Vital Statistics
Gary is married to Lois Kazakoff, who is a journalist with the San Francisco Chronicle. Gary, Lois and her 15-year-old son, Karl, live in Benicia where they spend an unbelievable amount of time playing fetch for their pets - an upstart Abyssinian cat named Tut, a big-mouth little green person (parrot) named Nikki and a neurotic cockatoo named Lottie. While the animals are napping, you'll find Gary and Lois sneaking off to putter around in their wonderful garden.
Present Occupation
1. Daily newspaper columnist on pets, wildlife and environmental issues for Contra Costa Newspapers, Walnut Creek, Calif. (Contra Costa Times, West County Times, San Ramon Valley Times, Valley Times). Gary has written his column in the Times for 29 years, since Jan. 1970.
2. Writes a nationally-syndicated weekly column on pets and wildlife for the New York Times Feature Syndicate.
3. Gary has a regular Saturday segment ("Backyard Wildlife") on the
popular weekend Daybreak Show on KRON-TV Channel 4 in San Francisco. He
discusses the habits of the wild creatures that live in local back
yards,
using live animals from the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek,
and
answers phone questions during the program from viewers on timely pet,
wildlife and environmental issues.
Past Positions
1. Executive Director, Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, Concord, Calif. A non-profit domestic pet welfare organization.
2. Assistant Managing Editor, Lesher Communications Inc., Walnut Creek.
3. Editorial Computer Systems Editor, Lesher Communications Inc., Walnut Creek.
4. Director, WILD SYSTEMS Consultants, Walnut Creek, Calif. Worked with cities, humane societies, etc., on developing humane solutions to wildlife and other environmental problems. Helped design and supervised construction of Monterey SPCA's state-of-the-art George Whittell Wildlife Rescue Center in Monterey, Calif.; hired and trained staff. Did a 6-month study and prepared a wildlife preservation plan for City of Hercules, Calif., to allow development and preserve existing wildlife within city limits.
5. Museum Curator for the internationally known Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, Calif. (1967-1979) Responsible for care of museum's 150-plus native wild exhibit animals and supervising paid staff of 30, plus 500 regular volunteers. Pioneered and developed the first wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in the country. Hand-raised and rehabilitated first and only native mountain lions ever to be successfully returned to the wild, plus over 330 species of wild birds, and most species of mammals and reptiles in the Western U.S. During 12 years at the museum, Gary was responsible for caring for and treating over 50,000 injured and orphaned wild creatures, releasing more than half back to wild freedom. Gary is considered one of the top experts in the world in the field of native wildlife care and rehabilitation.
Past Achievements
1. Founded the local non-profit group, Community Concern for Cats, in Pleasant Hill. CC4C is an animal-welfare organization dedicated to working with and resolving feral (wild) domestic cat problems.
2. Has been called "The Dr. Spock of the wild birds and beasts," by the national organization Defenders of Wildlife. Was a regular columnist and field correspondent for Defenders of Wildlife magazine from 1975-1980.
3. Founder and past president, International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (professional organization of wildlife rehabilitators).
4. Co-founder and past president, Western Interpreters Association (professional organization of interpretive naturalists, archeologists and historians for the 13 western states).
5. Published 4 books It's a Wild Life (an extraordinary series of essays on Gary's adventures with animals, both wild and tame), Isis (a collection of hilarious illustrated tales about Gary's beloved pet Siamese cat), A Christmas Story (children's book about a little mother mouse on Christmas Eve) Raptor Rehabilitation (textbook).
Return to February Meeting page
Return to Previous meeting index
Return to Main page