site.btaVarna Regional Library Marks Gerald Durrell's 100th Birth Anniversary with Exhibition

The Regional Library in Varna celebrates the 100th anniversary of Gerald Durrell's birth with an exhibition. All his publications from the institution's collection, which number about 20, are on display, as well as panels with details about the interesting life of the naturalist, writer and public figure, Regional Library digital marketing expert Anna-Maria Popova from the library explained to BTA on Monday. The exhibition will remain in the library until February 10.

Gerald Durrell was born in India and all his family were British Indians. The fact that he spent his childhood in exotic places may have determined his interest in nature. His strongest influence were the four years spent on the island of Corfu. His family returned to England after World War II, Popova recalled.

She pointed out that there is a showcase in the exhibition that includes books by Gerald's brother, Lawrence Durrell, as he is known in Bulgaria. He was a poet, writer, diplomat. His books are more experimental, fragmentary, epistolary. She said Gerald was greatly inspired by his brother, who was older by 12 years.

In England, Durrell worked on a farm, a pet shop and a zoo. He saw that the attitude of zoo management was oriented towards attraction rather than conservation of species and this had impact on him. In 1955 he went to visit his brother in Cyprus and decided to start his own zoo there, but political changes occurred and he moved to the island of Jersey where he bought land. He started collecting different animals from all continents, choosing species that were extinct or little known to Europeans, Popova said, adding that it was important to him to preserve populations of endangered fauna. 

He has conducted research expeditions in Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Antarctica is the only place he not has visited. Gerald Darrell has documented his travels in over 40 travelogues and autobiographical novels, in which he has written about Cameroon, Argentina, Mexico, the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius, and other places around the world. His travels are shown on a map in the exhibition.

In addition to the zoo, he founded the Jersey Wildlife Conservation Trust. Both organizations are still active today, with nearly two hundred animals currently living at the zoo. Its heritage is quite rich and very important for naturalists, Popova added.