Durrell’s Quentin Bloxam receives the 2010 BIAZA Award for Outstanding Achievement
In an awards ceremony held last month at Devon’s Paignton Zoo Quentin Bloxam, Durrell’s former Head of Animal Collection, received the 2010 BIAZA Award for Outstanding Achievement.
The annual BIAZA awards recognise the contribution that its members make in constantly striving to push the boundaries of conservation best practice. The awards include categories such as; best field conservation project, significant advances in zoo and wildlife medicine and the award which Quentin received – ‘outstanding individual achievement’.
Quentin’s career at Durrell spans 45 years and he was, along with Gerald Durrell and Jeremy Mallinson largely responsible for the physical development of Jersey Zoo, and with it the formation of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. His ability to find the key to successful management and breeding of many species not seen in zoos before was second to none.Quentin also nurtured and developed a host of zoo professionals during his time with the Trust, many of whom have gone on to take up senior positions in the international zoo and conservation world.
Through his guided tours to Madagascar and the Galapagos Islands and his many other travels, Quentin has been an incredible ambassador for Durrell and no-one he met could have failed to leave him without some understanding of the role zoos play in conservation work and of the dedication and commitment professionals in this field have.
