Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

== Late 1950s and Jersey Zoo ==
Late in 1955 Durrell began planning another collecting expedition.  He had accepted that the expeditions could never be profitable in themselves, but he knew they would provide material for the books which were his source of income.  He also hoped to make a film of the expedition.  He settled on returning to the Cameroons, and to Bafut in particular, since he could be sure of cooperation from the Fon and the local hunters.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 233.</ref>  Durrell also began lobbying Bournemouth town council to establish a zoo there, which he would manage, but received little encouragement.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 237–239.</ref>

In late December 1956 the Durrells boarded the SS ''Tortugeiro'' in Southampton, accompanied by Sophie Cook and Robert Golding, a young naturalist.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 236, 243.</ref>  The British government officials in the Cameroons were hostile and uncooperative: they considered Durrell had portrayed the Fon in ''The Bafut Beagles'' as "a carousing black clown who spoke comic pidgin English", in Jacquie's words, and the Durrells had trouble getting their equipment through customs.  Eventually they reached Mamfe, and discovered that it would be impossible to collect any gorillas—aside from the difficulty of getting a licence, there were so few gorillas left in the area that Durrell decided it would be wrong to capture one.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 244–245.</ref>  They did obtain permission to film them, but Durrell became ill, both physically and mentally.  He had to be hospitalised because of injuries to his feet, and he became depressed and started drinking heavily.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 246–247.</ref>

Jacquie suggested to Gerald that instead of selling the animals they were collecting, they should keep the collection and "use it to blackmail the Bournemouth Council into giving us a suitable zoo site in the town", and Durrell agreed.<ref name=":11">Botting (1999), pp. 247–250.</ref>  He remained depressed at the changes in the Cameroons since he had first visited, even when they finally reached Bafut and met the Fon again.  Durrell continued to drink heavily.  He came down with malaria; and then he and Jacquie both caught a blood disease.  By May they had hundreds of animals collected, including [[sunbird]]s, cobras, eagles, [[Gaboon viper]]s, a [[chevrotain]], and a baby chimpanzee.  They left Bafut in June 1957.<ref name=":11" />

The animals were established in the garden and garage of Margaret's house in Bournemouth,<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 251–252.</ref> with some housed at [[Paignton Zoo]], where Ken Smith was the superintendent.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 252, 255.</ref>  Bournemouth town council was initially interested in the idea of a zoo, but eventually decided against it.  The town council of [[Poole]], near Bournemouth, offered [[Upton House, Dorset|Upton House]], near [[Poole Harbour]], as a possible site.  That Christmas some of the animals were housed in a local department store, [[J J Allen|J. J. Allen]], as "Durrell's Menagerie".  Eventually Poole council provided a draft contract, which proved unacceptable: it would have required Durrell to commit £10,000 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|10000|1957|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), most of which would have been spent on repairs to the property, rather than on building the zoo enclosures and services.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 254–258.</ref>

The film they had shot in the Cameroons was used as the basis for a three-part television series, ''To Bafut for Beef'', in early 1958.  Durrell was visibly nervous in the studio sequences, and the reviews were mixed.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 261–262.</ref>  While Durrell had been in the Cameroons in early 1957, the BBC had broadcast a six-part series of talks by Durrell, called ''Encounters with Animals''.  It had been very popular, and the BBC commissioned another six talks, titled ''Animal Attitudes'', which were broadcast in 1958.  Durrell had not yet written a book about the most recent Cameroons trip, but was under contract to deliver a book by the end of the year.<ref name=":12">Botting (1999), pp. 259–260.</ref>  Jacquie suggested compiling the talks into a book, a much easier task than writing a new book, and the result, also titled ''Encounters with Animals'', was turned in to Rupert Hart-Davis where it was copyedited by [[David Hughes (novelist)|David Hughes]], who became a family friend.<ref name=":12" /><ref>Hughes (1997), pp. 7–21.</ref>

=== Argentina 1958 ===
Durrell began planning a trip to Argentina once the negotiations with Poole council collapsed.  As with the Cameroons trip he planned to film the expedition.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 258.</ref>  While planning it, Jacquie suggested that they try the [[Channel Islands]] as a possible location for the zoo; Durrell liked the idea, but they had no contacts there and did not follow the suggestion up.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 264.</ref>  A few weeks later Rupert Hart-Davis gave them an introduction to Hugh Fraser, who owned a manor, [[Les Augrès Manor|Les Augrès]], on [[Jersey]], and the Durrells flew out to meet him.  Durrell happened to mention to Fraser that Les Augrès would be a wonderful site for the zoo; he had not realised that Fraser was considering selling.  By the time the Durrells left Jersey an agreement had been reached, and Durrell began negotiating with the island authorities, who proved far more cooperative than Bournemouth and Poole town councils had been.  Arrangements had to be made quickly as there was less than a month to go before they left for Argentina.  The lease for Les Augrès was signed on 17 October 1958, and the following day the expedition sailed from [[Plymouth]] on the ''English Star''.  Durrell hired Ken Smith as superintendent, with the intention of having Smith open the zoo while the Durrells were still in South America.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 264–267.</ref>

