Ronald Strahan is a zoologist. He was educated at the University of Western Australia, and then Oxford University. He has written extensively on Australian mammals and birds, and has had a longstanding interest in science education, and in promoting the educational and research aspects of zoos and museums. He was Director of Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo from 1967 to 1974, and for a number of years was a Research Fellow at the Australian Museum. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Biology, and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, and an Honorary Life Member of the Australian Mammal Society.