Richard Leakey was energetic despite his health problems.
The country's president said that Richard Leakey, a renowned fossil hunter who helped prove that humankind evolved in Africa, died on Sunday at the age of 77.
The paleoanthropologist was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217
The sad news of the passing away of Dr. Richard Leakey was received by the President.
The middle son of Louis and Mary Leakey, Leakey was destined for a career in paleoanthropology, the study of the human fossil record.
After trying his hand at guiding, Leakey won a grant from the National Geographic Society to dig on the shores of Lake Turkana, despite having no formal archaeological training.
The discovery of the skulls of Homo habilis in 1972 and Homo erectus in 1975 changed the understanding of human evolution.
The cover of Time magazine was followed by Leakey posing with a Homo habilis mock-up. His fame grew even more when he fronted "The Making of Mankind" in 1981.
The most famous fossil find was yet to come: the uncovering of an extraordinary, near- complete Homo erectus skeleton during one of his digs in 1984.
The nearly complete skeleton of the "Turkana boy", who was about eight years old when he died, is on display at the national museum.
Battling ivory traffickers.
As the slaughter of African elephants reached a climax in the late 1980s, Leakey emerged as one of the world's leading voices against the then legal global ivory trade.
The national wildlife agency will soon be named the Kenya Wildlife Service.
He pioneered a publicity stunt by burning a pyre of ivory to make the point that ivory has no value once removed from elephants.
He held his nerve when ordering the shoot-to-kill of armed criminals.
His small plane crashed in the Rift Valley in 1993. He lost both legs.
I lived with armed guards and there were threats to me. I decided not to be a dramatist and say that they tried to kill me. He told the Financial Times that he chose to get on with his life.
The anti-poaching stunt of burning ivory and rhino horn on a bonfire was popular by Leakey.
After being forced out of the KWS, Leakey joined the chorus of voices against the corrupt regime.
His political career ended with less success, however, and in 1998 he was put in charge of fighting official corruption, after being appointed to head the civil service.
He resigned after just two years after the task proved impossible.
In 2015, as another elephant poaching crisis gripped Africa, the president asked Leakey to again take the helm at the KWS, this time as chairman of the board, a position he would hold for three years.
The deputy president said that Leakey fought bravely for a better country and inspired people to serve.
Leakey refused to give in to health problems.
Richard was a good friend and a true loyal Kenyan. Paula Kahumbu, the head of Wildlife Direct, a group founded by Leakey, posted on the social networking site.
2022.
Richard Leakey, a fossil hunter and defender of elephants, died aged 77 on January 3, 2022.
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