Richard (Dick) Estes, Guru of #Gnu, authority on antelopes, a profoundly smart, witty, observant, kind man has passed. He authored the classic Behavior Guide to African Mammals & other guides, mentored many, liberally shared ideas & was tireless in love & awe of African wildlife. 
We met in 2004 at a mini antelope symposium & he became like a grandad to me. We used to talk about mimicry & polyandry, Grumeti colobus, & conservation. He agreed w/ Mark Dowie that if we want to safeguard biodiversity, the dumbest thing we can do is displace Indigenous people.
In 2009, he assisted w/ giant sable operation in Cangandala NP darting & translocating 9 giant sable cows & 1 bull into a 4 sq km enclosure inside the park—he said it made an impression on Angola gov & public. In 2011 he went to see the captive breeding. nationalgeographic.com/animals/articl…
Unwaveringly he worked on his magnum opus, The Gnu's World, published in 2014. In December the year prior, he shared this photo with me and said how it "shows exactly what brings me back again and again to the reserves adjoining the western #Serengeti." The Great Migration.
I only ever went up in a hot air balloon once thanks to him & was privileged to watch #wildebeest from above w/the Guru—mind-blowing. One of best aspects of our friendship is that I met his daughter @AnnaBondEstes, fellow tembo admirer, & friend for life. Thinking of you
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