It took a month to get the expedition's equipment through customs, but eventually they were able to drive to Patagonia, where they filmed [[fur seal]]s, [[elephant seal]]s, and [[penguin]]s.  Jacquie had been injured in a traffic accident, and had apparently recovered, but it seemed possible she had fractured her skull, and when they returned to Buenos Aires in February 1959 she took ship for England.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 268–269.</ref>  After she had gone Durrell went to [[Calilegua]], in [[Jujuy Province|Jujuy province]], and brought the animals collected there back to Buenos Aires by train.  These included a [[Geoffroy's cat]], [[coati]]s, [[Peccary|peccaries]], a [[Cougar|puma]], [[seriema]]s, and [[Golden-collared macaw|yellow-necked macaws]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 269–270.</ref>  After another short excursion to [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]], in search of [[fairy armadillo]]s, Durrell returned to Buenos Aires, where he met [[David Attenborough]], who at that time was a producer for the BBC, and had been filming and collecting in Paraguay.  Durrell described his plans for the zoo to Attenborough, who thought it could not succeed; Durrell assured him that he would be able to support it with the royalties from his books.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 271–274.</ref>

=== Jersey Zoo and the Wildlife Trust ===
[[File:Dodo, Jersey Zoo.jpg|thumb|180px|left|[[Dodo]]s stand guard at the gates of the [[Jersey Zoo]]|alt=A statue of a dodo on top of a gatepost]]The zoo in Jersey opened on 26 March 1959, and Jacquie packed up the Durrells' belongings in Bournemouth and moved them to Jersey while Gerald was still in Argentina. She met him at Tilbury Docks when his ship docked, and he travelled with the animals as they were re-embarked for Jersey.  The animals arrived on 16 June.  Both Durrells were surprised to find that Smith had not followed the detailed blueprint for the zoo's layout that he had been given before the South America trip, though Smith had had to make decisions based on the resources he had available.  The Durrells, along with Louisa who moved in with them, settled into Les Augrès, many of whose accommodations soon became devoted to caring for sick animals.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 279–282.</ref>

Durrell had still not completed the book about the third Cameroons expedition, and again Jacquie found it very difficult to get him to finish writing it.  It was published in 1960 as ''[[A Zoo in My Luggage]]'' to good reviews and became one of his most popular books.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 287–288.</ref>  The zoo of the title was operational, but in constant financial trouble: equipment was makeshift, staff were underpaid, and after a year the staff were called to a meeting and told that bankruptcy was possible.  They responded with cost-saving ideas, and the zoo survived, but the financial problems persisted for years.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 289.</ref>  Durrell drew no salary, and obtained a loan for £20,000 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|20000|1960|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) as capital for the zoo, and in 1960 and 1961 took on several more writing projects to bring in money.  An account of the trip to Argentina, ''[[The Whispering Land]]'', was accompanied by two children's books, ''Island Zoo'' and ''Look at Zoos'', along with articles and broadcast appearances.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 292–293.</ref>  In May 1960, in the midst of these projects, the Durrells took a six-week break on Corfu, revisiting the scenes of Gerald's childhood, with Louisa accompanying them on the trip.  Durrell was relieved to find the island much less changed than he had feared.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 294–295.</ref>  The limited footage shot in Argentina could not support the programme series that Durrell had hoped for, but one programme was made from it in 1961, and the BBC commissioned another series, called ''Zoo Packet'', the same summer.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 297.</ref>

In 1962 Durrell and the BBC collaborated on an expedition with the goal of a television series that focused on conservation issues.  The itinerary took them to New Zealand, Australia, and finally [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]]; a planned trip to East Africa was cancelled at the last minute.  On their return, they found the zoo on the verge of financial collapse.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 301–306.</ref>  A financial manager was hired and given complete control of the budget, but more was needed.  An appeal was launched, in conjunction with a plan to give control of the zoo to a trust.  Donations came in, and Durrell continued writing: ''Menagerie Manor'' was an account of the first four years of the zoo's existence, and he also worked on the scripts for ''Two in the Bush'', the BBC series based on the 1962 trip.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 307–312.</ref>  In July 1963, the [[Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust]] was created and given ownership of the zoo; Durrell remained in control, as director of the trust.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 313.</ref>