Roger Andrew Caras (May 24, 1928 – February 18, 2001) was an American wildlife photographer, writer, wildlife preservationist and television personality. Known as the host of the annual

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

, Caras was the author of more than 70 books, a veteran of network television programs including ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'', ''

ABC World News Tonight ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program of ABC News, the news division ...

'' and ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' before devoting himself to work as president of the

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

. "Animals are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" -Roger Caras

Biography

Early life and education

Born May 24, 1928, in the rural town of

Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...

, Caras was raised in a family that encouraged love of animals. His parents allowed him to foster a menagerie of pets, and during the Depression he went to work at the age of 10 to help pay for his pets' upkeep. His first job, working in the stables of an SPCA shelter, was his first experience with animal rescue in the shelter's haven for abused horses. He completed his education at Boston's Huntington Preparatory School and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Caras returned to Boston after his tour of duty and then enrolled as a

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

major at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In 1950, he transferred to

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

, Cleveland, Ohio, but interrupted his education for military service again, this time in the

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from 1950 to 1952.

Career

Caras returned to civilian life as a West Coast resident, attending the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where he earned a degree, not in zoology but in cinema, and stepped from academic life to executive-level work in the motion picture industry. During 15 years in the film world, Caras held a number of assignments, including serving as press secretary for actress

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

, and from 1965 to 1969 as vice president of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's production company, Hawk Films, working with Kubrick and

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

on the science fiction epic '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''. During his Hollywood years, Caras also launched his writing career, contributing articles on animal and environmental issues to such periodicals as "Audubon" and publishing his first book, "Antarctica: Land of Frozen Time,” in 1962. In 1964, Caras made his broadcasting debut on the NBC News program ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'', spending nearly a decade as the program's "house naturalist." His skills in broadcasting, research, biology, and zoology led to his acceptance as one of the media's best-regarded animal authorities. He was sought out by the Walt Disney conglomerate as a consultant on their Florida Animal Kingdom park. Acting as a special correspondent, Caras reported from around the globe on a variety of animal and environmental issues that ranged from exposes on laboratory animals to the plight of the endangered Giant Panda in China and to investigation of the black market commerce in exotic animals and poaching. Caras spent from 1975 to 1992 as a regularly featured reporter on ABC Evening News (later World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,) as well as contributing to ''Nightline'', ''20/20'', and ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. He also hosted radio programs, including ''Pets and Wildlife'' on CBS, ''Report from the World of Animals'' on NBC, and the ABC series ''The Living World''. Caras won an Emmy Award for his reporting. His books include ''The Bond'' and his last book, ''Going for the Blue: Inside the World of Show Dogs and Dog Shows,'' which was published in time for the 2001 Westminster competition. Caras’s work with and on behalf of animals led to his 1991 election as the 14th president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the oldest humane-treatment-of-animals organization in the United States. During his tenure, the ASPCA expanded its care, protection and education programs, and adopted a number of internal practices to improve its work. Caras retired in 1999 and became president emeritus, acting as a consultant and public speaker for the organization.

Death and afterward

Caras made his home in Freeland,

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

, where he and his wife, Jill Langdon Barclay, maintained a farm that became home for a variety of animals. In 2001, in the last year of his life, Caras shared his farm with 12 dogs (7 Greyhounds, 3 retrievers and 2 hounds), nine cats, all of mixed origin, five horses, two cows, a pair of alpacas and a llama. After his death, his wife, his son, Dr. Barclay Caras, and daughter, Pamela Caras, requested that people wishing to honor his memory donate memorial contributions to the ASPCA in his name.

Selected works

Books

* Antarctica; land of frozen time. With special charts by A. Peter Ianuzzi. 1962 * Dangerous to man; wild animals: a definitive study of their reputed dangers to man, by Roger A. Caras. 1964 * Wings of gold: the story of United States naval aviation, by Roger A. Caras. 1965 * Last Chance on Earth: A Requiem for Wildlife, by Roger A. Caras. Illustrated by

Charles Fracé Charles Fracé (February 28, 1926 – December 16, 2005) was an American wildlife artist whose work was featured in more than 500 exhibitions,Patrick Seslar, ''Wildlife Painting Step By Step'' (2000), p. 128. including a solo exhibition at the N ...

