Durrell man in line for top honours in conservation

Saturday 13 February 2016

A Durrell conservation biologist who has helped save eight species from extinction has found out he’s a finalist for the 2016 Indianapolis Prize – one of the top honours in the conservation world.

Professor Carl Jones MBE, who has been working with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1985, has been nominated for the US$250,000 prize, which is awarded every two years by an international jury.

The prize goes to individuals who have made ‘extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species’.

Professor Jones is an International Conservation Fellow at Durrell who worked with Gerald Durrell in 1979 to establish a wildlife sanctuary on the Mascarene Islands off Madagascar and has rescued five species of bird which had dwindled down to less than 12 individuals.

He is best known for his work with the Mauritius Kestrel, which he helped take from just four individuals in 1974 to an estimated 1,000 in 2005 but he's also helped other species like the pink pigeon and echo parakeet from almost certain extinction.   

Dr. Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, and a Finalist for the inaugural Indianapolis Prize, said: “Like his mentor, Gerald Durrell, Carl has a talent for breaking the mould.

“If we are to prevent widespread species extinctions in the coming years, the world desperately needs more people like Carl – talented, charismatic and visionary, with a stubborn determination not to give in.”

Michael Crowther, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoological Society, which administers the Indianapolis Prize as part of its core mission, said: “Carl and the Finalists for the Indianapolis Prize are heroes in many senses of the word. They’ve sacrificed their own self-interests to help others, and they’ve overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

“Our world is unquestionably better off because of Professor Carl Jones, and we hope others will not only take notice of, but also join in his noble work to save wild things and wild places.”

Carl is one of six finalists. The winner will be announced in late spring and will be honoured at the Indianapolis Prize Gala on 15 October 2016.