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Zoologist based in Singapore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard Ming-Deh Harrison[1][2] (born 1951)[3] is a zoologist who was the executive director of the Singapore Zoo from 1981 to 2002.
Bernard Harrison | |
---|---|
Born | Bernard Ming-Deh Harrison 1951 (age 72–73) Malaysia |
Alma mater | University of Manchester |
Occupation | Zoologist |
Years active | 1981–present |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Harrison was born in Malaysia. His father, John Leonard Harrison, was a retired major in the British army and a zoologist who specialised in rodent-borne diseases. His mother, Song Kiew Ying, was a former nurse. The junior Harrison studied zoology and psychology at the University of Manchester,[4] and returned to Singapore in 1973 to work as a curator of zoology at the Singapore Zoological Gardens.[5]
Harrison became the executive director of the Singapore Zoo in 1981. In 1994, he founded the Night Safari—the first of its kind.[6] On 2 July 2002, he announced his resignation,[7] and was succeeded by Singapore Tourism Board marketing director Asad Shiraz.[8] During Harrison's tenure, the Singapore Zoo saw record-breaking attendance;[9] according to the BBC, it became "one of the most successful in Asia with its open concept of animal display."[10] In an interview with The Straits Times, he described the last couple of years at the zoo as "pretty bloody boring".[11] The Straits Times writer Yong Hui Mien described Harrison as "Singapore's Doctor Dolittle",[12] although the zoo's celebrity orangutan Ah Meng reportedly disliked him.[13]
Harrison opined that a majority of zoos worldwide were mismanaged: "If I could, I would shut down 90% of the 10,000 zoos in the world. The world is full of horrible stink holes that call themselves zoos."[14] A biography of Harrison, written by Singapore Management University English literature professor Kirpal Singh and titled Naked Ape, Naked Boss, was published in 2014.[4]
In his thirties, Harrison wrote a novel titled Malacca And Beyond (Media Masters), as well as an unpublished poetry anthology whose working title was No Leaf Unturned.[4] In 1997, Harrison separated from his second wife, landscape gardener Nazli;[9][15] he attributed the failure of their ten-year marriage to his working long hours at the zoo.[9] In 2002, he married former corporate trainer Tina Lim, with whom he established the zoo design consultancy Bernard Harrison & Friends.[9] Harrison has two children, both from his second marriage.[9][16]
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