Steve Winter - The world lost one of its Big Cat Wildlife Hero’s last week - Howard Quigley

The world lost one of its Big Cat Wildlife Hero’s last week - Howard Quigley.(while I was with the jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal, one of Howard and Alan’s favorite places) Howard was one of the nicest men on the planet. In the late 1970’s Dr. George Schaller chose Howard for a study on jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal and Alan Rabinowitz to study jaguars in the jungles of Belize. That formed a lifelong bond between the three men of wildlife.He was a master conflict mediator - Howard could step into a heated discussion for example - btw Alan Rabinowitz (also gone way too soon and his best friend) and Ullas Karanth at a tiger meeting Howard would step in and lead with a chuckle and a joke and say (“what if we look at it this way?) or something to that effect - then smiles all around followed by drinks and discussion.He taught me so much.I worked with my friend Alan Rabinowitz and Howard for years on Jaguars. A decade ago Howard asked me "Why in over 20 years at Nat Geo I had never worked in the US "- I said why Howard - he said I should do a cougar story, as the natural history of the cougar was completely changing with the reintroduction of wolves and grizzlies. That lead to the 1st ever wild cougar story in National Geographic Magazine, He then told me to contact Seth Riley and Jeff Sikich of the National Park service working with cougars just north of LA as Howard knew I wanted a urban cat also. That led to a lifelong friendship with Jeff Sikich, without Jeff’s nonstop passinate help I would never gotten the Hollywood Cougar image which made P-22 a celebrity in LA and brought about the idea of a wildlife overpass spearheaded by Beth Pratt - California director of The National Wildlife Federation. All because of a comment by Howard more than once.You did so much for me. But so much more for big cats - Howard ran the Siberian Tiger Project for a decade and changed the protections, understanding and vision for the future of cougars and jaguars throughout their range for Your legacy lives on. You were gone too soon Howard - we love and miss you deeply. You and Alan are together again..........thoughts and prayers for His family.
#relaxation #bestrelaxation #stevewinter