Richard Leakey: Kenyan conservationist dies aged 77
“Richard Leakey, a world-renowned Kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter has died aged 77. ( on January 4th )
He told his rangers to shoot poachers on sight and organised the spectacular public burning of a huge haul of ivory.
His groundbreaking work contributed to the recognition of Africa as the birthplace of humankind.
He also spearheaded campaigns to stop poaching in Kenya, famously burning the country’s stockpile of poached ivory.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Leakey had “served our country with distinction”.
Leakey served in various positions in the Kenyan government including the National Museums of Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service and as head of the civil service.
“Besides his distinguished career in public service, Dr Leakey is celebrated for his prominent role in Kenya’s civil society where he founded and successfully ran a number of institutions,” Mr Kenyatta said.
Leakey followed in his parents’ footsteps in paleoanthropology – the practice of seeking to understand human evolution by studying fossils and ancient tools.
In his 20s, Leakey made his own important finds, and in two ground-breaking books (Origins and People of the Lake), he explained the emergence of Homo erectus, an ancestor of modern humans.
His work contributed to the growing body of evidence that the earliest humans had lived on the African continent.
In 1981, he fronted a seven-part BBC television series called “The Making of Mankind”, which made him a household name.
In the late 1980s, he switched careers to take over as head of Kenya’s Wildlife Service at a time when poachers were wiping out the country’s entire elephant and rhino populations.
He told his rangers to shoot poachers on sight and organised the spectacular public burning of a huge haul of ivory.
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“IUCN is deeply saddened by the passing of IUCN Patron of Nature Professor Richard Leakey – an eminent paleoanthropologist and conservationist celebrated for his fossil discoveries and his efforts to preserve the wildlife of the African continent.
Richard contributed greatly to IUCN and the work of our Members. He played a key role in efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching, campaigned for protection of great apes, and led calls to tackle threats to biodiversity.
In an illustrious career spanning six decades, Richard was Director of Kenya’s National Museums, Director of the Wildlife Conservation and Management department, founding Director and Chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Member of Parliament in Kenya, Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet. He founded and led the Turkana Basin Institute, and was appointed Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University.
Since 2011 as an IUCN Patron of Nature and adviser to the Director General, Richard helped rally global leaders and mobilise resources in support of the Union’s vision of a just world which values and conserves nature. “
Why Kenya Is Burning 100 Tons of Elephant Ivory
Paleontologist-turned-politician Richard Leakey talks with Scientific American about his efforts to save Kenya’s wildlife
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-kenya-is-burning-100-tons-of-elephant-ivory/
Sources : BBC News & https://www.iucn.org
