Lee McGeorge Durrell
Encyclopedia
Lee McGeorge Durrell MBE (née Wilson) (born September 7, 1949) is a naturalist
, author
, zoo
keeper and television presenter, best known for her work at the Jersey Zoological Park
in the British Channel Island
of Jersey
with her late husband Gerald Durrell
, and for co-authoring books with him.
, and showed an interest in wildlife as a child. She studied philosophy at Bryn Mawr College
near Philadelphia before enrolling in 1971 for a graduate programme at Duke University
, to study animal behaviour. She conducted research for her Ph.D.
on the calls of mammal
s and bird
s in Madagascar
.She met Gerald Durrell when he gave a lecture at Duke University in 1977, and married him in 1979. In December 2005, Lee Durrell handed over a large collection of dead animals (which had originally been collected and bred by her husband Gerald Durrell) to the National Museums of Scotland
to aid genetic research of the critically rare species.
Lee Durrell moved to Jersey and became involved with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
(then the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust). She accompanied Durrell on his last three conservation missions:
She became the Honorary Director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after the death of Gerald Durrell in 1995. She was instrumental in getting the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust renamed after Gerald Durrell, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Jersey Zoo. She is also a member of various expert groups on conservation, and is fondly called "Mother Tortoise" in certain areas of Madagascar
due to her work with the Ploughshare Tortoise.
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
Lee Durrell was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2011 Birthday Honours.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
keeper and television presenter, best known for her work at the Jersey Zoological Park
Jersey Zoological Park
Jersey Zoological Park or Jersey Zoo is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and author Gerald Durrell . It is now officially called Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after its founder, or Durrell for short...
in the British Channel Island
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
with her late husband Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
, and for co-authoring books with him.
Brief biography
Lee was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and showed an interest in wildlife as a child. She studied philosophy at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
near Philadelphia before enrolling in 1971 for a graduate programme at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, to study animal behaviour. She conducted research for her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
on the calls of mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.She met Gerald Durrell when he gave a lecture at Duke University in 1977, and married him in 1979. In December 2005, Lee Durrell handed over a large collection of dead animals (which had originally been collected and bred by her husband Gerald Durrell) to the National Museums of Scotland
National Museums of Scotland
National Museums Scotland is the organization that runs several national museums of Scotland. It is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collections of natural sciences, decorative arts, world cultures, science and technology, and Scottish history and...
to aid genetic research of the critically rare species.
Lee Durrell moved to Jersey and became involved with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organisation with a mission to save species from extinction.Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the Dodo as its symbol...
(then the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust). She accompanied Durrell on his last three conservation missions:
- MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, other Mascarene IslandsMascarene IslandsThe Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
and MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(1982) (account in Gerald Durrell's Ark on the Move) - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(1986) (account in Durrell in Russia, co-authored with Gerald Durrell) - MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(1990) (account in Gerald Durrell's The Aye-Aye and I)
She became the Honorary Director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after the death of Gerald Durrell in 1995. She was instrumental in getting the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust renamed after Gerald Durrell, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Jersey Zoo. She is also a member of various expert groups on conservation, and is fondly called "Mother Tortoise" in certain areas of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
due to her work with the Ploughshare Tortoise.
Honours
Nactus serpeninsula durrelli : Durrell's Night Gecko : The Round IslandRound Island
Round Island may refer to:Australia:* Round Island , Frankland Islands* Round Island , Hogan Group, northern Bass StraitCanada:* Round Island, Nova Scotia* Round Island Hong Kong:...
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
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
released a stamp depicting the race
Lee Durrell was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2011 Birthday Honours.
Filmography
- The Amateur Naturalist, TV series, CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(Canada) / Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(UK) (1982) - Ourselves & Other Animals, TV series, Primetime Television (1987)
- Durrell in Russia, TV series, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(UK) (1986)
Articles
- The Sunday Herald report on the donation to the Scottish Museums
Interviews
- The Independent
- allafrica.com interview - presently offline, Sep 5, 2001 archive from the Wayback Machine