Archie Carr (June 16, 1909–May 21, 1987) was a Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida and a pioneering conservationist. He was the son of a Presbyterian pastor and spent his growing up years in Mobile, Alabama, Fort Worth, Texas and Savannah, Georgia. He studied zoology at the University of Florida, eventually specializing in herpetology. He further refined that interest to the study of turtles and eventually became one of the world's foremost authorities on sea turtles. He wrote numerous books and articles, including Ulendo: Travels of a Naturalist in and out of Africa, High Jungles and Low, So Excellent a Fishe (about his green turtles), The Windward Road and several Time-Life books such as The Everglades and The Reptiles. He was also the author of the Handbook of Turtles, and with Coleman J. Goin, Guide to the Reptiles, Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes of Florida. While a serious scientific and nature writer, he also had a remarkable sense of humor, which led him to publish the parody of scientific taxonomic keys - his A Subjective Key to the Fishes of Alachua County, Florida, affectionately known as the "Carr Key". Carr became a bit of a legend at the University of Florida and students vied with one another to take his Community Ecology course in which they were involved in several major and minor field trips around northern Florida and southern Georgia. Listening to Dr. Carr talk about the sand pine scrub near Ocala or his comments as he guided students through the Okefenokee Swamp in canoes was a great privilege. Carr was also known for his efforts in conservation, especially for sea turtles. He was a co-founder of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, which helps to save and monitor sea turtles in Tortuguero, Costa Rica. He was often joined in his conservation work by his wife Marjorie (who was a major advocate for conservation in her own right). The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, which covers the beaches from Melbourne Beach south to Wabasso Beach was set up in 1994 in honor of his efforts. In 1994, the Dr. Archie Carr Wildlife Refuge was estalished in Costa Rica in his memory. Carr's grandson, Archie Carr III, was a well known conservationist, who at one time headed the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society); Carr III was instrumental in establishing the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize. Most recently, a book about Archie Carr entitled The Man Who Saved Sea Turtles: Archie Carr and the Origins of Conservation was published by Oxford University Press. This book was written by Frederick R. Davis, Assistant Professor of History at the Florida State University.
References
- Carr, Archie (Marjorie Carr Ed.), A Naturalist in Florida (ISBN 0-300-05589-7)
- Carr, Archie, The Windward Road (ISBN 0-8130-0639-2, 1979 edition)
- http://www.fsu.edu/~history/staff/davis.html
- Davis, Frederick R. The Man Who Saved Sea Turtles(ISBN 0-195-31077-2)
