Table of Contents
At home with animals
Jeff often found animalslike frogs, turtles, and snakeswhile he was out exploring. So he brought these animals home with him to study and learn about them. He and his parents built cages and kept them for a short period of time. While he housed these animals, he learned a lot about biology from studying and observing. But Jeffs parents had a strict rule that after a few weeks, all critters must be released back to exactly the place where they were found. These animals belonged in the wild, and while it was okay for Jeff to watch them for a short time, they werent pets.
Jeffs bedroom in Norwell quickly filled with aquariums, terrariums, and cages. Different types of snakes, lizards, reptiles, spiders, and bugs lived in each one. But his bedroom wasnt the only place these animals would occupy. Jeff would fill the toilet bowl with salamanders, scaring off guests who went to use the bathroom!
READ ALL THE JEFF CORWIN BOOKS!
Jeff Corwin
A Wild Life:
The Authorized Biography
Jeff Corwin
Animals and Habitats of the United States
Jeff Corwin
Junior Explorer Book 1:
Your Backyard Is Wild
Coming Soon!
Jeff Corwin
Junior Explorer Book 2:
The Great Alaska Adventure!
With special thanks to Danielle Denega
A note from Jeff Corwin
Dear Reader,
As far as Im concerned, theres nothing more exciting than studying wildlife and exploring the natural world, and helping others to learn more about them. Thats why I think I have the best job in the world. But I didnt always know what I wanted to do, and it wasnt always easy getting to where I am today.
This biography will give you a peek at what my life was like growing up, and how I turned my love for animals into a fulfilling and rewarding career. I hope you enjoy reading it, and that you, too, will come to fully appreciate this wonderful world we live in.
Best wishes,
Jeff
CHAPTER ONE
Snake Boy
Have you ever had your teeth cleaned by a live shrimp? Jeff Corwin has, and that is just the beginning of the adventures he has had with animals. Jeff Corwin is one of the most celebrated wildlife biologists in the world, and his path there was paved with snakes. Yes, snakes! But lets not get ahead of ourselves.
Jeffrey Scott Corwin was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1967. Quincy is an urban community located near the big city of Boston. Jeff lived in a three-family row house with his mom, Valerie, his father, Marcy, and his younger sister, Amy.
Jeff began learning about animals when he was just three years old. That was when he was given his first peta goat! Jeffs parents purchased the goat from a farm on Cape Cod. Jeffs mom named the goat Billy. The Corwin family thought Billy was a Nubian dwarf goat, which are good pets since they are small and weigh only about twenty to thirty pounds. But to everyones surprise, Billy grew to be a hundred pounds! Thats because he was actually a billy goat, which gets much larger than a Nubian dwarf goat.
Jeff loved Billy, and Billy was a part of the family. He even appears in family photos from Jeffs birthday parties. The Corwin family made a pen for Billy the billy goat on the lawn of their house in Quincy. Goats normally live on farms, so the sight of a goat living in the Corwins front yard got a lot of attention from the neighbors! Jeff says that local people sometimes still mention Billy, saying, You guys had that goat!
Aside from Billy the goat, Jeff had few chances to experience animals in Quincy. Quincy is home to many tall buildings and paved streets, but little wildlife. Jeff had a hunger to explore the natural world and have adventures in it. But Quincy did not offer much opportunity for that. So Jeff had to make his own adventures.
When Jeff was a small child, he built a lean-to fort in the courtyard outside his house. He spent his time searching the neighborhood for wildlife. Jeff looked in the neighbors yards and sheds for things like insects and abandoned nests. When he found something, he brought it back to his lean-to retreat. There, Jeff would examine, study, and display his findings. And hed invite kids from the neighborhood over to have a peek, too. It was like he set up his own little museum!
Jeffs parents encouraged his interest in wildlife. Jeffs father, Marcy, loved nature. But he worked a lot, doing many different types of jobs. Marcy did everything from selling homes as a real estate agent to delivering doughnuts. He wanted to make sure there was always enough money with which to support his family. Eventually, Marcy Corwin got a well-paying, stable job as a Boston police officer.
After that, Marcy spent most of his time patrolling Bostons streets, keeping the city safe. But whenever he had the time, he would share his love of nature with Jeff. Marcy always loved birds and animals, and he was excited when Jeff took an interest in these things as well.
Whenever Marcy had time off from work and other responsibilities, he and Jeff would often head out to the countryto the Blue Hills Reservation area of Massachusetts. The Blue Hills Reservation is a seven-thousand-acre historical and natural area with many different types of animals, plants, and habitats, like forests, marshes, ponds, and meadows. There, father and son looked for local wildlife, like frogs and turtles. Sometimes Jeff and Marcy would take fishing trips. While Jeff loved to fish, he also searched for bugs and turtles on these trips. On other occasions, Jeff and his dad would simply head to a nearby pond at a golf course, where they looked for frogs.
Jeffs mom, Valerie, worked as a nurse when Jeff was growing up. She was also supportive of Jeffs love of nature. Valerie allowed him to watch animal-related television shows. When Jeff was a child, Animal Planet and other cable networks that now show nature programming were not around yet. So Jeff watched shows such as Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom. He imagined being a part of these shows, exploring the natural history and life of animals.
As Jeff grew up, he loved animals more and more. That is why he treasured visits to the country to see his extended family. The Corwins often spent time at the home of Jeffs relatives in Holbrook, Massachusetts. Holbrook is a much more rural area than Quincy, so it offered Jeff lots of opportunities to explore nature. It was during one of these trips to Holbrook that Jeff had an important life experienceone that would change him forever.
At the age of six, Jeff was looking through a pile of wood in the yard of his relatives house. At the bottom of the woodpile, Jeff spied a coiled-up mass with scales and a flickering tongue. It was a garter snake! Jeff had never seen a snake before. But it was love at first sight. Or, rather, love at first bite.
The creature slithered farther back into the woodpile, out of Jeffs sight. Jeff panicked. He worried that he might never see it again. So he frantically searched the woodpile for the snake, and was successful in finding it. But this time, Jeff didnt want to let the snake get away. So he reached down and grabbed the garter. And the snake grabbed Jeff right back. The snake was afraid, and it bit Jeff on the arm!
