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Barrie Rose 1947 - 2016
African Birdlife
|March - April 2017
On 30 December 2016 southern Africa lost not only its most experienced seabirder, but also a true gentleman.
Barrie Rose was born into a family of herpetologists; his grandfather, Walter Rose, discovered several new species of frogs and was honoured by having Breviceps rosei (sand rain frog), Heleophryne rosei (Table Mountain ghost frog) and Capensibufo rosei (Rose’s mountain toadlet) named after him. Barrie grew up catching and keeping snakes and other reptiles, but his first love was fishing. An accomplished sports fisherman, he joined the Sea Fisheries Research Institute as a research technician in 1968, which enabled him to marry his professional and personal interests.
In 1978, Barrie was offered the chance to go to Marion Island to collect penguins. Standing on the helideck of the SA Agulhas, he met birder Ian Sinclair who asked Barrie if he knew his birds.
This story is from the March - April 2017 edition of African Birdlife.
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