Bristol Foster

Bristol graduated with a degree in biology from the University of Toronto and became enthralled by Arctic biology. He spent two summers studying the ecology of a rare lemming-like mammal for his master’s degree. Bristol then spent a year and a half traveling through Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia with wildlife artist Robert Bateman, before returning to Canada and completing his Ph.D.

His degree focused on the evolution of the native mammals of the Haidi Gwaii, an archipelago lying south of the panhandle of Alaska. Bristol then headed to Kenya for five years to lead a graduate student program in wildlife ecology, eventually writing, with a colleague, the definitive book on the giraffe.  From Africa he returned to become Director of the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, B.C. After six years in this position, he became the Director of Ecological Reserves Program for the Province wherein over 100 areas have been set aside for research. 

Bristol is now an ecological consultant, spending much of his time trying to protect the last remnants of temperate rainforest on the British Columbia coast and making TV documentaries all over the world.