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.

How do we steward #forests & #borderlands in a time of human upheaval & migration? Not by building border walls. Our letter @ScienceMagazine about how Poland’s planned wall would threaten transboundary #Białowieża Forest @MZmihorski @UNESCO @BonnConvention science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… Transboundary frontiers are an emerging conservation priority as they often overlap #biodiversity hotspots & are threatened by construction of border infrastructure. Neighboring countries must co-steward wildlife that cross manmade lines @EcologyJiajia sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

I vividly remember writing this piece 4 years ago and debating the title with the editors. We went with, "The World Has a Chance to Make the Wild Animal Trade More Humane" which felt feeble then & in the wake of the novel #coronavirus even more now. 1/n on.natgeo.com/2SyiY2d I also remember being branded as an anti-#WildlifeTrade activist after writing the piece, which drew on experiences of people versed in animal welfare who described "battlefield husbandry" when coming upon wildlife crime scenes or encountering still alive and seized wildlife...