Tales of the Himalaya: Adventures of a Naturalist

Lawrence W. Swan was an ecologist, zoogeographer, anatomist, and evolutionary philosopher with entomological, avicultural, botanical, behavioral and molecular biases and an obdurate dreamer. Born and raised in Darjeeling, India, he began a natural history career that was to bring him worldwide recognition as a leading authority on high-altitude ecology.

In addition to his Himalayan expeditions, he conducted research on the great volcanoes of Mexico, investigated several aspects of African wildlife, and made scientific visits to such places as Madagascar, New Guinea, the Celebes, remote Australia, South America, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

He taught at San Francisco State University for over 30 years to classes captivated by his stories. He also inspired thousands of budding naturalists with his imaginative television science programs that ran on public television for many years. Life and all its aspects were fascinating to him. He cultivated creativity in even those with the meekest imagination. He died in May 1999.