An internationally renowned zoologist and environmental biologist Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, the 5th Earl of Cranbrook.  Lord Cranbrook’s PhD concerned the biology of cave swiftlets – the Southeast Asian birds that build edible nests – and, from 1956-70, his successive professional posts were at institutions in that region.

 

His first post-graduate appointment was Technical Assistant at the Sarawak Museum (1956-8), where inter alia he was charged with (a) investigating the edible-nest swiftlets, and (b) sorting and (as far as possible) identifying animal remains from the Museum’s archaeological digs. From this start, his research interests have focused on the taxonomy and ecology of Southeast Asian mammals and birds, and zooarchaeological study of vertebrate remains from local excavations. In 1960-61 he was postdoctoral fellow in Indonesia, and (1961-70) a member of the Zoology Department,  University of Malaya.

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With his wife, Caroline, and first son, Jason, he returned to the UK in 1970. He has subsequently held a mix of part-time positions in the voluntary, public and private sectors, including service as an elected Parish and District Councillor, a member of the Natural Environment Research Council, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, trustee of the British Museum (Natural History), chairman of the Institute for European Environmental Policy, environmental adviser to the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and non-executive policy roles in the water and waste management industries.

 

From 1978-99 he was a hereditary member of the UK House of Lords, where he served on the Select Committee on Science and Technology and the EU Environment Subcommittee (three terms as chairman). He has also returned frequently to Southeast Asia, as a volunteer on cooperative research and conservation projects with regional institutions.

 

In 2005 he was awarded PNBS (Sarawak), carrying the title Dato Sri. In 2014  recipient of a Merdeka Award (Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia)  and WWF Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award; in 2015 appointed Honorary Research Fellow, Micropathology Ltd, and in 2016 International Collaborative Partner (ICP) of UTAR Global Research Network.

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His publications include many scientific papers on South-east Asian regional biology and zoo archaeology, and a dozen books including Mammals of Borneo (1965, revised edn 1977), The Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) and Singapore (1969, 2nd edn 1978), Birds of the Malay Peninsula, vol. 5. (with D. R. Wells, 1976), Mammals of South-East Asia (1987, 2nd edn 1991), Key environments: Malaysia (Ed. & contributor 1988), Belalong: a Tropical Rainforest (with D. S. Edwards, 1994), Wonders of Nature in South-East Asia (1997), Sya’ir Jerjezang (The Ballad of Jerjezang) (2000, reprint 2008), Swiftlets of Borneo: Builders of Edible Nests (with Lim Chan Koon 2002, 2nd ed. 2014).

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