Ron Magill, an American wildlife expert and photographer visited Sukau Rainforest Lodge early August 2015. Magill is the communications director of the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, and makes regular television appearances across local South Florida networks. Magill has won three Emmy Awards for his work on the nature documentary programs: Dreams of Alaska, The Amazon & Beyond, and Dreams of the Rain Forest.
Magill was born in New York City but moved to Perrine, Florida at the age of 12, where he later attended Miami Palmetto High School and obtained an associate’s degree at the University of Florida. He started out at the Miami Serpentarium and became a zookeeper at Miami MetroZoo in 1980. He then gradually became a lead zookeeper, senior zookeeper and then assistant curator.
Today, Magill remains at the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, as its communications director and makes regular appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America, Sábado Gigante, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Today Show. He has a regular segment on the ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, where listeners can call in and ask him questions. He has also appeared on several documentaries for the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, and during the 1980s, handled all the animals used on the Miami Vice television series.
In 2006, Magill received the Wildlife Ambassador Award in recognition of his efforts on wildlife preservation. Magill was also director for the Cheetah Conservation Program.