Wolves to Whales
Dr. Gavin HankeCurator of Vertebrate Zoology
Why did you want to become a curator?
I am a collector and I have always been interested in nature. As a student, I spent many hours collecting fishes, amphibians and reptiles and helped build a research collection at the University of Manitoba. I prepared skeletal material and reconstructed reptile skulls starting in high school and I have hands-on experience building models and dioramas. Museum work is a perfect fit for me.
How did you become a zoology curator?
My education? At the University of Manitoba I did a bachelor of science in general zoology and master of science on exotic fish introductions. As a hobby, during my master’s degree, I published research on placoderm fossils from the Interlake region of Manitoba. My doctorate degree (PhD) at the University of Alberta focused on fossil fishes but, instead of placoderms, I looked at acanthodians and an odd group of fishes thought to be related to the cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays and ratfishes). Shortly after my PhD in 2001, I was hired back in Winnipeg as the zoology curator at the Manitoba Museum. In early 2004, I headed west.
What do you do as curator of vertebrate zoology?
I collect specimens for the museum (particularly fish, amphibian and reptile) and write research papers which are published and available internationally. I help other researchers with their work and maintain contacts with other agencies in British Columbia to obtain as many specimens as possible—from areas where we rarely visit (like northern BC). I have particular interest in exotic species introductions in Canada and the role of the pet trade and food industry in exotic species dispersal. Curators also help develop exhibits—both travelling exhibits and permanent displays here at the Royal BC Museum—and act as a filter to make scientific literature accessible to a general audience.
Stories by or about this person
Royal BC Museum Curator, Dr Gavin Hanke, describes some furry invaders that have arrived in different parts of the province.
Royal BC Museum’s Curator of Vertebrates, Dr Gavin Hanke, writes about the work of museum illustrator, Frank Beebe.
Royal BC Museum Curator, Dr Gavin Hanke, describes how different types of specimens are preserved.
Royal BC Museum Curator, Dr Gavin Hanke, describes the sometimes smelly, but always interesting, work of preparing the museum’s first humpback whale skeleton.