The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tuning nature
Michael Alexander speaks to the new Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) chief executive David Field about his lifelong passion for zoos and the importance of animal conservation and connecting with nature
W hen a hardhitting United Nations report published in May showed that nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades as a result of human impact on nature, it served as a wake-up call that current efforts to conserve the Earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action.
The Global Assessment study, which highlighted the universal importance of biodiversity, put the world “on notice” that protecting species diversity is as important as fighting climate change – and all humans have a responsibility for the sake of future generations.
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) chief executive David Field, who recently “came home” to oversee the running of Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park, knows there are people who oppose zoos, and animal captivity on ethical grounds – something he “understands”.
But having recently welcomed the reopening of Edinburgh Zoo after closure during the peak of the coronavirus lockdown, he says zoos have an incredibly important role not just for the future of conservation but also to “build lost bridges” between humans and nature.
“The knowledge that we have on how to care for animals in zoos is becoming more and more pertinent about how we care for animals in the wild,” he says.
“Now we are translating our techniques of caring for animals in zoos into caring for animals in the wild and protecting them in the wild. We also raise incredible amounts of money to support conservation in the wild.
“But there’s also that thing about emotional connectedness. People and society have become increasingly divorced from nature. We have a grave nature deficit disorder. Zoos provide a very safe, accessible, inclusive bridge between people and animals.
“We can build that connection and that brings amazing benefits for peoples’ health, wellbeing, and their attitude towards conservation and nature.
“We can connect people to nature and turn them on to being conservationists in their daily lives.
“We can actually help to repair the damage that has been done to our treatment of nature. And by God we need that more than ever now!”
Growing up in the West Midlands, David’s vocation was confirmed as a 12-year-old when he was given a season ticket for Dudley Zoo and joined the volunteer scheme.
On his first day, he fed gorillas and was tasked with feeding a “most beautiful” orangutan called Joe whose goodnight drink was a watering can filled with Ovaltine.
He’s still “best friends” with a chimpanzee he met more than 40 years ago called Co Co.
And he recalls how the hairs on the back of his neck would “stand up” when he was with the elephants, gorillas, lions and tigers.
“I had this incredible emotional response – this connectedness to animals,” he says, “and I knew that I could do something to help animals both in zoos and in the wild.”
Studying zoology at Cardiff University, he joined the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.
However, he missed the handson contact with animals and left to become a birdkeeper at the now-closed Penscynor Wildlife Park in Wales.
From there he was invited to apply for a section moderator’s job at Edinburgh Zoo in the 1990s, where he had an “absolute ball”.
It was there that he met his now wife and then Edinburgh Zoo gorilla keeper Dr Lesley Dickie (currently CEO of Jersey Zoo).
David laughs when he recalls how a male gorilla firmly believed Lesley was part of his harem while a female gorilla called Yinka had a “particular fondness” for him.
“It added a different dimension to one’s courting days!” he laughs.
However, that didn’t stop he and Lesley from holding their wedding reception in the mansion house, just below what is now his office.
After an “absolutely incredible” time building a new zoo in Dublin, then as curator of Whipsnade Zoo and director of the Zoological Society of London where he spent 13 years, he worked for the newly created Zoological Society of East Anglia before the Edinburgh job “came calling” and he started in post on June 1.
Today, as chief executive of the RZSS, David leads the charity that oversees Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie. His immediate priority has been getting the zoos back open from lockdown amid a very real financial threat to their existence –