User:John Burkitt
John Howard Burkitt
[edit | edit source]I am an animal welfare advocate, Board Chairman and Educational Director of Tiger Touch, Inc., co-founder of the National Wildlife Humane Society, President of the Washington County Zoological Society, and the author of Operation Survival 21 and several essays about humane captive management of exotic cats. My background is in mammalian ethology and taxonomy with an emphasis on carnivores. My main thrust is in improving captive management of endangered species with an eye to reducing stress, improving diet, reducing isolation, and re-defining enrichment as ties not toys. I am an alumnus in the Beta Beta Beta (Tri-Beta) Biological Honor Society (Nat. No. 87914) and one of the original organizers of the Nashville Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. An avid Scoutmaster, I enjoy the out of doors and am a recipient of the District Order of Merit from the Boy Scouts of America. (Yes, I do teach a variety of animal and environmental merit badges.) I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Donations of time are gratefully accepted--I currently need 36 hours a day to fit everything in...48 hours a day would be nice.