Ian McTaggart-Cowan

Ian McTaggart-Cowan (June 25, 1910 – April 18, 2010) was a Scottish-Canadian zoologist, conservationist, and television presenter. He has been called "the father of Canadian ecology". He was the brother of meteorologist Patrick McTaggart-Cowan.

Life and career McTaggart-Cowan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his family when he was three years old. Among the more than 275 publications which he authored or coauthored

McTaggart-Cowan had secret annual meetings with American Aldo Leopold and other conservation biologists to discuss educating the public about nature conservation. He warned about the ecological dangers of pesticides and climate change long before they became well-known problems. After his retirement in 1975, McTaggart-Cowan served as the chancellor of the University of Victoria from 1979 to 1984.

He was an avid hunter and a respected philatelist.

He was a pioneer of science television, including hosting the series Fur and Feather, The Living Sea, and Web of Life. In total, he was the co-author of six teaching films on mammalian behaviour, 110 educational television programs, and more than 200 radio broadcasts. He also reportedly started the broadcasting career of David Suzuki by hiring him to follow in his footsteps.

The Cowan Vertebrate Museum in Vancouver was named in his honour, as are a number of awards.

The Ian McTaggart-Cowan Archive, housed at the University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives, incorporates more than 7,000 handwritten pages from his field research.

Personal life McTaggart-Cowan was married for more than 70 years to Joyce McTaggart-Cowan (née Racey), the daughter of his mentor Kenneth Racey. They had a son, Garry, and a daughter, Ann.

Select awards and honours McTaggart-Cowan's awards and honours included: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1946) Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America (1955) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1955) Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences (1955) Canadian Centennial Medal (1967) Officer of the Order of Canada (1972) Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) Officer of the Order of British Columbia (1991)