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.