Some people worry about my collecting of those fascinating birds and animals that they pay to see in the zoo. One of the questions that is always asked is 51 I became an animal collector. The answer is that I have always been 52 in animals and zoos. According to my parents, the first 53 I was able to say was not the normal “mamma” or “daddy”, but the word “zoo”, which I would 54 many times until someone took me to the 55 . 56 I grew a little older, we lived in Greece and I had a 57 number of pets, ranging from snakes to seahorses, and I 58 all my spare time 59 the countryside in search of fresh specimens to add to my collection of 60 . Later on I 61 for a year in the City Zoo, as a student attendant, to get experience of the large 62 , such as lions, bears, tigers and elephants, which were not easy to keep at home. When I left, I 63 had enough money of my own to be able to pay my first trip and I have been going regularly ever since then. Though a collector′s job is not an 64 one and is full of sorrow, it is certainly a job which will 65 all those who love animals.
