey Zoo has indeed become the centre; of a worldwide conservation organisation, it cannot forget that it is still a major public attraction in a holiday island, and Mr Durrell regrets that the public of the island have not always shown as much interest in his activities as he would have liked.
“There are still people in the island after 25 years who say that they have never been to the zoo. If you have something on your doorstep and profess to have an interest in conservation, you should support it”, he says, while admitting that some of the fault lies with the zoo.
“We think that perhaps we were too international I think we also tended to be a little too smug and thought that everybody should come to us,’ but now I think we have turned the corner.”
The zoo, and the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, which has run it for 21 of its 25 years, relies enormously on voluntary help from islanders and on the money it receives from the public passing through its gates.
Yet it is in many ways far removed from the popular public image of zoos.
“Inevitably you are disappointing people who want elephants and giraffes. I think that if you put up the right sort of thing as to what your aims and objects are, people are fascinated. You have to explain to people.”
However important the public are to the zoo, they rate only third in Gerald Durrell's list of priorities.
“The first priority is the animals, second the people who look after them and third the public. But they are not incompatible. There is no reason why you should not create a world for animals which will be suitable for the people who want to see them.”
“One of the nicest things people say to us is that they have never been to a zoo where the animals look so happy. If everybody came and said the animals did not look happy I would close the place down.”
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