Richard Despard Estes (December 26, 1927 - December 6, 2021) was a biologist specialising in the behaviour of mammals in mainland Africa. He was particularly interested in studying wildebeest. This interest led Rod East, the former co-chair of the Antelope Specialist Group of the IUCN-World Conservation Union, to dub him the 'Guru of Gnu.'[1] It has been suggested that Estes is responsible for most of the world's knowledge of wildebeest behaviour.[2][3]
Estes chose to study wildebeest because he thought they were 'the most interesting' animals he knew, particularly in their rutting behaviour. He obtained his doctorate in the early 1960s with a thesis on the wildebeest of the Ngorongoro Crater, in which he advanced the theory that the females' estrus was triggered by the rumbling 'love call' of the males. Estes has spent most of the ensuing 40 years doing field work in Africa. In 2004 he began a project in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution to test his early theory using new advances in molecular chemistry.
Estes has written two guides for travellers to Africa, The Behavior Guide to African Mammals (considered the standard reference of its kind) and The Safari Companion.
Estes lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire.[4]
^Boroughs, Don (February 1, 2005). "The Guru of Gnu". National Wildlife Federation. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
^Don Boroughs, 'Guru of the Gnus,' BBC Wildlife magazine, July 2004.
^"Richard Despard Estes". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
RichardDespardEstes (December 26, 1927 - December 6, 2021) was a biologist specialising in the behaviour of mammals in mainland Africa. He was particularly...
Southern Africa. (1984). p. 13. Reader's Digest Association, Cape Town RichardDespardEstes, The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, University of California...
has high nutritional requirements which may not be satisfied). RichardDespardEstes suggested that females mimic male secondary sexual characteristics...
cancer. Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, 84, South African politician. RichardDespardEstes, 93, American zoologist. George Fleming, 83, American football player...
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T16484A50192715.en. Estes, RichardDespard (28 March 2012). The Behaviour Guide to African Mammals. University...
Studies of Monkeys and Apes. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 90. Estes, RichardDespard (1991) The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals...
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute. Tanzania Mammal Atlas Project. Estes, RichardDespard (2004). The behavior guide to African mammals : including hoofed...
reproductive behaviour in elephants". Current Science. 89 (7): 1200–1207. DespardEstes, Richard (1991). The Behaviour Guide to African Mammals. Berkeley and Los...
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