Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

=== Mexico 1968 and Australia 1969–1970 ===
[[File:Romerolagus diazi .jpg|alt=A dark rabbit facing the camera|thumb|Volcano rabbit]]
In late 1967 Durrell became interested in the [[volcano rabbit]], which was found only near [[Mexico City]].  The rabbit was endangered, and Durrell felt this was a good example of what the Trust might be able to do: captive breeding of a species endangered in the wild, to save it from extinction.  He and Jacquie sailed from [[Antwerp]] in January 1968, and after a short trip to the [[Guatemala–Mexico border|Guatemalan border]], looking for the endangered [[thick-billed parrot]], they returned to Mexico City.  The hunt brought in five rabbits, but all were female.  The expedition returned to Jersey in May, and eventually more rabbits, were found, including two males, but one died in transit to London, and the other died later at the zoo.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 338–341.</ref>

During the trip Durrell dictated a sequel to ''My Family and Other Animals'', titled ''[[Birds, Beasts, and Relatives]]'', and it was published in 1969; once again the reviews were glowing.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 341–342.</ref>  In late 1968 he and Jacquie visited Corfu again.  Durrell worked on a script for a film of ''My Family and Other Animals'', the film rights to which had been acquired by [[Albert Finney]] and [[Michael Medwin]], but the film was never made.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 344–345.</ref>  While there, he drank even more than usual, and the stress on his marriage increased.<ref name=":17" />  Jacquie later told a friend, "He becomes quite intolerable from the moment he sets foot on the quay, and realises it will never be what it was{{nbsp}}... That's why I loathe Corfu—for what it does to him now."<ref name=":17" /><ref>Hughes (1997), p. 72.</ref>  He was by turns depressed and angry.  They returned to Jersey, and  in early 1969, on medical advice he was admitted to The Priory, a clinic in [[Roehampton]], for three weeks.<ref name=":17">Botting (1999), pp. 348–349.</ref>  There he was diagnosed as an alcoholic<ref>Hughes (1997), p. 140.</ref> and put on a course of tranquillisers, but kept drinking, as his visitors often brought him alcohol, which the clinic did not forbid.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 349–350.</ref>  He was still on the tranquillisers when released, and returned to Corfu in April to rest further, finally coming back to Jersey in July.<ref name="auto">Botting (1999), p. 351.</ref>  Financially the news was better: film rights to Durrell's novel ''Rosy is My Relative'' sold for £25,000 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|25000|1969|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), which wiped out all of Durrell's debts.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 350.</ref>

In August the Durrells left for Australia.  They arranged a trip to the [[Great Barrier Reef]], with no animal collecting planned.  Although ostensibly the trip was to learn about conservation activities on the reef and in Australia, it was also intended to give Durrell a long recovery period—they travelled by sea in both directions, and were away for nine months with few obligations and no contact with the day-to-day running of the Trust and the zoo.<ref name="auto"/>  Time spent snorkelling on the reef was followed by a trip across northern Australia, and they eventually returned home in early 1970, reaching Jersey in May.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 352–355.</ref>  Durrell's mental health improved over the trip and the following year: he gave up whisky and cigarettes and began practising yoga.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 356.</ref> A [[grand mal]] seizure while in France led to advice from a French doctor to limit his alcohol intake to no more than half a bottle of red wine a day; this was a dramatic reduction, but Durrell followed the advice, lost some weight, and in October Jacquie told Lawrence that "all the tensions and general woes have gone and he is now like his old self".<ref>Botting (1999), p. 361.</ref>