Most of my research has focused on the history of ideas about animals over the last few centuries. My publications have been focused in two areas: 1) the history of zoological gardens since the nineteenth century with a particular emphasis on the firm of Carl Hagenbeck in Germany; and 2) changing ideas about elephants since the eighteenth century. My current research focuses on entomological discoveries in the South Pacific in the late nineteenth century. Broadly, my work should be seen as part of the field of Animal Studies.