African Wildlife & Environment Issue 81

ECO HERO

on nature conservation but, equally important, the millions of seeds that he had planted in people’s minds. I will always carry the torch of his passion for life on Earth and the quest to understand and protect it. We have lost an icon and a leader but not his spirit, and our Lab and students are a major part of his legacy.” -Piotr Naskrecki In addition to books and articles, Ed was also a tireless science communicator in films and television programs. During his time in Gorongosa, he appeared in several

Ed with members of the Gorongosa Park science and conservation teams during the opening of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in 2014

where an entire new generation of Mozambican conservation leaders, and Ed’s academic descendants, are currently being trained. Some continue his research on ants, nearly 200 species of which were identified during his visits to Gorongosa. In 2014, Ed published a book about his discoveries and adventures in Gorongosa called A Window on Eternity: A Biologist’s Walk Through Gorongosa National Park . To illustrate the book, Ed requested photographs by Piotr Naskrecki, Associate Director of the E.O.Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory. For Piotr, the book collaboration was the fruit of a long professional partnership and personal friendship: “I considered Prof. Wilson not only my hero, mentor and a life-long inspiration, but also a good friend. Despite several orders of magnitude in his seniority (in every sense of the word), he had always made me feel that I could approach him at any time, with matters both large and small. His generosity was boundless, his advice always valuable, his spirit unrivalled in optimism. I am who I am and do what I do mostly because of him. And the best part is that he had exerted that kind of influence on entire legions of people, young and old, throughout his entire career. His legacy consists of not only a monumental amount of scientific discoveries, entirely new branches of biological sciences, and unparalleled influence

high-profile documentaries including The Guide (by Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu); Gorongosa Park: Rebirth of Paradise , a six- part prime-time TV series for PBS and National Geographic ; and a 90-min feature documentary film

for PBS about Ed’s life and career called Of Ants and Men. In the epic BBC series Africa , Sir David Attenborough narrates a sequence wherein Ed and Tonga Torcida (one of the Park’s young technicians) discuss how the abundant and diverse ecosystem of

insect life – 'the little things that run the earth' - create tremendous hope for the future of Gorongosa National Park. “The great challenge of the twenty-first century is to raise people everywhere to a decent standard of living while preserving as much of the rest of life as possible.” - E.O.Wilson

59 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 81 (2022)