. 1966 * Custer Wolf; biography of an American renegade, by Roger A. Caras. Illustrated by

. 1966 * Loup blanc de Custer, roman arRoger Caras. raduit de l'américain par Yves Braínville.1967 * North American Mammals: Fur-Bearing Animals of the United States and Canada, by Roger A. Caras. 1967 * Sarang: the story of a Bengal tiger and of two children in search of a miracle, a novel, by Roger A. Caras. 1968 * Monarch of Deadman Bay; the life and death of a Kodiak bear, by Roger A. Caras. 1969 * Animal children, edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1970 * Panther! Illus. by

. 1970 * Source of the thunder; the biography of a California condor. Illus. by

. Foreword by Roland C. Clement. 1970 * Vanishing wildlife, edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1970 * Animal architecture. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1971 * Birds in flight. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1971 * Death as a way of life yRoger A. Caras. 1971 * Animal courtships. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1972 * Boundary: land and sea. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1972 * Creatures of the night. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1972 * Last chance on earth; a requiem for wildlife, by Roger A. Caras. Illustrated by

. New pref. by the author. 1972 * Protective coloration and mimicry; nature's camouflage. Edited by Roger Caras. Foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1972 * Going to the zoo with Roger Caras, by Roger Caras. Illustrated by Cyrille R. Gentry. Foreword by William G. Conway. 1973 * Wonderful world of mammals; adventuring with stamps, by Roger Caras. 1973 * Bizarre animals / by Roger Caras; foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1974 * North American mammals: fur-bearing animals of the United States and Canada / by Roger A. Caras. 1974 * Private lives of animals. Commentary by Roger Caras. Design and coordination by Massimo Vignelli and Gudrun Buettner. Assembled and edited by Milton Rugoff and Ann Guilfoyle. 1974 * Venomous animals / by Roger Caras; foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. 1974 * Venomous animals of the world yRoger Caras. 1974 * Dangerous to man: the definitive story of wildlife's reputed dangers / Roger A. Caras. 1975 * Sockeye: the life of a Pacific salmon / by Roger Caras. 1975 * Zoo in your room / Roger Caras; ill. by Pamela Johnson. 1975 * Roger Caras pet book / Roger A. Caras. 1976 * Skunk for a day / Roger Caras; pictures by Diane Paterson. 1976 * Pet medicine: health care and first aid for all household pets / by Roger Caras ...

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

with ill. by Suzanne Clee; designed by Barbara Bell Pitnof. 1977 * Coyote for a day / Roger Caras; illustrated by Diane Paterson. 1977 * Monarch of Deadman Bay: the life and death of a Kodiak bear / by Roger Caras; ill. by

. 1977 * Panther! / by Roger Caras; ill. by

. 1977 * Source of the thunder: the biography of a California condor / by Roger Caras; ill. by

; foreword by Roland C. Clement. 1977 * Dog owner's Bible / editor, Roger A. Caras; special assistant editor, Donald L. Wall ...

1978 * Custer Wolf: biography of an American renegade / by Roger A. Caras; introd. by Gerald Durrell; illustrated by

