R&I – FS
Richard Leakey, a world-renowned Kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter has died aged 77.
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”.
“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.
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.
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.
jw
Article URL : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59855445