E.R.C. Davidar (Reggie to his friends), who passed away earlier this month in Puducherry at 87, was one of the early advocates of wildlife conservation. He operated in an era when environmental protection had not been institutionalised.

As the secretary of the Planters' Association in the Nilgiris, Davidar (one of his ancestors was David Nadar) became interested in wildlife through hunting. Based in Uthagamandalam and Coonoor from 1952, he came to know the Nilgiris like the back of his hand. As the honorary superintendent of the Nilgiris Game Association, he took a series of pioneering conservation steps in this wildlife rich area. He enlisted the cooperation of the licensed hunters — before the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 banned hunting — for conservation of wildlife.