Wildlife Writer Gerald Durrell Dies

Naturalist and wildlife writer Gerald Durrell died Monday on the Channel Island of Jersey, where he founded a zoo dedicated to preserving endangered species. He was 70.

Durrell, author of “My Family and Other Animals” and “The Overloaded Ark,” had a liver transplant last year and never really recovered, said Simon Hicks, secretary of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.

Durrell’s engaging humor made him one of the most popular authors of animal stories. He made 12 television series and produced films of his expeditions.

Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India. His family moved around Europe before settling on the Greek island of Corfu, where he spent much of his childhood.

As a child, Durrell avidly collected animals, ranging from scorpions to eagle owls.

He used to say his mother told him that his first word was not “Mom” or “Dad,” but “zoo.”

His late brother, novelist Lawrence Durrell, suggested he write about his animals. He began his animal escapades in 1953 in “The Overloaded Ark.”

His 37 books, including the bestselling “The Bafut Beagles,” “A Zoo In My Luggage,” “Catch Me A Colobus,” and “The Aye-Aye And I,” have been translated into 31 languages.

In 1959, Durrell founded The Jersey Zoo, dedicated to breeding endangered species.

“He changed the face of zoos and what zoos were doing,” fellow naturalist Sir David Attenborough said. “He was one of the first to demonstrate that zoos needn’t be about polar bears and elephants and lions. They could be about ants, they could be about small reptiles….”