Tales From The Zoo, January 16 At Kellogg Center

DERBY — The Naugatuck Valley Audubon Society in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Kellogg Environmental Center will host a presentation by Peter Brazaitis at its next meeting, Tuesday, January 16, at 7:30 pm.

Mr Brazaitis will describe his career, first as superintendent of reptiles at the Bronx Zoo, then as curator of animals at the Central Park Zoo in New York over a span of more than 40 years, and also as a forensic specialist in herpetology. Stories from his book, You Belong in a Zoo, and lots of zoo anecdotes will highlight the program at Kellogg Environmental Center.

Mr Brazaitis began his career as a herpetologist in 1954, as a keeper in the department of herpetology at the Bronx Zoo, New York Zoological Society (now called the Wildlife Conservation Society) and rose to the position of superintendent of reptiles. In 1988, he became the assistant curator of animals at the society’s newly rebuilt Central Park Zoo, in Manhattan, from which he retired in 1997 as full curator.

Mr Brazaitis holds a BS degree in forensic herpetology from Empire State College, and a MS in cell biology from Long Island University. He currently holds an appointment as a research associate, Science Resource Center, Wildlife Conservation Society.

He is a full member of the Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has served as a forensic consultant, expert witness, and instructor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service; the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; the International Law Enforcement Academy, Bangkok: Interpol; and other law enforcement agencies.

Mr Brazaitis has traveled extensively throughout the remote regions of Brazil under a United Nations environmental program to study endangered South American caiman and the illegal caiman skin trade. He has conducted field research on the giant frogs of Cameroon, the endangered crocodilians of Venezuela, and currently is conducting field and DNA research on the saltwater crocodiles of the Republic of Palau in the Western Pacific for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mr Brazaitis has published more than 100 popular and scientific articles, and four books. His most recent, You Belong in a Zoo! Tales from a Lifetime Spent with Cobras, Crocs, and Other Creatures (Random House, Villard) will soon appear in paperback.

Donation of $4 for adults and $2 for students is requested for the program.

Kellogg Environmental Center is at 500 Hawthorne Avenue, off Route 34. For further information, directions or to register, call the environmental center at 734-2513.