The PCU commemorates the passing of Richard Dean

One of South Africa’s greatest naturalists and well-known ornithologists, Richard Dean passed away in Prince Albert on Wednesday 3 August 2022. Richard was a prolific researcher who is best known for his publications on the ecology of the Karoo where he lived and worked with his wife Sue Milton-Dean for the last 35 years. Together they formed a formidable research team publishing hundreds of papers on the biology of southern Africa’s drylands. Richard appreciated how inter-related different organisms were to each other and often studied their interactions and how this led to the patterns observed in the landscape today. He was also deeply concerned about the impact that people had on the environment whether from overgrazing or from the creation of artificial barriers to movement such as roads or fences. Together with Sue, Richard established the long-term research station at Tierberg near Prince Albert in the 1980s which continues to this day under the auspices of the South African Environmental Observation Network. Several PCU students and staff worked at Tierberg at some stage in their careers and got to know Richard and Sue well during this time. We are grateful to have had these interactions with Richard and appreciate his contributions to the Karoo community. Our thoughts are with Sue and Richard’s family at this time as well.

For more detail on Richard's life and contributions, please see his obituary in the Prince Albert Friend, a local newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left: Sue Milton-Dean and Richard Dean at the entrance to Wolwekraal Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Prince Albert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right: Richard appreciated classic motorcycles. He is seen here with his Ariel 350cc motorcycle from the 1940s.

Photos supplied by Timm Hoffman.