Reinhold Rau
Born(1932-02-07)February 7, 1932
Friedrichsdorf, Germany
DiedFebruary 11, 2006(2006-02-11) (aged 74)
Cape Town, South Africa
Occupation(s)Taxidermist, natural historian
Known forEfforts to re-breed the extinct quagga
Rebuilding a Species: background of the Quagga Project, which was started by Reinhold Rau

Reinhold Eugen Rau (7 February 1932 – 11 February 2006) was a German natural historian who initiated the Quagga Project in South Africa, which aims to re-breed the extinct quagga, a sub-species of zebra.

Rau was born in Friedrichsdorf, Germany, and trained as a taxidermist at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt,[1] joining the South African Museum in Cape Town in 1959.[2] Rau was initially part of a team of seven taxidermists working at the museum.[3] Although principally known for his work on quaggas, Rau also rediscovered a species of tortoise which had been thought extinct.[4]

Rau continued to work at the South African Museum following his retirement;[3] he died on February 11, 2006,[2] at his home in Cape Town.[5]

Quaggas

Rau's interest in quaggas began in 1969, when he re-mounted a quagga foal at the South African Museum. In 1971, Rau visited museums across Europe,[6] and ultimately examined 22 of the world's 23 quagga specimens.[7] Dried tissue samples from the skin of the South African Museum's quagga foal, together with additional tissue samples from the two Mainz quaggas that he re-mounted in 1980/81, formed the basis of the DNA analyses that led to the discovery that the Quagga was a subspecies of the Plains Zebra, not a distinct species. This led to Rau founding the Quagga Project, an attempt to re-breed the extinct Quagga.

Rau's quest to rebreed the Quagga is said to have provided inspiration for Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park.[8]

In 2000, the Cape Tercentenary Foundation awarded Rau the Molteno Medal for lifetime services to nature conservation in the Cape.[9]

In 2013, Khumba, an animated movie about a quagga, was dedicated to Rau's memory.[4]

Works

References

  1. ^ "Reinhold Rau (1932 - 2006) und die Quaggas" (in German). Stadt Friedrichsdorf. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Nullis, Clare (23 March 2006). "Taxidermist had passion to revive extinct quagga". The M&G Online. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b Max, D.T. (1 January 2006). "Can You Revive an Extinct Animal?". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b Heywood, Peter (2015). "The micro-politics of macromolecules in the taxonomy and restoration of Quaggas". Kronos. 41 (1): 314–337. ISSN 0259-0190. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. ^ Walters, Tiara (22 January 2012). "Back from the dead". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. ^ Swart, Susan (2015). "3. Zombie Zoology: History and Reanimating Extinct Animals". In Nance, Susan (ed.). The Historical Animal. Syracuse University Press. pp. 54–72. ISBN 9780815653394.
  7. ^ Winstead, Edward R. (20 October 2000). "In South Africa, the Quagga Project Breeds Success". Genome News Network. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Reinhold Rau". The Telegraph. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  9. ^ "The Cape Tercentenary Foundation Medal". Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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