Downing
Contributor
I just found out Dr. Rabinowitz died earlier this month at the age of 64. This wasn't totally unexpected given that he was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia almost twenty years ago. But he kept on working all these years on behalf of wildlife, especially the big cats, and I had begun to think he was going to last forever.
Dr. Rabinowitz was a key figure in persuading the then newly formed country of Belize to create the world's first jaguar preserve, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. He chronicled his efforts in his book Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve: Alan Rabinowitz: 9781559638029: Amazon.com: Books.
As a child he stuttered so badly that his parents thought he was mentally disabled. Because he couldn't communicate with people, he developed a deep bond with the wild animals at the Bronx Zoo. Finally, when he was 18, he was taken to a clinic for stuttering and learned to speak fluently. He talked about this experience as as well as the jaguar preserve in a very moving speech recorded at The Moth | The Art and Craft of Storytelling entitled Man and Beast.
I know this is a scuba forum, but he had such an impact on Belize that I thought I would be remiss not to note his passing here. If any of you ever get the chance to visit the Cockscomb, I know you'll enjoy it.
Alan Rabinowitz, Conservationist of Wild Cats, Dies at 64
Dr. Rabinowitz was a key figure in persuading the then newly formed country of Belize to create the world's first jaguar preserve, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. He chronicled his efforts in his book Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve: Alan Rabinowitz: 9781559638029: Amazon.com: Books.
As a child he stuttered so badly that his parents thought he was mentally disabled. Because he couldn't communicate with people, he developed a deep bond with the wild animals at the Bronx Zoo. Finally, when he was 18, he was taken to a clinic for stuttering and learned to speak fluently. He talked about this experience as as well as the jaguar preserve in a very moving speech recorded at The Moth | The Art and Craft of Storytelling entitled Man and Beast.
I know this is a scuba forum, but he had such an impact on Belize that I thought I would be remiss not to note his passing here. If any of you ever get the chance to visit the Cockscomb, I know you'll enjoy it.
Alan Rabinowitz, Conservationist of Wild Cats, Dies at 64
