Esmond Bradley Martin, an American conservationist whose dogged investigations of the elephant ivory and rhino horn trades over decades were seen as critical in efforts to protect the threatened species, was found stabbed to death in his Nairobi home in February.

Image credit: www.citizentv.co.ke

The motive for the killing of Bradley Martin, who was in his mid 70s, was unclear. There was no immediate suggestion from authorities of a link to his work, which often delved into the illegal activities of traders and traffickers whose exploitation of African ivory and rhino horn for international buyers, many of them in Asia, has fueled the mass slaughter of the species.

Rickshaw Travels joins the world in mourning this pioneer of research on the illegal wildlife trade.