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Dr Ian Cedric Player
(March 15, 1927 – November 30, 2014)
A m o s t
outstanding
conservationist
by Fiona Zerbst
tribute
It was with great sadness
that we learnt of the death
of the grandfather of nature
conservation in South Africa, Dr
Ian Player, who passed away
after a stroke on 30 November.
Born in 1927 in Johannesburg,
Dr Player had a long, illustrious
career protecting and conserving
wildlife. Based in KwaZulu-
Natal, he began working for the
Natal Parks, Game and Fish
Preservation Board in 1952 and
worked his way up to become
senior warden of iMfolozi Game
Ian Player is well known
as being the initiator
and team leader of
an innovative project
‘Operation Rhino’.
Reserve. It was here that he
made two vital contributions
to conservation: he founded
Operation Rhino (it is largely
thanks to Player and his right-
hand man, friend and mentor
Magqubu Ntombela, that we
have rhinos to save at all), and
he established wilderness areas
in iMfolozi and St Lucia (the first
such areas to be zoned in South
Africa). In 1964 he became Chief
Nature Conservator for Natal and
Zululand.
During Operation Rhino,
which was a hands-on,
heroic effort, a dart burst
and hit him in the eye and
he lost the sight in that eye.
As a result, he quipped:“I
am conscious of the rhinos
every moment of the day.”
His pioneering efforts were
many – he founded the World
WildernessCongresses(WWC)in
1977, the Wilderness Leadership
School (the first organisation in
Africa dedicated to providing a
pure wilderness experience for
people of all backgrounds, races
and nationalities), the Wilderness
Foundation in the UK and the
Magqubu Ntombela Foundation;
he also initiated the first-ever
Dusi Canoe Marathon, which is
going strong today.
Passionateaboutenvironmental
projects of all kinds, Dr Player
lectured and raised money for
such projects in both South Africa
and abroad, and even travelled
to the US as a technical advisor
to Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer for the
making of the movie Rhino!
In an effort to save the white
rhino as a species, Dr Player
sold breeding colonies to many
zoos and safari parks outside of

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South Africa, including the San
Diego Zoo and Orange County
Zoo in the US and Whipsnade
Zoo in the UK. He established an
anti-poaching network in South
African game reserves which
resulted in a reduction in poaching
and predation. During the 1960s,
he conducted eco-surveys of
crocodile and hippopotamus
populations as well as avifauna
at the Ndumu Game Reserve.
He also conducted ‘Operation
Crocodile’ at Lake St Lucia, during
which crocodiles were airlifted by
helicopter from the Mkuze River
to fresher, less saline regions of
the southern part of the lake.
Dr Player served on several
parks boards, including that
of SanParks. Something of a
visionary who believed that
communities are an integral
part of nature conservation,
he believed people should be
brought into conservation to
ensure the survival of protected
areas. He received many awards,
including South Africa’s highest
civilian award, the Decoration
for Meritorious Service, and the
Spirit of Africa award from the
Game Rangers Association of
Africa, in 2004.
The Dusi Canoe Marathon
is one of the world’s
toughest and most
prestigious canoe races.
The first ever Dusi Canoe
Marathon was organised
by Ian Player and began
on 22 of December 1951.
The race was held with a
non-stop format and no
time limit.
Scan the QR Code to watch
Dr Ian Player’s message to
the youth in one of his last
interviews.
Let us not look
back in anger, but
forward in fury.
- Dr Ian Player
Photo by Quintus Strauss
We atWRSA consider Dr Ian Player as one of the
founders of our great industry. His visionary work and
faith in the concept of private ownership and sustainable
use are the foundations of our industry.
Photo: www.dusi.co.za
- (Dr Peter Oberem)