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Zoologist had Whistler ties

Renowned professor and zoologist Ian McTaggart-Cowan passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 99, leaving behind a legacy of scientific work that is the foundation for birders and zoologists across the province.

Renowned professor and zoologist Ian McTaggart-Cowan passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 99, leaving behind a legacy of scientific work that is the foundation for birders and zoologists across the province.

McTaggart-Cowan studied amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals through his career and has strong connections to Whistler after marrying Joyce, the daughter of Ken Racey - an early settler to the Whistler area with a cabin on Alta Lake. Racey was also a devoted ornithologist, and worked with McTaggart-Cowan on several projects - including a book titled "Mammals of the Alta Lake Region of the Southwest B.C."

McTaggart-Cowan had been suffering from pneumonia.

The funeral takes place on Friday at 2 p.m. in Saanich.