
A keen follower of the work of Frans de Waal I was very saddened to hear about his passing. An unimaginable loss, also for the scientific community. My deepest condolences to his wife Catherine, his family and all those who loved him dearly. When I was 11 years old I collected pictures of animals and put them in a scrapbook. It was then that I first 'met' Frans de Waal. The story of Kuif who learnt how to bottle feed Roosje appeared in our local newspaper and so I took a pair of scissors and put it in my book. This was 1979. Years later I was studying pedagogical sciences and became interested in the books of the by now famous Dutch primatologist. Several times I saw Frans enchant his audience with talks. Last time I took my daughter (now 23) who is now studying Biology. It's great to be able to talk about Frans' work with my daughter. Frans has been a great inspiration for me, and will continue to be. I fully agree with what Frans stated in De Pedagoog (in 2019): evolution and biology are too often ignored in the social sciences. His voice and insight will be sorely missed.
Wishing you all the strenght right now,
Hans
Alkmaar, The Netherlands
I wrote this personal goodbye:
http://pedagoogle.com/2024/03/21/primatoloog-frans-de-waal-bracht-apen-en-mensen-een-beetje-dichter-bij-elkaar/