Forwarding pl. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Praveen J [email protected] Date: 8 November 2014 17:41 Subject: Fwd: German who created Noah’s Ark for the Western Ghats is dead To:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 08-Nov-2014 4:40 pm Subject: German who created Noah’s Ark for the Western Ghats is dead To: "Praveen J" <[email protected]> Cc: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/german-who-created-noahs-ark-for-the-western-ghats-is-dead/article6577872.ece?homepage=true German who created Noah’s Ark for the Western Ghats is dead [image: Wolfgang Theuerkauf] Special arrangement Wolfgang Theuerkauf Wolfgang Theuerkauf, a German who dedicated over 30 years of his life to the conservation of plants of southern India, passed away in Wayanad on Thursday. He was 66. Affectionately called Swamy by his loved ones, Mr. Theuerkauf established the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary at Alattil, near Periya, in north Wayanad, where he nurtured hundreds of thousands of plants endemic to the Western Ghats for over three decades without any external support. He is survived by his wife Leela and two children, a son and a daughter. Mr. Theuerkauf was suffering from liver cirrhosis and was bedridden for the last couple of weeks. He breathed his last on Thursday night at the sanctuary. The last rites were performed on Friday at the sanctuary. A German by birth, Mr. Theuerkauf decided to settle down in India in the late seventies when he was attracted by the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru. He was a disciple of Nataraja Guru, the successor of the spiritual leader. He was also closely associated with Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati. Mr. Theuerkauf established a small ashram at Alattil and created the sanctuary as a Noah’s Ark for endemic plants on 50 five acres in 1981. The botanist was known for his works related to rainforest restoration activities, especially in the Mukkuruti forest in Karnataka. He pioneered the cause of conserving endangered plants, organic farming and alternative energy mechanisms. In 1981, Mr. Theuerkauf became an Indian citizen and married Leela, a Malayali woman from Periya. *A treasure trove* The sanctuary is a treasure trove for scholars, nature photographers and botanists across the globe. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has named the Gurukula as one of the 25 global centres of biodiversity. In 2006, he won the Whitley Award, the highest environment honour in the U.K., for the most effective conservation effort across the world. __,_._,___ -- With regards, J.M.Garg 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1> The whole world uses my Image Resource <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg> of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise). You can also use them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image. For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/indiantreepix> (largest in the world- more than 2400 members & 2,00,000 messages on 9.9.14) or Efloraofindia website <https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/> (with a species database of more than 10,000 species & 2,00,000 images). Winner of Wipro-NFS Sparrow Awards 2014 for efloraofindia <https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/award-for-efloraofindia>. Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of India'. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
