He faced bullets, swarming bees, and the relentless challenges of a continent in crisis, yet he never wavered. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who died at the age of 83, outlived the poachers who tried to silence him and the political apathy that often turned a blind eye to mass slaughter. And yet, when news of his passing spread, most people had no idea that they had just lost a man who fundamentally changed the fate of elephants — and, in doing so, reshaped our understanding of animal grief, memory, loyalty, and love. He was not just a conservationist or a scientist; he was a pioneer who taught humanity to see these magnificent creatures not as shadows on the savannah but as sentient beings with lives, families, and emotions that mirror our own.
