Reinhold Eugen Rau (7 February 1932 – 11 February 2006) was a German natural historian who initiated the
Quagga Project in South Africa, which aims to
re-breed the extinct
quagga, a sub-species of zebra.
Rau was born in
Friedrichsdorf, Germany, and trained as a
taxidermist
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...
at the
Senckenberg Museum in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, joining the
South African Museum in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
in 1959.
Rau was initially part of a team of seven taxidermists working at the museum.
Although principally known for his work on quaggas, Rau also rediscovered a species of tortoise which had been thought extinct.
Rau continued to work at the South African Museum following his retirement;
he died on February 11, 2006,
at his home in Cape Town.
Quaggas
Rau's interest in quaggas began in 1969, when he re-mounted a
quagga foal at the South African Museum. In 1971, Rau visited museums across Europe,
and ultimately examined 22 of the world's 23 quagga specimens.
Dried tissue samples from the skin of the South African Museum's quagga foal, together with additional tissue samples from the two
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
quaggas that he re-mounted in 1980/81, formed the basis of the DNA analyses that led to the discovery that the Quagga was a subspecies of the Plains Zebra, not a distinct species. This led to Rau founding the
Quagga Project, an attempt to
re-breed the extinct Quagga.
Rau's quest to rebreed the Quagga is said to have provided inspiration for Michael Crichton's 1990 novel ''
Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
''.
In 2000,
the Cape Tercentenary Foundation awarded Rau the Molteno Medal for lifetime services to nature conservation in the Cape.
In 2013, ''
Khumba'', an animated movie about a quagga, was dedicated to Rau's memory.
Works
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Reinhold
1932 births
2006 deaths
Scientists from Hesse
South African naturalists
People from Friedrichsdorf
German emigrants to South Africa
20th-century naturalists