Jeff Corwin was born on July 11, 1967 in Quincy, Massachusetts. Quincy is an urban city hence there were little natural landscapes around Jeff’s home. However this did not stop him from finding ways to come in contact with wildlife. He set up a fort out on his courtyard where he would return to and study any insects or animals he found while searching his neighbourhood for wildlife. Jeff’s very first animal he came in contact with was Billy the goat which his parents bought and kept in a pen out in the courtyard.
Jeff Corwin’s parents, Marcy Corwin and Valerie Corwin both encourged Jeff’s interest in nature in their own ways. Marcy, Jeff’s father, would bring him to Blue Hills Reservation to look for frogs and turtles. They also went on frequent fishing trips where they would look for beetles and turtles as well. Valerie, Jeff’s mother, would let Jeff watch hours of animal related television programs such as “Mutual of Ohama’s Wild Kingdom”. All these made Jeff’s passion for animals grow from a young age.
One of the most signifcant events that happened to Jeff Corwin took place during a trip to Jeff’s relatives’ house in Holbrook, Massachusetts. Holbrook is more rural compared to Quincy, less developed. As usual Jeff would go out and search for wildlife to study, however this time, under a pile of chopped wood near a neighbour’s house, Jeff found an animal that mesmerized him.
Source: http://wikipedia.org
Jeff found a common garter snake under the pile of wood! Common garter snakes are a non-venomous type of snake that eats mice or small amphibians. Jeff was very excited as he never seen a live snake before! He reached out to try and grab the snake as it was about to slither away however the snake ended up biting Jeff’s arm. Jeff immediately ran to find his parents and relatives in the house who were shocked to see a snake hanging from Jeff’s arm. After Jeff’s dad removed the snake from his arm and wanted to release it, Jeff didn’t want him to as he was afraid that he would never see the snake again. When his shocked relatives questioned why, Jeff replied, “Because I love it.”. However his dad still released the snake as it belonged in the wild. From that day on Jeff developed a strong interest in reptiles, especially snakes. He even memorized a book on reptiles that his mother gave him. His fascination with snakes earned him the nickname “Snake Boy”.
The next time Jeff came in contact with another garter snake was during his trip to his grandparents’ home which was located at Middleborough. Similar to Holbrook, Middleborough was also more rural than Quincy. He found the snake on his usual search for animals and this time he decided to just observe the animal. For 2 years, Jeff watched the snake breed, feed, molt and he also collect its molted skin. He developed a deep emotional attachment to that snake over the years. However one day something horrible happened.
As Jeff was going about his usual routine observing the snake, out of nowhere came a spade that separated the snake’s head from its body. Jeff watched in horror as his favourite snake writhed in pain. His neighbor who was holding the garden spade asked if Jeff was okay as he was afraid the snake would harm Jeff but Jeff just ran back into the house crying, thinking he was not okay. After witnessing the horror of how an innocent animal got murdered for nothing, Jeff decided that he will try his best to protect animals from unnecessary harm. That was the day Jeff Corwin decided to be a conservationist.