Veteran naturalist Zafar Futehally passes away

One of India’s best known naturalists and ornithologists, Zafar Futehally, passed away on Sunday at his home in Kihim in Maharashtra, where he had moved a few months ago from Bangalore.

He was 93.

He had suffered from bronchial infection.

Mr. Futehally spearheaded the early years of the conservation movement in India, serving as a link between conservationists and corporates, says Theodore Baskaran, a friend, author and trustee of World Wildlife Fund-India.

The Newsletter for Birdwatchers, which he founded, was a vital publication and served to document observations at a time when there was no digital documentation and there were few scientific studies on wildlife in the country, Mr. Baskaran said.

“He may not have been known so much for field work as Salim Ali was, but he galvanised people and encouraged discussion. He was a mentor to an entire generation of budding naturalists, encouraging them to follow their passion for conservation,” he said.

Mr. Futehally was associated for 60 years with the Bombay Natural History Society, of which he was honorary secretary for 16 years, till the 1970s, when he shifted to Bangalore.

In Bangalore, Mr. Futehally’s home for four decades, he will be most remembered for nurturing a vibrant birdwatching community, said scientist and friend S. Subramanya.

Mr. Futehally is survived by his wife Laeeq, author of a book on Indian birds; daughter Zai, also an author; and grandchildren.


http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...cle5013503.ece

One by one the stalwarts of earlier era are passing away into the sunset. It is laws of nature. However, is the next generation taking the inspiration from them to resume their battles and preserve the wilderness areas and wildlife?

Mr Futehally was an early pioneer and had understood the power of documentation. He was an ornithologist in an era when birdwatching was not as fashionable as it is today. May his soul rest in peace!

Zafar Futehally, one of India's leading ornithologists, will be remembered for his contribution in popularising wild life and conservation through his writings and his administrative quality. He became Honorary Secretary of Bombay Natural history Society in 1962 and later on became its Vice President. From 1973 onwards, for a decade or so he was a member of Task Force for Project Tiger and made significant contribution for making it a success with M.Krishnan also in the same body.
In 1988, for the first time I read his twenty five page educative article titled 'Birds, Resident and Migrant' in the book 'INDIAN WILDLIFE' and in 2012, the unique 'Foreword' for 'of BIRDS and BIRDSONG' was the last.
May his soul rest in peace.

SaktiWild