Owens, Mark 1944(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1944; divorced; married second wife, Delia Dykes, December 31, 1972; children: (first marriage) a son. Education: University of Georgia; B.S., M.Ed.

CAREER:

Biologist, zoologist, environmental activist, writer, and lecturer. Conducted research projects on animals in Africa, including in the Kalahari desert in Botswana, c. 1974-81, and in Zambia, 1985-97; developed the North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP) in Zambia; Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conversation, Stone Mountain, GA, cofounder; began grizzly bear conservation efforts in Idaho and the United States, 1997—. International Wildlife, roving editor. Has lectured throughout the United States and Canada, including at the San Diego Zoo, the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Natural History in New York, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, and the San Francisco Zoological Society. Previously worked in a stone quarry.

AWARDS, HONORS:

With wife, Delia Owens: Rolex Award for Enterprise for Kalahari Research Project, 1981; University of California Outstanding Alumnus Award, 1993; Ridder of the Golden Ark, presented by H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, 1994.

WRITINGS:

WITH WIFE, DELIA OWENS

Cry of the Kalahari (memoir), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1984.

The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness (memoir), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1992.

Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People (memoir), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2006.

Contributor to professional journals, including Nature, Journal of Mammalogy, Animal Behaviour, Natural History, and the African Journal of Ecology.

SIDELIGHTS:

For Sidelights, see entry on Mark Owens's wife, Delia Owens.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Newsmakers 1993, Issue 4, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1993.

Owens, Delia, and Mark Owens, Cry of the Kalahari, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1984.

Owens, Delia, and Mark Owens, The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1992.

Owens, Delia, and Mark Owens, Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2006, Nancy Bent, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 14.

California Bookwatch, August 2006, review of Secrets of the Savanna.

Entertainment Weekly, May 26, 2006, Tim Purtell, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 109.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2006, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 278.

Library Journal, May 1, 2006, Edell M. Schaefer, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 116.

Natural History, March 1993, Joseph L. Sax, review of The Eye of the Elephant, p. 90.

People, April 8, 1985, Jim Seymore, review of Cry of the Kalahari, p. 14; October 10, 1988, Maryanne Vollers, "Amid Stark Beauty and Danger, Mark and Delia Owens Fight to Save Zambia's Imperiled Wildlife," p. 79; February 1, 1993, Richard Burgheim, review of The Eye of the Elephant, p. 25; July 3, 2006, Michelle Green, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 47.

Publishers Weekly, August 17, 1992, review of The Eye of the Elephant, p. 475; March 20, 2006, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 50.

Science News, June 10, 2006, review of Secrets of the Savanna, p. 367.

ONLINE

Earthwatch Radio Web site,http://ewradio.org/ (November 11, 1992), "From Research to Rescue: Two Scientists Put Their Lives on the Line to Stop Poaching in Africa."

EverGreen State College Web site,http://www.evergreen.edu/ (April 26, 2006), "Zoologists Delia and Mark Owens to Speak at Annual Rachel Carson Forum at Evergreen."

OnPoint,http://www.onpointradio.org/ (May 23, 2006), Tom Ashbrook, audio interview with Delia and Mark Owens.

Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conversation Web site,http://www.owens-foundation.org (November 6, 2006), profiles of Delia and Mark Owens.*