EAZA News 58-9 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

eaza news 58
2007
interview
Please describe your career path. In my teens, I worked on a
refugee resettlement scheme in the Okavango swamps of
Botswana, the wildlife paradise which first inspired me to
take up a zoological career. I originally trained in research
at the British Museum of Natural History as a comparative
anatomist/fish taxonomist and in the 1970’s, ended up
on an inter-university council contract in Nigeria, helping
set up the biology department of a new university. This
was in Sokoto on the fringe of the Sahara desert (one
of the hottest places on earth!). After being a keeper of
natural history (chief curator) at the Horniman Museum
and Gardens in London, and holding a similar post at the
National Museums of Liverpool, I joined Chester Zoo in
1992 as chief curator. I became the director in 1995 and
then director general in 2005, following a re-organisation.
“
It is all about actively developing the
research potential of zoos and aquaria
within EAZA and each member zoo
budgeting for staff and resources
against their own strategies”.
10
The Horniman Museum and Gardens had living collections,
including a historical aquarium and vivarium, established
under the influence of Philip Henry Gosse, the Victorian
who in 1854 invented the word ‘aquarium’. However, by the
1980’s this facility was threatened with closure under the
Zoo Licensing Act. I secured external funding and worked
with an excellent team to build ‘Living waters; an aquarium
for the future’. While only ‘medium-sized’, I believe that
this was the first aquarium in the world entirely dedicated
to explaining the important issues of conserving aquatic
life and using water in a sustainable way.
What are the main challenges for you as director general?
Continuing to pursue our Chester Zoo vision of a ‘diverse,
thriving and sustainable natural world’ and deliver on our
mission or purpose ‘to be a major force for conserving
biodiversity worldwide’ and balancing this with internal
and external business demands. We are also engaged in
increasingly large-scale animal exhibit developments such
as the €5.6 million ‘Realm of the red ape (orang-utan)’
facility due to be open this summer. Delivering big projects
on time and to budget demands excellent planning,
tracking and teamwork.
Gordon McGregor Reid
Position Director general of Chester Zoo. Favourite colour Blue,
perhaps reflecting my birth sign Aquarius… Last musical seen
The Abba-themed musical ‘Mamma Mia!’. Last book read Graham
Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’. Hobbies Predictably, I keep freshwater
tropical fish and, less predictably, a collection of cactuses.
I like to restore antique leather-bound books, I am keen on gardening and
I swim every day to keep fit. I also collect fish postage stamps and
little lead zoo animals and soldiers that date from the previous
turn of the century. A bit sad eh, but I am not causing any harm!
As chair of the EAZA Research Committee, how do you see
research in zoos and aquaria evolving in the future? Clearly,
scientific research that focuses on practical conservation,
welfare, husbandry and sustainability issues is highly
relevant. However, zoo collections can also be used to help
answer many other important practical and theoretical
questions including ones on the taxonomy, morphology and
evolution of animals and even the psychology of the visitors
viewing them. The EAZA Research Committee has been
working hard for two years or more on the EAZA Research
Strategy, which is now ready for publication. It is all about
actively developing the research potential of the zoos and
aquaria in Europe and each member zoo budgeting for staff
and resources against their own strategies.
Describe one of your favourite research projects undertaken by
your zoo. My favourite personal research project (completed
after I took up employment with Chester Zoo) was in collaboration
with my good friend the late great Guy Teugels of
the Central African Museum, Tervuren, Belgium. Based on
years of fieldwork conducted in the rainforests of west Africa,
we produced ‘Fishes of the Cross River basin (Cameroon-
Nigeria): Taxonomy, zoogeography, ecology and conservation
(1992)’. We recognised a minimum of 166 species of fish
(in 15 orders, 42 families and 97 genera), including several
that were new to science. No previous authors had guessed
that this basin could hold anything like as many species. The
Cross River is now widely recognised as a major biodiversity
‘hotspot’ for fishes where new taxa are still being discovered.
What do you enjoy most about your job? I like the huge variety
of things that come my way and enjoy the fact that I have
to interact with lots of different people. No two days are
the same; one day I could be dealing with a zoo licensing
inspection, another I might be down in London giving an
invited talk to the British Standards Institute on the zoo
team proudly achieving the international environmental
management standard ISO14001. Given my scientific
interests, hosting the annual EAZA Research Committee
meeting in Chester is always a high point!
Is there any particular species or group of animals that stands
out for you? If so, why? At the moment amphibians are a
taxon of great conservation concern, because very many
species and populations are threatened with extinction
around the world. I act as a co-chair for the Amphibian Ark
(AARK) partnership initiative between IUCN CBSG/ASG,
WAZA and the Regional Zoo Associations, notably
including EAZA who have been very supportive. Among
other things, we are all working hard to deliver a ‘Year of
the frog’ campaign for 2008. •