I was born and raised in Durban in the early 1960’s into a very conservation-minded family. Family holidays were always spent in game reserves or on a farm in the Underberg District. This naturally instilled in me a huge passion for animals and the environment.

On completing my National Service, I joined the Natal Parks Board where I had really great in-service training and mentorship. I have been fortunate to have been able to work on various reserves and resorts under their control and spent five years at the St Lucia Crocodile Sanctuary, where my skills of captive animal husbandry were honed.

The work there was pretty similar to the work that VulPro is doing  – in that research, breeding, rehabilitation and education were the main focuses. A crocodile’s closest relative is a bird, so with that in mind, I am hoping that those years spent there will assist me in being successful in managing the VulPro Harties.

In the years that followed, I developed a private crocodile sanctuary, ran a private game farm for many years and even did stints in animal welfare and wildlife rehabilitation.

About six years ago, I headed for Zimbabwe where I was employed as the Conservator for a large conservancy in the Lowveld Plateau area.  My youngest daughter had a baby last year and it was the right time to return and be nearer to her and her family.

Normally mobile connectivity there was very poor, but for some strange reason one afternoon I switched on my phone and there was a signal! Being by nature inquisitive, I opened up Facebook and there was an advert for a position based at VulPro.

On a more personal level, I have three amazing daughters, one my own and two my ex-wife’s, whom I classify as my own too. My eldest lives in Wales, UK with her husband and two sons, my middle daughter lives in and has her own company in Dubai and my youngest daughter lives in Bedfordview with her husband and young daughter.

I am sure you would have noticed by now, my life and my passion has always been environmental conservation and I love imparting all the knowledge that I have gained over the past 40 odd years to others. In Zimbabwe, I was honoured to have mentored students from three of their top universities.

I am a firm believer in the need for environmental education and nurturing the young and not so young minds into taking the initiative to protect our and their children’s children’s natural heritage. We are losing way too many species of plants and animals and at such a tremendous rate, that if we do not start acting now, it will be far too late! If one link of the food chain breaks, the result to the rest of the food chain and thereby the ecosystem will be devastating and indeed catastrophic.

On that sombre note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kerri Wolter for taking the initiative and having the foresight to create and nurture VulPro to where it is today. Soon, it is hoped, that many many more vultures will be released back into the wild to supplement the ever decreasing numbers out there.