Zoologist, author, and presenter Desmond Morris, best known for his book The Naked Ape, has died at the age of 98. His son. Jason Morris. Confirmed the news on Sunday. Describing his father as a man of exploration, curiosity, and creativity who continued to write and paint until his death.

Early Life and Academic Pursuits

Desmond Morris was born in Wiltshire in 1928 — he began his national service in the British army in 1946 before pursuing his interest in the arts and natural history. He studied zoology at the University of Birmingham and completed a doctorate in animal behaviour at Oxford University, where he focused on the reproductive behaviour of birds.

Morris’s academic career included a stint as the Zoological Society’s curator of mammals at London Zoo, a position he held from 1959 for eight years; he also contributed to more than 90 titles throughout his decades-long career dedicated to the study of animals and zoology.

TV Career and The Naked Ape

Morris rose to prominence in 1967 with the publication of The Naked Ape, which became an international bestseller, and the book framed modern humans as fundamentally ape-like, despite technological advances and evolution, and was wildly popular, influencing the Age of Aquarius.

He became the face of the ITV Granada nature series Zoo Time in 1956, a show that ran until 1967 and explored the behaviour of animals. He later joined the BBC in 1965, hosting Life in the Animal World and presenting documentaries such as Manwatching (1977), TV And Natural History (1986), and The Human Animal (1994).

Morris also hosted shows like The Animals Roadshow and Friday Night And Saturday Morning, and his work was compared to that of David Attenborough, with whom he eventually became friends.

Art and Cultural Influence

As a surrealist painter. Morris exhibited his work around the world alongside artists such as Joan Miró. He often painted until 4am and acknowledged that his art may have been indirectly influenced by his knowledge of natural history and the reproductive behaviour of animals.

In 1957, he hosted an art exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, combining his interest in animals and painting, showcasing works created by chimpanzees. He also co-organised an exhibition titled The Lost Image in 1958, which compared images created by infants, human adults, and apes.

In recent years, Morris continued his artistic pursuits, and the BBC released a programme titled The Secret Surrealist in 2017, showcasing his artwork and examining his “double-life” as a painter. He told The Guardian last year that one of his paintings, created in 1948, had sold for more than £50,000 two years earlier, which he said was a source of disappointment as he wanted to buy it back.

Morris’s son, Jason, praised his father’s many professional achievements as well as his role as a father and grandfather. “His was a lifetime of exploration, curiosity and creativity,” Jason said. “A zoologist, manwatcher, author and artist, he was still writing and painting right up until his death. He was a great man and an even better father and grandfather.”