Ricardo Guta (31/07/1991 – 01/12/2022)

Ricardo Guta (31/07/1991 – 01/12/2022)

The Fitz mourns the tragic loss of our Conservation Biology MSc student Ricardo Guta on 1 December 2022 in a swimming accident.

Ricardo was a much-loved member of the 2021/22 cohort of the Conservation Biology MSc course, with a warm personality, infectious good humour and a deep knowledge and passion for entomology. He will be remembered by all who knew him for his kindness and generosity, meticulous research, and the enormous potential he showed as a conservation biologist.

Ricardo joined us from Mozambique, where he was born 200 km away from the Gorongosa National Park. Prior to taking up his Masters degree at UCT, he worked at the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park as a research technician focusing on insect biodiversity, and completed his undergraduate Biological Sciences degree at the Universidade Lúrio in Mozambique.

Ricardo’s warm and caring personality meant he was loved wherever he went, and he will be deeply missed both in Cape Town and in Mozambique. Ricardo is survived by his wife Lailat and children Adriel and Piotr – they are very much in our hearts at this terribly difficult time.

The Fitz will hold a memorial to celebrate Ricardo’s life in the Niven Library at 12 noon on Friday 9^th December 2022, with a Zoom connection for those unable to attend in person. Please contact Hilary Buchanan (hilary.buchanan@uct.ac.za) for the link if you would like to attend online.