Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international conservation organization and charitable institution headquartered at Les Augrès Manor on Jersey in the Channel Islands. Its central mission is to save species from extinction through practical conservation, captive breeding, habitat protection, field research, training, and public engagement. The organization was founded by naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, whose approach combined zoological expertise with intensive, hands-on management of threatened animals. The Trust grew out of the Jersey Zoo, which Gerald Durrell established in 1959 on the grounds of Les Augrès Manor. At a time when many zoos were primarily organized around public display, Durrell promoted the use of zoological collections as refuges and breeding centers for endangered species. The zoo provided a place where animals threatened in their native habitats could be rescued, studied, and bred, with the longer-term goal of supporting their survival in the wild. The dodo became the Trust's emblem, symbolizing human responsibility for species driven to extinction. In 1963, Gerald Durrell established the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution. The charity later expanded beyond Jersey, developing conservation programmes in multiple regions and working with local communities, governments, scientists, and partner organizations. Its field work has included species recovery, population management, habitat restoration, conservation education, and the development of local skills. Reference material describes the Trust as operating around 50 conservation programmes in 18 countries. Jersey remains the organization's principal base. The Durrell Wildlife Park at Les Augrès Manor functions both as a public zoological park and as a conservation facility. It provides secure accommodation for endangered mammals, birds, and reptiles, including animals that require rescue, recovery, or managed breeding. Keepers and conservation specialists use the collection to improve knowledge about husbandry and species requirements before animals are returned, where feasible, to protected habitats. The Trust has also developed supporting facilities and educational activities. Its organic farm, established in 1976, was created to supply the animal collection with food grown without chemical treatment; reference material states that it can provide about 70 percent of the animals' annual fruit, vegetable, and forage requirements. The Durrell Wildlife Camp, begun in 2012, added visitor accommodation near the park and linked overnight stays with the organization's conservation setting. The children's Dodo Club promoted environmental awareness and citizen-science activities among younger supporters. The organization was renamed Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on 26 March 1999 in honor of its founder. Gerald Durrell died in January 1995, aged 70. His wife, Lee McGeorge Durrell, succeeded him as Honorary Director and continued to participate actively in the Trust's work. Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, is identified in reference material as the Trust's patron. Durrell's contemporary identity combines charitable fundraising, conservation science, animal care, public education, and international species-recovery partnerships.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's history began with Gerald Durrell's attempt to apply a conservation purpose to zoological work. In 1959, he established a zoo at Les Augrès Manor in Jersey. Originally known as Jersey Zoo, the institution was intended not simply as a collection for public viewing but as a sanctuary and breeding center for endangered animals. Durrell's ideas met resistance from parts of the zoological community, yet the Jersey project gave him a base from which to develop his model of intensive conservation management. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963. The dodo was selected as its symbol, reflecting the extinction of a species through human activity and serving as a warning about the consequences of environmental destruction. The Trust's Jersey facilities became a refuge for animals that could no longer safely remain in their native environments. Animals could be rescued, housed, bred, and studied while conservation specialists worked to understand the conditions needed for eventual recovery in the wild. The organization gradually extended its work beyond the island. Rather than treating the zoo as an isolated institution, the Trust developed overseas conservation programmes involving field research, species management, habitat work, training, and cooperation with local partners. Reference material describes approximately 50 programmes in 18 countries. This international expansion established the organization as a conservation charity whose activities combine ex situ care at Jersey with in situ work in threatened habitats. The Trust also invested in infrastructure that supported both animal welfare and public engagement. In 1976 it created an organic farm to supply the collection with untreated food crops, including sunflowers and maize. The farm was designed to reduce dependence on commercially purchased feed and, according to reference material, supplies roughly 70 percent of the collection's annual fruit, vegetable, and forage needs. Educational activities included the Dodo Club, a children's membership and learning initiative centered on environmental awareness and citizen science. Gerald Durrell died in January 1995 at the age of 70. Lee McGeorge Durrell subsequently became Honorary Director and continued to be closely involved in the Trust's work in Jersey and overseas. On 26 March 1999, the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust adopted the name Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, formally associating the institution with its founder and his conservation philosophy. In the 2010s, the Jersey site continued to operate as both a public wildlife park and a conservation facility containing more than 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles, many of them threatened in the wild. Work on the Durrell Wildlife Camp began in early 2012 in a wooded area near the park's lemur enclosures. The accommodation broadened the visitor experience while retaining a close connection with the Trust's conservation setting. Across its history, Durrell has therefore combined animal rescue, managed breeding, field conservation, training, sustainable site operations, and public participation under a single charitable identity.

• 2012

  Durrell Wildlife Camp construction begins

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Work began on visitor accommodation in the wooded grounds near the park's lemur enclosures.

• 1999

  Trust renamed in Gerald Durrell's honor

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  On 26 March, the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust became Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

• 1995

  Gerald Durrell dies

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Gerald Durrell died in January; Lee McGeorge Durrell later continued as Honorary Director.

• 1976

  Organic farm created

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  The Trust established an organic farm to produce untreated food and forage for animals at the Jersey site.

• 1963

  Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust founded

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Gerald Durrell founded the charitable trust that became Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, adopting the dodo as its emblem.

• 1959

  Jersey Zoo established

  [1]Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Gerald Durrell established a zoo at Les Augrès Manor in Jersey as a sanctuary and breeding center for endangered animals.

A practical, science-led conservation charity that connects a zoological park, endangered-species husbandry, international field programmes, training, and public education.

• Zoological park and conservation facility · 1959

  Durrell Wildlife Park

  The Trust's Jersey headquarters and public wildlife park at Les Augrès Manor. It provides managed care, breeding, rescue, research, and educational facilities for threatened mammals, birds, and reptiles, while also allowing visitors to learn about species conservation.

• Species and habitat conservation

  International conservation programmes

  Field programmes carried out with partners in countries beyond Jersey. Activities include endangered-species recovery, habitat protection, research, training, community engagement, and support for conservation capacity in areas where threatened species occur.

• Sustainable animal-care infrastructure · 1976

  Durrell Organic Farm

  An organic farm created to grow food and forage for animals at the Jersey site. Its crops include produce such as sunflowers and maize, reducing the need to purchase equivalent supplies commercially.

• Wildlife tourism and accommodation · 2012

  Durrell Wildlife Camp

  Accommodation developed within the wildlife park grounds near the lemur enclosures. It extends the visitor experience and provides a way for guests to stay within the Trust's conservation environment.

• Children's environmental education

  Dodo Club

  A children's membership and educational initiative associated with the Trust's dodo emblem. Its activities focused on environmental awareness and citizen-science participation among younger supporters.

• 2012

  Development of the Durrell Wildlife CampOther

  Background

  The Trust sought to deepen visitor engagement with its Jersey conservation site and provide accommodation near the wildlife park.

  Action taken

  Construction began on the Durrell Wildlife Camp in a wooded area near the lemur lake enclosure.

  Aftermath

  The accommodation became part of the visitor offer associated with the wildlife park.

  Source

• 1999

  Adoption of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust nameStrategy

  Background

  The organization had operated as the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust since its establishment and was closely identified with Gerald Durrell's conservation model.

  Action taken

  It changed its name on 26 March 1999 to Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, honoring its founder and clarifying the continuing connection between the charity and his work.

  Aftermath

  The renamed Trust continued to combine the Jersey wildlife park with international conservation programmes, training, and species-recovery work.

  Source

1. 1Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust official websitedurrell.org