I have always been fascinated with all aspects of nature, although my preference for mammals started early in life. At age 4 I kept a dead mole in a shoebox in my room for several weeks, soon followed by a huge collection of (live) pet rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and semi-tame wild squirrels.
I studied biology at Cambridge University in England, and went to graduate school at Stony Brook, Long Island. I slipped into scientific illustration work without any formal training, more on a whim than with a great deal of thought. After illustrating several children's books and a series of Neotropical mammal books, I decided to embark on writing and illustrating my own book on Central American mammals. This evolved into a crusade to find all the small mammal species and draw them directly from life. The book took much longer to complete than I had originally intended, but did enable me to develop my love and knowledge of obscure furry creatures.
I am presently working on text and illustrations for an all-new Peterson Field Guide to mammals of the USA and Canada, and have also launched a new series of FAR Pocket Guides (see Mammals of Belize). I hope to find the time for some bat research projects too.
I live in Canada and I can be contacted via my email.