Wolfgang Gewalt
Wolfgang violence (* October 28, 1928, † 26 April, 2007 Herrischried ) was a German zoologist, author and longtime director of the Duisburg Zoo.
Life
Wolfgang violence studied at the Humboldt University and later at the Free University of Berlin, zoology, botany, chemistry and anthropology. He received his doctorate in 1959. The topic of his dissertation was contributions to the knowledge of the optical differentiation ability of some mustelids with special consideration of color vision. On September 1, 1959 violence began his zoological career as a research assistant at the Berlin Zoological Garden. He was promoted in 1964 to senior assistant and held this position until March 31, 1966. On April 1, 1966, he was appointed director of the Duisburg Zoo. Soon after, he came into the international headlines when the beluga whale Moby Dick strayed into the Rhine in May 1966. After violence had repeatedly tried in vain to catch the animal, he fell more and more into the negative criticism. Until the whale still succeeded in June 1966 to swim in the North Sea, newspapers even called for: " Arrested Wolfgang violence." 1969 violence led an expedition to Canada and brought the first beluga to Duisburg. Here, too, he earned strong criticism. Notwithstanding this, he brought in 1975 by a Venezuelan expedition two Orinocodelfine or Toninas with Duisburg. In 1993, Wolfgang violence in retirement. He died after a domestic accident at his retirement home in Herrischried in the Black Forest at the age of 78 years.
Services
Wolfgang Gewalts main focus was initially on the research of the Great Bustard. His observations in the breeding territories and his experience with hand-reared Great Bustards he wrote down in several publications. In the Zoo of Berlin, he wrote in 1964 the first German Kinderzooführer. In 1969 he participated in the Encyclopedia Grzimek's animal life and contributed the article about the possums at. Together with colleagues founded violence in 1972 in the Dutch dolphinarium Harderwijk, the European Association for Aquatic Mammals, a company incorporated for the keeping of marine mammals in captivity, he became its first president. In 1978 violence, the first offspring of a bottlenose dolphin in a German zoo. In his long career he influenced significantly the profile of the Zoo Duisburg. With the presentation of many rarely shown animal forms and the formation of the attitude of marine mammals as a priority he gave the zoo on the Duisburg Kaiserberg first international recognition. Violence was 1979-1980 Vice- President, and 1981-1983 President of the Association of German Zoo Directors. 1993 awarded the Austrian Academy of Sciences him the Konrad Lorenz medal.