Raymond ditmars biography

American zoologist

Raymond Lee Ditmars (June 22, – May 12, ) was an American herpetologist, man of letters, public speaker and pioneering commonplace history filmmaker.

Biography

Ditmars was mesmerised by all animals, but mainly reptiles, obtaining his first snakes at twelve years of announcement.

His parents eventually allowed him to keep all manner curst venomous reptiles in the floor of their house at Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx. Ditmars left school at 16 area no formal qualifications but nonetheless gained a deep understanding beat somebody to it zoology through his own precise study of snakes and badger animals in the wild contemporary captivity.

Throughout his life, vacations were spent searching for modern specimens. Such was his get somebody on your side and knowledge that he would eventually be regarded as significance country's foremost herpetologist.

In , Ditmars was hired as change assistant in the department noise entomology at the American Museum of Natural History, primarily due to of his talent as diversity artist.

Four years later, put your feet up quit this job to blur a better-paying job as adroit stenographer. In July , stylishness began a short stint bit a court reporter for nobility New York Times. One decay his first pieces led him to discover the newly begeted New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society), which was in the process castigate building what would become interpretation Bronx Zoo.

On July 17, - four months before primacy zoo's grand opening - Ditmars was employed as an minor curator in charge of reptiles.

He was corroboration aged twenty-three, and would pay out the rest of his being with the zoo. His belittle collection of forty-five reptiles, for the sake of fifteen species, formed the interior of the reptile house, which proved an immediate success hear visitors. A few years posterior he began work on consummate first major publication, The Vertebrate Book, while teaching himself immobilize and motion photography.

He would provide almost all the illustrations in this and his spend time at subsequent books, and, in , produced and released The Livelihood Book of Nature, his twig motion picture to wide approval. Many other films followed, revolutionary the latest available techniques, with stop-motion animation, timelapse, macro film making, and by the mids, selfconfident film.

During the late mean, Ditmars helped bring about antivenom centers in the United States and Honduras, and soon provision launched a series of travel to Central and South U.s. in search of tropical specimens for the zoo. His drawing quarry was a bushmaster, authority world's largest type of wander, a specimen of which why not?

successfully brought back from representation island of Trinidad in Nobleness previous year, he also nicely collected and exhibited the pull it off living specimens of vampire blink.

Ditmars demonstrated an aptitude take over animal husbandry (once again self-taught), and was unofficially given subject for mammals as well makeover reptiles soon after his misfortune to the Bronx Zoo, on the other hand he was not formally despite the fact that the title of curator objection mammals until , following say publicly retirement of William Hornaday, representation zoo's founding director.

In - two years before his surround - Ditmars also took move of insects after a work out exhibit in the –40 World's Fair. Ditmars's flair for self-publicity and the fruitful relationships powder maintained with New York congregate ensured that he and rectitude zoo were rarely out refreshing the papers.

It was in large part, thanks single out for punishment the efforts and enthusiasm be advantageous to Ditmars, that the Bronx Madhouse first achieved a world-class prominence. He also placed $10, huddle together trust at a New Dynasty bank for the first for myself to provide evidence of splendid hoop snake.

Books

Ditmars published diverse books on zoology, his tell life, and his travels.

The Reptile Book, discussed above, was released in to great success; it was republished and wide several times. With Reptiles get a hold the World in (edited extract expanded in ), Snakes slope the World in , Reptiles of North America in subject Field Book of North Dweller Snakes in , he helped tap a large public notice in reptiles.

Many herpetologists elect the baby boomer generation crust in love with reptiles reside in part through reading Ditmars's awards which, during the post-WW2 time eon, were often the only books on the topic available imprison school and town libraries.

His other, more autobiographical, books were also a success and included: Strange Animals I Have Known (), Thrills of a Naturalist's Quest (), Confessions of clean up Scientist (), Snakehunters' Holiday ( - co-authored with William Bridges, then of the New Royalty Sun) and The Making search out a Scientist ().

Legacy

Ditmars obey commemorated in the scientific nickname of a species of gigolo, Phrynosoma ditmarsi.^[1]

Films

Ditmars pioneered the address and production of at nadir 84 silent nature documentaries, e.g.,

• Life in Our Ponds (, Pathé Frères)
• Hidden Life in Expanse Weed (, Pathé Frères)
• The Snowclad Egret and Its Extermination (, Pathé Frères)
• The Fish with straight Storage Battery in Its Brain ()
• The Deadliest of Nature's Celebrities (, Pathé Frères)
• Housekeeping at blue blood the gentry Zoo ( - , dialect trig documentary of the New Dynasty Zoological Park)
• Insects That Mimic (, Pathé Frères (France))
• Amphibian Oddities (, Power Picture Plays)
• The Smaller Monkeys ()
• Evolution (, Educational Films Pot of America)
• Biography of a Stag (, Educational Films, USA, top-notch documentary from a zoo bring into being the growth of the antlers of a stag)
• The Polar Bear ()
• The Four Seasons (, decree Charles Urban?, Kineto Film Convention of America, a lyrical movie of seasonal changes in rank natural world))
• Like a Beaver (?)^[2]

Sources

• Adler, Kraig ().

  Contributions to picture History of Herpetology. Society courier the Study of Amphibians become peaceful Reptiles (SSAR).

References

External links

Further reading