. 1979 * Dogs: records, stars, feats, and facts / Roger Caras and Pamela C. Graham. 1979 * Forest / Roger Caras; ill. by Norman Arlott. 1979 * Mysteries of nature, explained and unexplained / by Roger Caras. 1979 * Yankee: the inside story of a champion bloodhound / Roger A. Caras. 1979 * Amiable little beasts: investigating the lives of young animals / conceived and edited by Ann Guilfoyle; text by Roger A. Caras and Steve Graham. 1980 * Forest / Roger Caras; ill. by Norman Arlott. 1980 * Roger Caras dog book / photos. by Alton Anderson. 1980 * Celebration of dogs / Roger Caras. 1982 * Celebration of dogs / Roger Caras. 1984 * Harper's illustrated handbook of cats / health care section by Robert W. Kirk; edited by Roger Caras; with photographs by Richard J. Katris and Nancy Katris. 1985 * Harper's illustrated handbook of dogs / health care section by Robert W. Kirk; edited by Roger Caras; with photographs by John L. Ashby. 1985 * Endless migrations / Roger Caras; illustrations by Kimio Honda. 1985 * Mara Simba: the African lion / Roger Caras. 1985 * Celebration of cats / Roger A. Caras. 1986 * Roger Caras' treasury of great cat stories. 1987 * Roger Caras' treasury of great dog stories. 1987 * Animals in their places: tales from the natural world / Roger A. Caras. 1987 * Private lives of animals / commentary by Roger Caras. 1987 * Cat is watching: a look at the way cats see us / Roger A. Caras. 1989 * Animal families of the wild: animal stories / by Roger Caras ...

edited by William F. Russell; with art by John Butler. 1990 * Roger Caras' treasury of great horse stories. 1990 * Custer wolf: biography of an American renegade / by Roger A. Caras; illustrated by

. 1990 * Monarch of Deadman Bay: the life and death of a Kodiak bear / by Roger A. Caras; illustrations by

. 1990 * Panther! / by Roger A. Caras; illustrations by

. 1990 * Forest / Roger Caras; illustrations by Norman Arlott. 1991 * Sarang: the story of a Bengal tiger and of two children in search of a miracle: a novel / by Roger A. Caras. 1991 * Source of the thunder: the biography of a California condor / by Roger A. Caras; illustrations by

; foreword by Roland C. Clement. 1991 * Cats at work / Rhonda Gray and Stephen T. Robinson; commentary by Roger Caras; commissioned photography by Guy Powers. 1991 * Custer wolf ound recording/ by Roger A. Caras. 1992 * Dog is listening: the way some of our closest friends view us / Roger A. Caras. 1992 * Roger Caras dog book / Roger Caras; photographs by Alton Anderson. 1992 * Roger Caras' treasury of classic nature tales. 1992 * Cats of Thistle Hill: a mostly peaceable kingdom / Roger A. Caras; photographs by Dave and Jennifer McMichael, additional photographs by Mimi Vang Olsen; back cover portrait of Roger Caras by

Ian Hornak Ian Hornak (January 9, 1944 – December 9, 2002) was an American draughtsman, painter and printmaker. He was one of the founding artists of the Hyperrealist and Photorealist fine art movements; credited with having been the first Photoreal ...

. 1994 * World full of animals: the Roger Caras story / by Roger Caras. 1994 * Field guide to venomous animals and poisonous plants, North America, north of Mexico / Steven Foster and Roger A. Caras. 1994 * Most dangerous journey: the life of an African elephant / Roger A. Caras, with photographs by the author. 1995 * Perfect harmony: the intertwining lives of animals and humans throughout history / Roger A. Caras. 1996 *Roger Caras dog book / Roger Caras; principal photography by Alton Anderson. 1996 * New Roger Caras treasury of great cat stories. 1997 * Bond: people and their animals / essays by Roger Caras; photographs by Shel Secunda. 1997 * Cat is watching: a look at the way cats see us / Roger A. Cars. 1997 * Dog is listening: the way some of our closest friends view us / Roger A. Caras. 1998 * New Roger Caras treasury of great dog stories. 1999 * New Roger Caras treasury of great horse stories. 1999 * Roger Caras' treasury of great fishing stories. 1999 * Going for the blue: inside the world of show dogs and dog shows / by Roger A. Caras. 2001

Notes

References

*
Roger Caras, 72, Animal Welfare Advocate
" ''New York Times'', Sherri Day, Feb 20, 2001. * Library of Congress

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caras, Roger A. 1928 births 2001 deaths American naturalists American nature writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American photographers American television personalities Animal welfare workers Nature photographers 20th-century naturalists