Michael Grzimek
Encyclopedia
Michael Grzimek was a German zoologist, conservationalist
and filmmaker.
and Hildegard Prüfer. Already as a child, he assisted his father in his research of wolves and dog
s. He spent the last years of the Second world war with his mother and his older brother Rochus on an old farm in Allgäu
which his father had bought in 1930s.
At the age of 16 he accompanied his father on an expedition to Ivory Coast. The success which followed his father's book Kein Platz für wilde Tiere (No room for wild animals) which describes their 1954 Congo
expedition made Michael persuade his father to make a colour film based on it. Although they had to borrow over 10.000 DM
to make it and they didn't hope it would be successful , as the film portrayed animals as peaceful (at that time an unusual thing ), the film unexpectedly won two Golden Bears (one as viewers' favourite film, and the other from the International panel of academics) at the 1956 Berlin International Film Festival
and was sold to sixty-three countries (inlcluding the Eastern bloc
, China
and Japan
) and grossed a lot of money worldwide. It also won another award, the Bundesfilmpreis. Michael used the money he and his father earned to buy land in the British colony
Tanganyika
and included it into the national park
. Peter Molley, the director of the Tanganyikan national parks, suggested that Grzimeks make a new survey of the number of wild animals and their migration routes so that the borders of Serengeti
could be newly established.
During these vast explorations (which also served Michael as a preparation for a university degree) of the routes these routes were mapped precisely for the first time, and also the number of the animals in their herds could be counted. It was 367.000 - one third of the expected number. To be able to do this, both Grzimeks got a pilot license and bought a plane, Dornier Do 27
. To make it look natural to the animals, the painted it with zebra
stripes pattern. The code of the plane was D-ENTE. ("D" stood for Germany, "E" for single engine light aircraft; they could choose the other three letters, and as they wanted an animal name, they chose "ente", German
for "duck". Bernhard Grzimek said jokingly that they could also have used "esel", German for "donkey", but didn't think of it then .)
On January 10 1959 the plane piloted by Michael collided with a vulture
and he lost control over it. He was killed in the crash. He was buried the same day on the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. Later the government of Tanzania erected a stone pyramid over his grave. Bernhard Grzimek was buried there after his death in 1987 as well.
Three schools, one in Frankfurt
, one in Berlin
and one in Nairobi
, are named after Michael Grzimek. The main building of the Serengeti Research Institute is named Michael Grzimek's Memorial Laboratory.
His tomb bears this inscription:
The same inscription is on a nine-ton steel statue which was erected to Michael's memory in Cincinnati, Ohio
in 1969.
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
and filmmaker.
Life
Michael Grzimek was the second son of Bernhard GrzimekBernhard Grzimek
Bernhard Klemens Maria Grzimek was a renowned Silesian-German zoo director, zoologist, book author, editor, and animal conservationist in postwar West-Germany.-Early years:Grzimek was born in Neisse , Upper Silesia...
and Hildegard Prüfer. Already as a child, he assisted his father in his research of wolves and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. He spent the last years of the Second world war with his mother and his older brother Rochus on an old farm in Allgäu
Allgäu
The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...
which his father had bought in 1930s.
At the age of 16 he accompanied his father on an expedition to Ivory Coast. The success which followed his father's book Kein Platz für wilde Tiere (No room for wild animals) which describes their 1954 Congo
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
expedition made Michael persuade his father to make a colour film based on it. Although they had to borrow over 10.000 DM
D-Mark
Marcos Ligero, born in Sabadell, Spain and better known as D-Mark, is a Spanish Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and producer. Starting with the music as a hobby in the late 90s and at the early age of 13 he became an enthusiast of the dance music genre of the moment, and passed to be a mere...
to make it and they didn't hope it would be successful , as the film portrayed animals as peaceful (at that time an unusual thing ), the film unexpectedly won two Golden Bears (one as viewers' favourite film, and the other from the International panel of academics) at the 1956 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
and was sold to sixty-three countries (inlcluding the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) and grossed a lot of money worldwide. It also won another award, the Bundesfilmpreis. Michael used the money he and his father earned to buy land in the British colony
Evolution of the British Empire
The territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century...
Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
and included it into the national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. Peter Molley, the director of the Tanganyikan national parks, suggested that Grzimeks make a new survey of the number of wild animals and their migration routes so that the borders of Serengeti
Serengeti
The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E. It spans some ....
could be newly established.
Dornier Do 27
-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.*Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.-External links:**...
. To make it look natural to the animals, the painted it with zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
stripes pattern. The code of the plane was D-ENTE. ("D" stood for Germany, "E" for single engine light aircraft; they could choose the other three letters, and as they wanted an animal name, they chose "ente", German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "duck". Bernhard Grzimek said jokingly that they could also have used "esel", German for "donkey", but didn't think of it then .)
On January 10 1959 the plane piloted by Michael collided with a vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
and he lost control over it. He was killed in the crash. He was buried the same day on the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. Later the government of Tanzania erected a stone pyramid over his grave. Bernhard Grzimek was buried there after his death in 1987 as well.
Personal life
Michael Grzimek married Erika Schoof (b. July 31, 1932) on May 26, 1955. They had two sons, Stephan Michael (b. 1956), and Christian Bernhard (b. 1959 after his father's death). In 1978, after he divorced from his first wife, Michael's father Bernhard married Erika and adopted the two children. Erika Schoof, and from 1980, Christian Grzimek, became the head of the Okapia KG Michael Grzimek & Co which is an archive of photos and files.Legacy
Michael's survey, basically finished by the time he died, were the reason for the enlargement of the Serengeti National Park. Bernhard Grzimek finished their second film, Serengeti darf nicht sterben (Serengeti must not die), which brought attention to the conservation problems in the area and also wrote an eponymous book. The film was very successful - among other, it won Oscar in 1960; it was the first German film to win this prize; and so was the book, which was translated into 23 languages and sold millions of copies.Three schools, one in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, one in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and one in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, are named after Michael Grzimek. The main building of the Serengeti Research Institute is named Michael Grzimek's Memorial Laboratory.
His tomb bears this inscription:
-
- HE GAVE ALL HE POSSESSED
- INCLUDING HIS LIFE
- FOR THE WILD ANIMALS OF AFRICA
The same inscription is on a nine-ton steel statue which was erected to Michael's memory in Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1969.
Films
- Kein Platz für wilde Tiere, 1956
- Serengeti darf nicht sterben (prepared for the screen by Bernhard Grzimek), 1959
Books
- Serengeti darf nicht sterben (prepared for publication by Bernhard Grzimek), 1959
Literature
- Gerhard Grzimek, Rupprecht Grzimek: Die Familie Grzimek aus Oberglogau in Oberschlesien, in: "Deutsches Familienarchiv", Band X, Verlag Degener & Co., Neustadt (Aisch) 1958. - 4., erweiterte und überarbeitete Ausgabe, Herder-Institut, Reutlingen 2000.