KOLKATA: Standing in front of the enclosures of ring-tailed lemur and black-and-white ruffed lemur at the Alipore zoo — two of the Madagascar animals, the vocalization of which she studied between 1973 and 1975 — naturalist, author, conservationist and zookeeper Lee Durrell took a trip down the memory lane during her second visit to India on Monday morning.
"That was the subject of my PhD. While writing the thesis at Duke University, North Carolina, it was a chance encounter that I met Gerry (Gerald Durrell) in 1977. That Oct, he invited me to Washington and said he wanted to set up a recording facility at his zoo... And that's how our journey began," recalls 75-year-old Lee.
She emphasises the significance of her late husband Gerald Durrell's centenary celebration. "100 years is a milestone. And one should use this to reflect upon his work. It's good to see that his dreams are leading the way in several parts of the world as far as captive breeding of endangered animals are concerned," she notes, while observing the brow-antlered deer (Sangai) enclosure, an endangered species native to Manipur's Keibul Lamjao National Park.
This species is part of the zoo's captive breeding project. "How many of them are left in the wild?" she asks. Upon learning that fewer than a hundred survive in the wild, she looked worried. Lee praised the zoo's captive breeding programme whilst highlighting the need of rewilding — similar to the critically endangered pygmy hog project in Assam, managed by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, where she serves as the honorary director. "We have released 200 pygmy hogs in the wild so far," she adds.
She expressed enthusiasm about Alipore Zoo's new bird walk. "Look at the birds, look how active they are. They look happy. It's always good to keep humans enclosed, like the way they have done it in this bird walk," she adds. However, she recommended additional climbing space in the lemurs' enclosures.
Passing the Malayan Tapir enclosure — a rescued animal — she voiced concerns about rising wildlife trafficking, asking: "Has any effort been made to repatriate rescued exotic animals to their countries of origin?" Shubhobroto Ghosh, wildlife campaign manager at World Animal Protection, who facilitated the walk, said: "The zoo can serve as a rescue centre for animals that are unfit to return to wild and ought to facilitate repatriation of exotic animals to their countries of origin whenever possible."
Regarding Gerald Durrell's future legacy, Lee hopes to see his influence in quality zoos worldwide. "Also, in his writings. And the best thing about his books is that they are easy to read. ‘My Family and Other Animals' has actually encouraged a lot of young people to read. For kids, this is education in its own," she adds. On Durrell's centenary, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust plans to organise a fund-raiser in the form of ‘Durrell Trek'. "It may start in March and will touch upon Jamshedpur, where he was born, and Assam," she adds.
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