Eerik Kumari born Erik Mathias Sits (7 March 1912 – 8 January 1984) was a biologist, and pioneer of

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and nature conservation in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

. He was born in Kirbla,

Lihula Parish Lihula Parish ( et, Lihula vald) was a rural municipality in Lääne County, Estonia. It had a population of 2,652 (as of 1 January 2010) and an area of . In 2017, Lihula Parish, Hanila Parish, Koonga Parish, and Varbla Parish were merged to f ...

. He was a director of the Institute of Zoology and Botany at the

Estonian Academy of Sciences Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences ( et, Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to ...

during 1952–1977. He was the president of the

Estonian Naturalists' Society Estonian Naturalists' Society ( et, Eesti Looduseuurijate Selts, ELUS) is the oldest Estonia-based society of naturalists. It was founded in 1853, and since establishing has been the major scientific organisation focusing on natural history of Es ...

in 1954–1964. The Eerik Kumari Award was established in 1989 in his name to honor those who have excelled in biology in Estonia.

References

Eerik Kumari memorial collection
Estonian ornithologists University of Tartu alumni 1912 births 1984 deaths People from Lääneranna Parish Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences 20th-century Estonian scientists Estonian University of Life Sciences faculty Soviet zoologists Burials at Raadi cemetery {{Biologist-stub