Author(s)

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  Dr. Ian McCallum

  Psychiatrist, Analytical Psychologist, Environmentalist and Poet

  Dr Ian McCallum MD is a psychiatrist, analytical psychologist, environmentalist, and poet. He is an adjunct professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Graduate School of Business in Port Elizabeth, and an honorary lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cape Town. He is the author of two anthologies of wilderness poems: Wild Gifts (1999), Untamed (2012) and a novel Thorns to Kilimanjaro (2000). His award winning book Ecological Intelligence – Rediscovering Ourselves in Nature addresses the interconnectedness of all living things and ultimately, the survival of the human animal. It won the Wild Literary Award at the World Wilderness Congress in Mexico 2009. In collaboration with renowned sculptor, Dylan Lewis, he was the writer/poet for the Mail and Guardian award winning ‘UNTAMED’ exhibition at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (2010-2012). In 2012, together with friend and journalist Ian Michler, he completed a 5000 km journey through six southern African countries walking, kayaking and cycling. Following ancient elephant migration routes and clusters, one of the priorities of the expedition was to highlight the importance of elephants as keystone species in Africa’s wild ecosystems … “if we can’t protect something as big as an elephant, how on Earth can we be expected to look after the little things?” A former South African Springbok rugby player, McCallum’s other interests include evolutionary biology, wildlife photography (he won the Agfa Wildlife ‘Man and Nature’ category in 2001). He is a specialist wilderness guide, a long-time associate of the Wilderness Leadership School and a trustee of the Cape Leopard Trust. He is a 2016 recipient of the Wildlife and Environmental Association of South Africa Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award.