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Jeff Corwin's Skeggs Lecture recalls his life in the wild
Jeff Corwin
Video
Conservationist Jeff Corwin relates a childhood experience that shaped his choice of career. He was the featured speaker at the YSU Skeggs Lecture series .
YOUNGSTOWN
A childhood garter-snake bite was the catalyst for famous naturalist Jeff Corwin’s lifelong love of the living world.
Corwin, an environmental journalist, conservationist and host of ABC’s “Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin,” was the featured speaker at Wednesday night’s Youngstown State University Skeggs Lecture Series at Stambaugh Auditorium.
VIDEO: Jeff Corwin discusses his lifelong love of the living world
Corwin’s Emmy award-winning show focuses on sea life, environmental conservation and education. The show – which first aired in 2011 – films in various locations across the globe but is based out of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, one of the largest aquariums in the world.
Though Corwin’s first brush with the wild resulted in a snake hanging from his arm, it also gave birth to his fascination with nature.
Addressing a large crowd at the lecture, the conservationist spent much of the evening recounting tales from his more than 20 years of field experience, as well as addressing the threat of accelerated extinction currently facing many species.
Corwin told several stories that revolved around elephants. He recalled his first experience with a massive bull African elephant, which, after charging him and chasing him into a wooded area, established in him a great fear and respect for the animals’ power. Later, he shared a story that found him helping an elephant nursery fight the climbing elephant infant mortality rate by sleeping side by side with a baby elephant; the researchers had determined the babies were dying from a lack of contact, particularly during their sleep, so the humans stepped in to fill the gap.
He recalled the elephant using its trunk to twist his hair before the 400-pound creature fell asleep, a sensation that would wash over him again years later when his newborn daughter similarly twisted his hair.
Corwin’s animal stories often include a relatable human element that provides a jumping-off point for reflection or insight.
Not all of the human moments are positive, however. The snake that gave birth to Corwin’s interest in nature eventually was killed in front of him by a neighbor.
“It made me realize that sometimes good people make bad decisions due to a lack of knowledge,” Corwin said.
That sentiment formed the crux of Corwin’s discussion concerning animal extinctions and climate change.
“We’re the only species that has an understanding of long-term accountability,” he said. “While we’re the primary cause of the accelerating rate of extinction we see today, we’re also the only species who can do anything to stop it.”
He told a number of stories about species brought back from the brink of extinction – bald eagles, sea turtles, alligators and the black-footed ferrets – to show that, with intent and effort, extinction wasn’t an inevitable fate, and animal species could be preserved for future generations to experience.
“It’s often been said we don’t inherit the world from our elders, but we borrow the world from our children,” he said.
After the discussion, Corwin took questions from the audience and spent time signing copies of his new book, “100 Heartbeats.”
Corwin also hosted Animal Planet’s “Corwin’s Quest” and “The Jeff Corwin Experience.”