Jean-Marie Derscheid

He was a world expert on breeding exotic waterfowl in captivity,[1][2] authored scientific articles on a wide range of wildlife species, became the initial director of Africa's first national park[3] and gathered an important historical manuscript collection on Rwandan history[4] Professor Derscheid was European secretary for the International Committee for Bird Protection and was awarded the medal of the Société d’Acclimatation de France.

[10] During World War II, he served in the Belgian Resistance as a leader with the Comet line,[11] which was organized to help Allied soldiers and airmen escape German-occupied Europe and return to Great Britain.

[12] He was (again) captured, this time by Nazi Germany's Geheime Feldpolizei (GFP or Secret Field Police) in October 1941, sent to a series of prisons and concentration camps and ultimately executed as a spy on March 13, 1944.

In cooperation with colleagues in France, England, Germany, the United States and Australia he succeeded in assembling one of the best captive breeding bird collections in Europe, specializing in Anatidae and Loriinae (ducks, swans, geese; and the group of small parrots consisting of lories and lorikeets).

He was particularly interested in aspergillosis, a bronchial disease caused by mold that decimated flocks of wild sea ducks as he tried to acclimatize them to the freshwater park environment, but which Derscheid succeeded in curing.

[18] Derscheid's techniques were widely adopted and applied, most notably at the nature reserve in Zwin (Belgium), known for its collections of salt-resistant plants and an aviary specializing in wading birds.

[22][23][24][25][26][27] From 1919 to 1922 Derscheid was enrolled in the Science Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles, studying under Professor Auguste Lameere and earning a doctorate in Zoology based on his dissertation on the morphology of bird skulls (Morphologie du squelette céphalique des oiseaux).

[51] Through his understanding of the importance of habitat conservation for wildlife in Europe and his professional work on Congo at the museum in Tervuren, Derscheid became an instrumental figure in lobbying for the creation of the first national park in Africa, formally proposed in 1925.

[55] Derscheid became a critic of colonial agricultural policy in Rwanda and Burundi,[56] began raising funds and lobbying for the creation of a park to preserve gorilla habitat.

In November and December 1930, Derscheid traveled to the United States, attending conferences at various institutions to promote the Albert National Park and its opportunities for scientific research as well as to generate financial support.

There his unit was demobilized and in August 1940 he returned to Sterrebeek, where he found his family estate occupied by German soldiers, who treated the remains of his exotic duck collection as game.