Gerald Durrell, one of Britain’s most popular writers, was born in Jamshedpur, India in 1925. In 1928 his family returned to England and in 1933 they went to live on the Continent. Eventually they settled on the is- land of Corfu, where they lived until 1939. During this time Durrell made a special study of zoology, and kept a large number of local wild animals as pets. In 1945 he joined the staff at Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. In 1947 he financed, organised and led his first animal- collecting expedition to the Cameroons. That was followed by an expedition in 1948 and a third in 1949, this time to British Guiana. He has also made expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. In 1958 he founded the Jersey Zoological Park and in 1964 the Jersey Preservation Trust. In 1983 he was awarded the OBE for his services to conservation.