Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ron Magill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ron, appreciate you joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

Though it sounds cliche, my parents are my heroes because they started with nothing and were able to provide me and my sister with all of the foundation and opportunities that any child could hope for. Having said that, outside of the family, a gentleman named, Jim Fowler, was my professional hero. As the co-host of the long running wildlife documentary television series, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” he inspired me to follow the dream of working with wildlife and becoming a wildlife presenter. As a young child, I would sit in front of a small black and white television set every Sunday night at 7:30PM, and watch that show with great enthusiasm. I was extremely fortunate to personally meet Jim nearly 40 years ago and we instantly bonded and he became one of my dearest friends and greatest mentors until his death a few years ago. When it comes to wildlife conservation and presentation, he is by far my greatest role model and inspiration.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the Director of Communications at Zoo Miami where I have worked for 42 years. I have always had a passion for wildlife and its conservation. My dream has always been to be a spokesman for the natural world and to inspire others to protect wildlife for future generations. Though I have worked at a zoo for many years, I am the first to say that in a perfect world, we wouldn’t need any zoos because everyone would be able to travel around the world and see our world’s wildlife in the areas where they naturally exist. Unfortunately, that is not the case and good zoos provide special windows that help plant a seed in people that can grow into a passion that inspires good stewardship of wildlife. With that in mind, what I am most proud of is the creation of the “Ron Magill Conservation Endowment” which provides tens of thousands of dollars annually to in-situ conservation projects around the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In the late 80’s, I visited the country of Panama where I was able to see for the first time, live harpy eagles! These majestic birds had always been a favorite of mine since I saw mounted specimens in the Museum of Natural History in NYC. It was a bittersweet moment for me because though these birds were incredibly stunning, they were kept in a tiny terrible cage in a small zoo. I made it my mission to create something better for them and to raise awareness about how incredible these animals were. I was told over and over again that there would be nothing I could do for those birds because first of all, I was a foreigner in that country and secondly, there was no money to build anything better. To make a long story short, I was able to raise close to a million dollars, build the largest public harpy eagle center in the world, and convince the Panamanian government to pass a law making the harpy eagle the National Bird of Panama!

Have you ever had to pivot?

As a young boy, I always wanted to become a veterinarian because I loved animals so much and I felt that being an “animal doctor” would be the best way to help them. However, I simply was not good enough in chemistry to get into veterinary school so I had to come up with another plan which led me to become the naturalist/conservationist that I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ronmagill.org
• Instagram: @ronmagillwildlife
• Facebook: Ron Magill
• Linkedin: Ron Magill
• Twitter: @ronmagill

Image Credits
Carl Juste