Ian Cedric Audley Player DMS (15 March 1927 – 30 November 2014) was a South African international conservationist.

Biography

Born in Johannesburg, Player was educated at St. John's College, Johannesburg,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

and served in the 6th Armoured Division attached to the American 5th Army in Italy 1944–46. Player's conservation career started with the Natal Parks Board in 1952 and whilst Warden of the Umfolozi Game Reserve, he spearheaded two key initiatives: * Operation Rhino - that saved the few remaining southern race of

white rhino The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

. * Protected status for the Umfolozi and St. Lucia Wilderness Areas (now known as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site)- The first wilderness areas to be zoned in South Africa and on the African continent. Player was the Founder of the Wilderness Leadership School, which still runs the original wilderness trails to this day. WildernessLeadershipSchool

This led to the formation of the

Wild Foundation The WILD Foundation is a non-profit organization, belonging to category 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, that was founded in 1974 by South Africans Ian Player (conservationist) anMagqubu Ntombela(Zulu chief, friend, and colleague), ...

, the Wilderness Foundation SA, Wilderness Foundation UK, Magqubu Ntombela Foundation not to mention the World Wilderness Congresses, first convened in 1977. In 2004 Player collaborated with Sarah Collins, entrepreneur, visionary, and women's rights activist, to create ‘Take Back The Future’. The objective was to tempt mainstream South African youth into this arena of wilderness preservation. ‘Take Back The Future’ raised money through selling earth worms, and growing and selling vegetables at farmer's markets. By setting up youth groups they were able to innovate and upscale the concept across communities in South Africa. Amongst many orders and awards, Player was awarded the Knight of the

Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark ( nl, Orde van de Gouden Ark) is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation. Although not ...

and the

Decoration for Meritorious Service The Decoration for Meritorious Services was an honour conferred until 1987 by the Government of the Republic of South Africa, usually for political services to the country. The appointments were made by the State President of South Africa. Po ...

(the then highest Republic of South African civilian award). He was the recipient of two honorary doctorates: * Doctor of Philosophy, Honoris Causa from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

. * Doctor of Laws (LLD) (h.c.) from

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

. Player died on 30 November 2014 of a stroke. He was the brother of professional golfer

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

. Player's archives and legacy are owned and managed by his nephew Marc Player, who has initiated several projects including books (Into the River of Life) a feature-length movie, a TV series built around Operation Rhino translocation program and THE PLAYER INDABA which seeks global "PLAYERS' to raise funds to fight the extinction of various threatened animal species.The Ian Player Foundation has also been established as a charitable organization aiding nature conservation, wildlife activism and environmental education.

Popular culture

The famous movie director and producer

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

, wanted a movie about people who catch animals in Africa for zoos, a dangerous profession with exciting scenes the likes of which had never been seen on-screen before. The name of his blockbuster movie is

Hatari! ''Hatari!'' (, Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American adventure romantic comedy film starring John Wayne as the leader of a group of professional game catchers in Africa.McCarthy, Todd. ''Howard Hawks: the grey fox of Hollywood'', New York, ...

, starring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

. Hawks increased his knowledge in catching animals from Player's humane work. In 1952 South Africa was disastrously embarked to eliminate all large wild animals to protect livestock, and only 300 white rhinos survived. Player then started his famed rhino catching technique to relocate and save the white rhinos. Player's humane project was called Operation Rhino and the renowned film documentary named Operation Rhino was produced. Hawks studied this film documentary repeatedly to help incorporate aspects of it into his film Hatari!. In June 1964, Player appeared on the panel show To Tell the Truth as himself, highlighting his role as warden of Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park and his work protecting white rhinos. Host

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

noted that scenes of white rhinos shown at the beginning of the episode were from Ivan Tors' movie

Rhino! ''Rhino!'' is a 1964 American action film directed by Ivan Tors and written by Art Arthur and Arthur Weiss. The film stars Harry Guardino, Shirley Eaton, Robert Culp, Harry Makela and George Korelin. The film was released on May 20, 1964, by Metr ...

, released a few weeks earlier, and for which Player acted as a technical advisor.

Selected works

* ''

Men, Rivers and Canoes The Dusi Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race held over three days between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. It is run along the Msunduzi and Mgeni Rivers over a total distance of . The race attracts between 1600 and 2000 paddlers ...

'' – 1964
Reissued 2007
- * ''White Rhino Saga'' – 1972 - * ''Big Game – 1972'' - ASIN: B0007BO5E4 * ''Man and the Wilderness'' – 1986 - ASIN: B0007BQ0FG

– 1997 -

Ian Player Perspective
stories by and about Dr. Ian Player

Biography

Popular culture

Selected works

References

External links