1. Ian McTaggart-Cowan has been called "the father of Canadian ecology".
17 Facts About Ian McTaggart-Cowan
1. 2.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan completed studies at the University of British Columbia and then at the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied deer under Joseph Grinnell.
3.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan next took a professorship at the University of British Columbia, where he established the first university wildlife program in Canada.
4.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was active in early studies of British Columbia Provincial Parks and Canada's Rocky Mountain National Parks.
5.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan supervised more than 100 graduate students; many became eminent scientists in academia and government.
6.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan had secret annual meetings with American Aldo Leopold and other conservation biologists to discuss educating the public about nature conservation.
7.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan warned about the ecological dangers of pesticides and climate change long before they became well-known problems.
8.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan acted as an environmental advocate within the confines of the political system, by writing to government ministers.
9.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was influential in the field of wildlife management, ending the previously widespread practice of awarding bounties for the killing of "undesirable" wildlife species in Canada.
10.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was the head of the University of British Columbia's Zoology Department from 1953 to 1964, whereupon he became the Dean of Graduate Studies.
11.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was an avid hunter and a respected philatelist.
12.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was a pioneer of science television, including hosting the series Fur and Feather, The Living Sea, and Web of Life.
13.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was the first to broadcast microscope images of microorganisms on television.
14.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan reportedly started the broadcasting career of David Suzuki by hiring him to follow in his footsteps.
15.
At the time of his death in 2010, McTaggart-Cowan had received more awards than almost any other Canadian scientist.
16.
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.
17.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan was married for more than 70 years to Joyce Ian McTaggart-Cowan, the daughter of his mentor Kenneth Racey.