Rhett Ayers ButlerIf someone who dedicated their life to protecting nature and wildlife has recently passed away, you can use this form to share that information with me.
I write obituaries to honor the lives and legacies of those who worked to safeguard the natural world—especially those whose contributions might otherwise go unrecognized.
On August 5th, the conservation world mourned the death of Alan Rabinowitz, an American zoologist celebrated as the ‘Indiana Jones of wildlife protection’ by Time magazine. He passed away at 64 after a battle with cancer. Rabinowitz’s legacy testifies to a life spent in unwavering commitment to safeguarding the planet’s most majestic and vulnerable species, [Continue reading]
When the Peoria Manual Training School basketball team clinched the Illinois state championship in 1933, a crowd surged onto the court. In the melee stood an 18-year-old farm boy with long arms and a quiet grin. Walter Butler liked football better, but he could not resist the thrill of winning. It was a rare moment [Continue reading]
Over the weekend I received very sad and unexpected news: my friend Navjot Sodhi, a scientist whose mentorship and research made him a leader in the field of conservation biology, died after a short battle with an aggressive blood cancer. He was 49. Navjot leaves behind his wife Charanjit, children Ada and Darwin, and bevy [Continue reading]
Goodbye to a snail. The Aldabra banded snail (Rachistia aldabrae), a rare and poorly known species found only on Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean, has apparently gone extinct due to declining rainfall in its niche habitat. While some may question lamenting the loss of a lowly algae-feeding gastropod on some unheard of chain of [Continue reading]
In the quiet flow of the Yangtze, a silent departure occurred. The Baiji, China’s exclusive river dolphin, known scientifically for its distinction and affectionately for its grace, has succumbed to the inevitable, declared “functionally extinct.” This term, clinical yet profound, marks the end of a lineage that navigated the waters of the Yangtze for over [Continue reading]