About WPC

Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) is the last defence for endangered species in the country. For nearly four decades, we’ve provided direct, hands-on care for reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects and mammals on the brink of extinction.

Today, climate change, urban sprawl and other threats are putting more pressure on species at risk. The biodiversity crisis is an existential threat to all of us. WPC’s recovery efforts more important than ever.

WPC’s vision for the future is a land where Canada’s wildlife is bountiful, diverse and thriving, free from the threat of extinction.

Our Approach

Wildlife Preservation Canada is a conservation leader, managing recovery programs for some of Canada’s most threatened species. We develop innovative techniques that can be used around the world to save species at risk. We build this country’s conservation capacity by providing opportunities for young scientists to work with endangered species, both in Canada and abroad.

To maximize our impact, we choose species based on the urgency of their conservation needs, our unique expertise and the potential to collaborate with other organizations and strategic partners. We work closely with local communities, recognizing that they are critical to long-term conservation success.

Our Founder

Gerald Durrel

As a zoologist, conservationist, traveler, writer, broadcaster, and founder of Wildlife Preservation Canada, Wildlife Trust (US) and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (UK), Gerald Durrell made an impact in the field of conservation that few others can claim.

Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India in 1925. When he was ten, his widowed mother took her family to live on the Greek island of Corfu where Gerry was educated by private tutors. From 1945-46 he worked at Whipsnade Zoo and then went on several animal-collecting expeditions to Cameroon, Guyana, and other countries.

In the 1950s Gerry published his first animal stories, which became very popular and have been translated into many languages. My Family and Other Animals (1956) told tales about his unconventional family and the islanders on Corfu. In The Drunken Forest (1978) and Three Tickets to Adventure (1954) Gerry described his animal-collecting expeditions.

Through these novels, Gerry shared his love and understanding of animals, from scorpions to aye-ayes. He helped his readers appreciate the wonderful diversity of life on this planet and realize our responsibility to preserve it.

In 1959, Gerry founded the Jersey Zoo, today the headquarters of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and a training ground for conservation biologists from around the world to learn proven techniques for saving endangered species. With his second wife, Lee, a conservationist, Gerry bred rare species for eventual return to the wild.

Wildlife Preservation Trust Canada was founded by Gerry in 1985 and continues his lifelong work of saving endangered species through hands-on conservation techniques and training conservation personnel to work in their native countries. On Gerry’s death in 1995, the Gerald Durrell Memorial Fund was established to support graduates of the International Training Centre.

Gerald Durrell’s books have been entertaining and inspiring people of all ages for a long time and his most popular stories are now available as e-books. Recently, Pan Macmillan published a range of Gerald Durrell’s books from its new digital imprint Bello, reviving 20th century classics for a 21st century audience. For more information on Macmillan’s Bell imprint see www.panmacmillan.com.

Donate to WPC

Support this work

Show your support for endangered animals today. Your gift will go directly to our work on the front line of animal conservation.