Desmond Morris – legendary zoologist, author, and TV presenter – dies aged 98

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Desmond Morris, a renowned zoologist and the author of the famous book The Naked Ape, has passed away at the age of 98. He was also a talented artist and television personality.

Morris passed away, his son Jason confirmed, after a life filled with discovery, inquisitiveness, and artistic expression.

He was a talented zoologist, writer, artist, and observer of people – and continued to create art and write until the very end of his life. Those who knew him remember him as a wonderful father and grandfather, as well as a remarkable person.

Born in Purton, near Swindon, on January 24, 1928, Morris completed two years of national service in the British army and then taught fine arts at the Army College. He later studied zoology at Birmingham University, where he focused on observing animal behavior rather than conducting experiments on them.

In 1956, he started leading the television and film department for the Zoological Society of London, eventually becoming the zoo’s mammal curator.

Published in 1967, The Naked Ape explored human behavior through the lens of zoology, explaining it in terms of how we evolved.

Throughout his career, he continued to write books, appear on television, create art, and study how animals behave. He famously explored the possibility of artistic ability in animals by giving a chimpanzee named Congo paint and a brush, hoping to demonstrate that creativity wasn’t limited to humans.

I really enjoyed his work on TV – he hosted a bunch of fascinating shows! I remember watching things like Zoo Time, Life in the Animal World, The Animal Contract, The Human Animal, and even The Human Sexes. He had a knack for making complex topics accessible and engaging, and those series were all so different but equally captivating.

A 2017 BBC program called ‘The Secret Surrealist’ featured Morris and his art, exploring the hidden side of his life as a painter.

Morris died in Ireland, where he had lived since the death of his wife, Ramona, in 2018.

I’ve been so saddened to hear about Morris’s death, and it’s been lovely seeing all the tributes pouring in. I even saw a really thoughtful piece from Matthew Sweet, who’s a journalist, broadcaster, and author I really admire.

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He shared on X a tribute to Desmond Morris, calling him a brilliant and unconventional thinker, an expert on primates, and one of the last of the Surrealist artists. Morris passed away at the age of 98. The post included a photo from less than two years ago, inspired by Man Ray, featuring the lips of actress Diana Dors, whom Morris dated in the 1940s when she was known as Diana Fluck.

Authors

James HibbsDrama Writer

I’ve been following TV for ages, and I’m a writer now for TopMob, covering shows on everything from Netflix and the like to traditional channels. Before this, I was in PR – first for a business-to-business agency, then for Fremantle, the big international production company. I actually studied English and Theatre at university, and I also have a journalism diploma – an NCTJ Level 5, if you’re curious.

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2026-04-20 19:38