Mauritius kestrel is sitting on a branch.

Ever since he was a little boy, Carl Jones dreamed of becoming the hero who saves species from extinction. He loved all animals and was especially fond of the endangered tropical ones. His first mission was on Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean,  where five other experts had failed before him.

One of his most significant achievements is that he managed to help the kestrel number to increase from four to about 100 times more in only a decade. His thorough attention and dedication helped him understand the species first and then come up with a solution to help it.

Throughout his career, Jones has saved dozens of species which were critically endangered. His biggest achievement is that he has recently received the Indianapolis Prize and $250,000 award as the most prolific conservation scientist.

Even though the other six finalists competed with study animals which were more world-wide known and charismatic,  Jones focused on less known animals and most importantly on the ones vital for the planet. According to Patricia Wright, the 2014 Indianapolis Prize winner who also was on the jury for deciding the prize of this year, Carl is the only scientist who focused on so many endangered species despite his lack of prestige making him worth of being the hero who saves species from extinction. He is known as the type of man who does not care about money or reputation.

In 1979 at the beginning of his work on the Mauritius Island, Carl came up with the solution to help animals breed in captivity and then to release their offspring. According to him it is essential to learn everything you can about a species, spend a lot of time living in its environment, and observe it if you want to find the solution to save it from extinction.

Throughout his career, he also collaborated with the Mauritius government to help the endangered species even more. After 20 years, he decided that his mission there is accomplished, yet he still comes every year for at least for months to train and prepare the next generation of scientists who will be responsible for helping the conservation of the species.

Presently, he is engaged in a travel project with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, helping other countries to develop their projects of protecting and sustaining the species which are on the verge of extinction.

Image source:Wikipedia