Dr. George Schaller at a lecture in Beijing Zoo on Aug. 10th, 2005. In his hand is a wireless device used on the neck of a chiru (Tibetan antelope).

George Beals Schaller (born 1933 Berlin, Germany) is a mammologist, naturalist, conservationist and author, and is recognized by many as world's preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South America. Growing up in Germany, Schaller moved to Missouri as a teen. He is now the director for science for the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society. Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: George Schaller ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: George Schaller ... For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation). ... Categories: Move to Wiktionary | Biology stubs ... Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... Conservationists are those people who tend to more highly rank the wise use of the Earths resources and ecosystems. ... The word author has several meanings: The author of a book, story, article or the like, is the person who has written it (or is writing it). ... Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and second most populous. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning canoe, is a Midwestern state in the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. ... The Bronx Zoo is a world-famous zoo in The Bronx, New York. ...

1959: "Year of the Gorilla"

Schaller is perhaps best known for his landmark field research, begun in 1959, on the mountain gorillas (gorilla gorilla beringe) of the Virunga Volcanoes in Central Africa. Little was known about the life of gorillas in the wild until the publication of The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior in 1963 that first revealed to the general public just how profoundly intelligent and gentle gorillas really are, contrary to then-common beliefs. Schaller has more recently recounted his epic two year study in The Year of the Gorilla, which also provides a broader historical perspective on the efforts to save one of mankind's nearest relatives from the brink of extinction. 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Type species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei Distinguish from guerilla. ... The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The famed American zoologist, Dian Fossey, with assistance from the National Geographic and Louis Leakey, followed Schaller's groundbreaking field research on mountain gorillas in the Virungas. Schaller and Fossey were instrumental in dispelling the public perception of gorillas as brutes, by demonstrably establishing the deep compassion and social intelligence evident among gorillas, and how very closely their behavior parallels that of humans. Dian Fossey (January 16, 1932, San Francisco, California, United States - December 26, 1985, Ruhengeri, Rwanda) was an American ethologist interested in gorillas, completing an extended study of several gorilla groups, observing them daily for years in the mountain forests of Rwanda. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (August 7, 1903–October 1, 1972) was a British archaeologist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. ...

"No one who looks into a gorilla's eyes - intelligent, gentle, vulnerable - can remain unchanged, for the gap between ape and human vanishes; we know that the gorilla still lives within us. Do gorillas also recognize this ancient connection?" Schaller later mused, when interviewed by National Geographic.

Preeminent naturalist

After publication of The Mountain Gorilla, Scaller was a research associate at Johns Hopkins University until 1966, when he became a Research Zoologist for the New York Zoological Society and professor at Rockefeller University. He later served as Director of the Society's International Conservation Program from 1979 to 1988. The Johns Hopkins University is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Rockefeller University is a small private university focusing primarily on graduate education and research in the biomedical fields, located in the southeasternmost corner of the Upper East Side of Manhattan island in New York City, New York. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Schaller's conservation efforts have led to the establishment of five of the world's wildlife reserves, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, which is now threatened by oil speculators. In 1988, Schaller began collaborations with the Chinese government in studying wildlife there. His efforts helped establish the Chang Tang Nature Reserve, one of the world's most significant wildlife refuges. At over 118,000 square miles, roughly the size of Arizona, Chang Tang was deemed "One of the most ambitious attempts to arrest the shrinkage of natural ecosystems," by The New York Times. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Map The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge covers about 19,049,236 acres (79,318 km²) in northeastern Alaska, in the North Slope region. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Official languages English Only State Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

In 1994, Schaller and Dr. Alan Rabinowitz were the first scientists to uncover the rare saola in Laos. Later that year, Schaller rediscovered the Vietnamese warty pig, once thought extinct. In 1996, he located a herd of Tibetan red deer, also thought extinct. 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Binomial name Pseudoryx nghetinhensis Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander, MacKinnon, 1993 The Saola or Vu Quang bovid (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), one of the worlds rarest mammals, is a forest-dwelling bovine found only in in Vietnam (Vu Quang Nature Reserve) and in Laos, near the Vietnam-Laotian border. ... Binomial name Cervus elaphus Linnaeus,, 1758 Subspecies Numerous - see text. ...

Schaller is one of a few prominent scientists who argue that bigfoot reports are worthy of further study. A 2003 Los Angeles Times story describes Schaller as a "Bigfoot skeptic", but also reports his opinion that scientists don't bother with researching the subject before they "write it off as a hoax or myth. I don't think that's fair."[1] In a 2003 Denver Post article Schaller said, "There have been so many sightings over the years ... Even if you throw out 95 percent of them, there ought to be some explanation for the rest ... I think a hard-eyed look is absolutely essential". Shaller was perhaps proven correct, when homo floresiensis was discovered, although the 'little foot' turned out to be a hobbit-sized hominid. This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... The Los Angeles Times (also LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the western United States. ... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical... A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... For the computer game, see Myth (computer game). ... The Denver Post is a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado. ... Binomial name Homo floresiensis P. Brown , 2004 Homo floresiensis (Man of Flores) is a species in the genus Homo, remarkable for its small body, small brain, and survival until relatively recent times. ... Hobbits are a race from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth universe which first appears in the book The Hobbit. ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Lufengpithecus (extinct) Ankarapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Dryopithecus (extinct) Ouranopithecus (extinct) Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Orrorin (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The hominids are the members of the biological family Hominidae...

Publications and awards

Schaller has written highly acclaimed books on African and Asian mammals, including Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator–Prey Relations, The Last Panda, and Tibet's Hidden Wilderness, based on his own pioneering studies, and supported by long-term observations of species in their natural habitats.

Schaller has also written hundreds of magazine articles and dozens of books and scientific articals about tigers, lions, jaguars, cheetahs and leopards, and on wild sheep and goats, snow leopards, giant pandas, rhinos and flamingos. His four decades of field research have helped shape wildlife protection efforts around the world.

Schaller's conservation honors include the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the World Wildlife Fund's Gold Medal for his contributions to the understanding and conservation of endangered species. Schaller has also been awarded the International Cosmos Prize, Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and he was the first recipient of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Beebe Fellowship. Schaller's literary honors include The National Book Award for his book on the Serengeti lion in 1973. Guggenheim Fellowships are awarded annually by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. ... Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ... The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an award for environmental science, energy, and medicine. ... The National Book Awards is the most important literary prize in the United States, presented annually for the best book by a living US citizen published in the US. The awards have been presented since 1950 in at least one category, and is presently awarded in each of four categories... Serengeti is a region of grasslands and woodlands in Africa shared between the countries of Tanzania in the south and Kenya in the north. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

George Schaller

• Biruté Galdikas
• Jane Goodall
• Dawn Prince-Hughes

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Biruté Galdikas Biruté Galdikas, Ph. ... Jane Goodall Valerie Jane Morris Goodall, Ph. ... Dawn Prince-Hughes Dawn Prince-Hughes, Ph. ...

External links

• BronxZoo.com - History of the Wildlife Conservation Society
• WCS press release - WCS biologist George Schaller reports surprising increase in Tibet's wildlife
• UnMuseum.org Dian Fossey and the Gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes