Remembering Eric York 1970-2007
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Many of Eric York's colleagues and friends throughout the National Park Service contributed to this memorial. A Biologist's Biologist With the passing of Eric York on November 2, 2007, Grand Canyon National Park lost an extremely talented and dedicated wildlife biologist. More importantly, the mountain lions, carnivores and other wildlife he studied lost one of their most knowledgeable and devoted human allies and advocates. Eric’s work, in fact his life, centered on his passion for wildlife, the outdoors, and grand landscapes of our national parks and other wildlands. 
Eric (left) with a colleague, weighing a tranquilized lion. NPS PHOTO Grand Canyon Lion Study Beginning in 2003, the National Park Service participated in a radiotelemetry study of mountain lions within the Grand Canyon ecosystem to complement existing studies using remote cameras, track surveys, and scat and hair collection. An additional component of Eric's work for Grand Canyon’s Division of Science and Resource Management was his active collaboration with interpretive staff for outreach and education about his research on lions in the park.
This outreach, via ranger programs, site bulletins and the Grand Canyon Web page: http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/200710mtlionkit.htm still reaches thousands of visitors each year.
Pneumonic Plague In 2007, Eric was monitoring up to 10 collared lions in and around Grand Canyon National Park, and also collecting data on bighorn sheep, black bear, bobcats, coyotes and other species. Two of the collared female lions produced litters in the summer, and Eric found the kittens, which he ear-tagged to incorporate them in the study. A few days prior to his death, he found the mother of one of these litters dead and recovered her body to perform a postmortem examination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed pneumonic plague as the cause of Eric's death. With the detection of the same strain of plague in the remains of the necropsied mother lion, the CDC concluded that Eric contracted the disease from the animal. Although plague can be transmitted to humans through the bites of rodent fleas, Eric's exposure likely came through direct contact with the infected lion. Plague is endemic in northern Arizona, but cases of pneumonic plague in humans are extremely rare. Eric's death reminds us of the inherent hazards, including the less obvious ones, that biologists are exposed to while working to manage and conserve wildlife. Eric will be remembered as a biologist's biologist, and his expertise went far beyond that of his intimate knowledge of the lions and other species he tracked at Grand Canyon and elsewhere. During his career, Eric captured and tagged 23 different species of carnivores. He worked in many areas of the United States and the world, including Chile, Nepal and Pakistan, where he researched the elusive snow leopard. 
Eric working in Pakistan In her comments made at the celebration of his life held on the canyon's South Rim on November 15, 2007, Elaine Leslie, Eric's former supervisor, said, "Eric was much like the lions he stalked. To catch a glimpse of the elusive Eric, you needed to be up at dawn as he hurried in and out of the office to gather up his freshly charged radio, dart pistol and other tools of the trade. By sunrise you could find him on the carcass of a freshly killed deer or elk, carefully reading the signs and placing a snare. Then off he would run, yes run, to check his traplines." She also said, "If you couldn't be Eric York, you at the very least wanted to hang out with him in the field and absorb every ounce of skill the man had to offer." 
Mountain Lion Research in Grand Canyon National Park Download these articles as they appeared in the Summer 2008 Nature Notes (576kb PDF File) Celebrate Wildlife Day at Grand Canyon National Park, November 1, 2008. |
Did You Know?
There are 373 species of birds found in Grand Canyon National Park. Endangered bird species include the southwestern willow flycatcher, the Yuma clapper rail and the California condor. More...