World renowned conservation biologist Devra G. Kleiman passed away on April 29 in Washington D.C.
Kleiman is best known for her work at Smithsonian National Zoo where she led groundbreaking research into how zoos can be utilized to aid in preserving endangered species, sparking a “revolution of the role of zoos as conservation organizations,” according to Steven Monfort, director of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, who was quoted in an obituary appearing in yesterday’s Washington Post.
Her book, co-edited by Mary E. Allen, Katerina V. Thompson, and Susan Lumpkin, Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques bears the fruits of much of this research. The first handbook of its kind, Wild Mammals in Captivity focuses on the advances made by Kleiman and the book’s other esteemed contributors to standard practice in the management of wild animals in captivity, and, with a second edition due out in August of this year, includes the most current information from field and captive studies of animal behavior, advances in captive breeding, research in physiology, genetics, and nutrition, and new thinking in animal management and welfare.
Find out more about Kleiman and her work in the obit section of the Washington Post or find out more about Wild Mammals in Captivity on the press website.