Last year I joined a group of very excited people all geared up to save the world.

I was on a small island, surrounded by strange and unusual beasts and sharing a 4 bed dormitory with a few more.

Truth be told it was not a particularly remote island but one of the Channel Islands and the strange and unusual beasts were not actually free to roam but were housed in rather lovely environs at Durrell Wildlife Park, the home of the wonderful Jersey based Conservation organisation that was established by Gerald Durrell and now run by a dedicated team. https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/

I was a student of the two weeks residential Endangered Species Recovery Course held at Durrell annually in their training centre.

Why?  Frankly – I want to make like a superhero, I want to save the world.

Who would be better to teach me how to do that than a team whose stated mission is: “To Save Species from Extinction”

The reason I love Durrell so much is because of the practical approach they take to doing their conservation work.  They are focused on saving the types of animals that don’t get all the showy headlines.  Like the Pink Pigeon and the Mauritian Kestrel, the Aye Aye of Madagascar and the Mountain Chicken of Montserrat (which confusingly is a Frog).

Often these are species that are critically endangered when Durrell is asked to step in to intervene. In some cases less than 15 individuals left in the wild.
This is based on the philosophy of the “wee brown jobs”, being of worth saving not just the flashy showy things.

What was it that so energised me about the two weeks on Jersey?

Well you might assume it was being a Gorilla Keeper for a morning including learning the little known secret of how to judge the fertility of an adult Female Gorilla. Or possibly sharing provoking and sometimes heated debates with concerned Conservation Newbies, experienced Conservation Heroes, Mammal Keepers, Vets, Artists and even IT Consultants.

But mostly it was because I felt deeply heartened that a species like the Pie Tamarin can be supported so well by Captive Breeding programmes and the learnings from this taken back to the local community, to improve the local ecosystem for all.

So what did I learn?  That with a bit of help from Superman many species have been brought back from the brink of extinction and how to save the ecosystems that they are a critical part of, is being shared with the people who are living in those regions. Madagascar has benefited in this way with the Ploughshare Tortoise and a number of Lemur projects being supported by Durrell in tandem with local agencies.

So whilst you might think that Superman can not possibly have anything to do with this, let me explain. Henry Cavill is a Jersey boy, and very much to my approval has been an Ambassador for Durrell Wildlife in recent times. http://cavillconservation.com/henry-on-course-for-justgiving-award/

Truly Batman v Superman when you see him with the Fruitbats in the Bat Tunnel!

However the real Superman is someone who is a guest lecturer on the course, Dr Carl Jones. A man to whom the saving of 9 species from extinction, can be attributed. This was recognised earlier this year… but let him tell you in his own words.

Now that is a really Super man.