Dr Rasanayagam Rudran- A Tribute

By a tragic coincidence, the day after Part 1 of this article was published, we received the news that Dr Rudran had passed away in Orlando, Florida after a period of illness. Rudu or Rudy as he was called, was dedicated to the cause of wildlife protection. A product of Royal College and the University of Ceylon, Rudu whose chosen field was primatology gained his PhD from the University of Maryland and was a scientist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

As a primatologist, he had worked in countries such as Uganda and in Venezuela where he was the Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Field Survey of Venezuela. In 1979, he returned to Sri Lanka on a USAID assignment to assess the impact of the Accelerated Mahaveli Development Project on wildlife and gathered together a team of young biologists from local NGOs as well as from the Universities of Colombo and Peradeniya to conduct the necessary surveys.

In his own words ” …the most memorable of these surveys was when the whole team travelled in canoes along the Mahaveli Ganga from Mahiyangana to Trincomalee recording the status of habitats and wildlife along both banks”. The report of this endeavor was to result in the creation of 4 National Parks- Maduru Oya, Wasgamuwa, the Flood Plains and Somawathiya. These parks are thus a testimony to Rudu’s leadership and his commitment to the wildlife of this country.

He returned to the Smithsonian Institution where he established a programme to train personnel in developing countries in wildlife management and conservation. Between 1980 and 2006, he was to train 2,000 biologists and environmental educators in 80 countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Sri Lanka too benefitted from this programme for during visits to the island, he would spend his time conducting training workshops for field officers in the Department of Wildlife Conservation in an effort to make the department more professional. Dr Rudran retired from the Smithsonian as a Scientist Emeritus having served that institution as a scientist and a conservationist for 38 years.

To us at March for Conservation, he was the founder, the person responsible for establishing the organization in 1980. His dedication to environmental causes in Sri Lanka is demonstrated in this gesture too. Instead of using the grant he received from the New York Zoological Society to further a personal agenda or his own professional interests, he used it to reach out to the young people of Sri Lanka.

Thank you Rudu- MfC owes its existence to you, your continued interest in the natural riches of this country, your commitment to the cause of wildlife protection and conservation.

May your soul rest in peace.

All at March for Conservation