Augustus Donald Ben David died peacefully at home on July 4 attended by his loving family.
To Vineyarders, he was our foremost educator and advocate for all things wild, but to experts around the world he was a peer in many fields of wildlife management. It was a status he would achieve not in spite of humble beginnings, but because of them.
Born on Nov. 22, 1943 in Oak Bluffs to the late Arthur and Stella (Kadziola) Ben David, Gus was raised on what was then a little-known Island in a part of town that was still mostly rural. The community was close-knit and working class. Many workers held multiple jobs and yet still found time to harvest the bounty of the Island’s land and waters.
It was in this nurturing setting, in a time of freedom and abundance, that Gus’s devotion to the Vineyard’s people and wildlife was forged. To Gus, wildlife and people were not separate entities, but all part of the same community.
Raised on a small family farm on Vineyard avenue, Gus learned a work ethic early on. Childhood tasks included tending to livestock; what free time he had was often spent in search of wildlife. By the age of nine, he had acquired his first Red-tailed hawk, which began a lifelong passion for falconry. By the age of 12, he had his first cow and by his early teens, he and his uncle had built an egg business.
After graduating from high school, Gus was the first in his family to attend college, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, where he majored in poultry science.
He was drafted into the Army in 1964, achieving the rank of sergeant. At Fort Bragg, he explored the birds and swamplands of North Carolina and kept snakes in the barracks. During college and military years, Gus had one driving ambition, to return to the Island he loved.
When he returned from the service, he and his uncle, for whom he was named, built Gus N’ Gus Wild Animal Farm on Vineyard avenue. There he kept everything from eagles to giant snakes, porcupines and many other wild animals. Self-taught, he soon gained notoriety as the Island’s leading naturalist and in 1969 was recruited to become the first director of Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, a post he held until 2005.
Among many wildlife projects, perhaps his most enduring was erecting osprey nests with an all-volunteer crew, which began in 1972. Today there are over 150 nest poles across the Island, one of the first places to recover from the era of DDT.
It was through Felix Neck that Gus rose to prominence and became familiar to the Islands’ most influential residents, both year-round and seasonal. Gus was inducted as a board member to the International Wild Waterfowl Association in the early 1970s, later joining the board of directors. Through the IWWA he traveled much of Europe and North America and was regarded as an authority among many of the world’s leading aviculturists. He admired and respected all, but he reserved his greatest affection for those individuals, past and living, from old Island families — intertwined by marriage and rooted in their connection to the land.
Educating people about wildlife with live animals was a constant theme throughout Gus’s life, whether at Felix Neck or through his private enterprises, such as the Vineyard Serpentarium near the Oak Bluffs harbor or, after his retirement, at his World of Reptiles.
He loved teaching children and influenced the lives of thousands. He had a special place in his heart for those who had not yet found their way. Many of those who knew him as a mentor went on to leadership roles as diverse as research, medicine, education and, of course, wildlife conservation. Regardless of the path they chose, Gus asked only one thing: to practice kindness to others.
Gus’s love for wildlife and community was exceeded only by his love of family and close friends.
He is survived by his wife, Debbie Ben David of Edgartown; stepchildren Beth and Ed Wallace of West Newbury, Kristen and Nuno Borges of Exeter, N.H., Amanda and Tony DePalma of Groveland; brothers Edward and Jules Ben David and his wife Barbara of Oak Bluffs; his former wife Sally Sherwood and their children Heidi and Joe Medeiros of Maine, Phaedra Ben David of Oak Bluffs, Shane and Dina Ben David of Edgartown, and Brant and Jen Ben David of Oak Bluffs; 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A scholarship fund will be created in his name, to which donations may be made in his memory. A memorial service will be held in the fall, at a time and place to be announced.
