author

E. Lendell Cockrum

1920–2009

Best known as a University of Arizona zoologist and bat expert, this longtime teacher and researcher helped generations of students look more closely at the mammals of the Southwest. His work blended field science, careful observation, and a deep interest in desert wildlife.

3 Audiobooks

Geographic Variation in Red-backed Mice (Genus Clethrionomys) of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region

Geographic Variation in Red-backed Mice (Genus Clethrionomys) of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region

by E. Lendell Cockrum, Kenneth Leonard Fitch

Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of North American Microtines

Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of North American Microtines

by E. Lendell Cockrum, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond) Hall

A New Pocket Mouse (Genus Perognathus) from Kansas

A New Pocket Mouse (Genus Perognathus) from Kansas

by E. Lendell Cockrum

About the author

Born in Sesser, Illinois, on May 29, 1920, E. Lendell Cockrum later served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. He moved to Arizona in 1950 and spent more than 30 years at the University of Arizona, where he taught zoology and became widely known to students as Dr. Cockrum.

Cockrum specialized in mammals, especially bats, and his obituary describes him as a world-renowned expert on bat population dynamics and bat migration. Records from the Biodiversity Heritage Library also show a long research career focused on Southwestern mammals, including studies of bats in Arizona and work on species from Mexico and the broader region.

He died on November 22, 2009, in Sedona, Arizona. His published work includes Mammals of the Southwest, a title that reflects the region he spent so much of his career studying.