Jim Harris (naturalist)

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James Patrick Harris (born 1954), better known as Jim Harris, is an American naturalist, writer, and artist from El Paso, Texas.

By his own admission "somewhat less than outstanding" in the classroom environment, Harris nonetheless managed to (eventually) obtain advanced degrees in both zoology and wildlife management. He attended (at various times) Sul Ross State University, Texas A & M University, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Hawaii, the University of Guam, and the University of Rhodesia. Much of his formal education was obtained while on active military duty.

Harris spent several decades roaming the world, working at a variety of occupations ranging from farrier to hunting guide to prospector. Such widespread travels presented the opportunity for first-hand interaction with such exotic species as aardwolves, echidnas, and megamouth sharks (these and other creatures later appeared in his syndicated newspaper column, "Animal Journal"). He has since returned to his native Southwest, where he lives in an adobe home surrounded by native desert vegetation and wildlife.

Harris' work has appeared in such magazines as Troika, Enchanted Rock, and Pacific Star. He is the author of Lone Star Menagerie: Adventures with Texas Wildlife (2000) and formerly wrote and illustrated the syndicated column "Animal Journal".