Maria Koepcke

Maria Koepcke (also spelled Köpcke) (15 May 1924 - 24 December 1971), was a German and Peruvian ornithologist who died in a plane crash.

Koepcke, originally Maria Emilie Anna von Mikulicz-Radecki, was born and educated in Germany, earning a PhD in Zoology from Kiel University in 1949. She then moved to Peru, where she married zoologist Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke in 1950. Together they collaborated on much of their scientific work and publications, and had a daughter Juliane. She was a successful Neotropical ornithologist at a time when South American ornithology was male-dominated.

Death

On Christmas Eve 1971, Koepcke traveled with her 17 year old daughter on LANSA Flight 508 from Lima to Pucallpa to join her husband for a holiday. The plane encountered a severe thunderstorm, was hit by lightning and exploded above the Amazon Rainforest. Koepcke survived the fall but, badly injured and still strapped to her seat, died after a matter of days. Her daughter Juliane was the crash's sole survivor. Despite sustaining a broken collar bone and an eye injury, Juliane was able to walk through the dense jungle for 10 days, before reaching civilization and help. She subsequently returned with her father to Germany, where she fully recovered from her injuries, continued her studies, and became a zoologist like her parents.

Koepcke is commemorated in the names of:

• Koepcke's Screech Owl, Megascops koepckeae
• Koepcke's Hermit, Phaethornis koepckeae
• Selva Cacique, Cacicus koepckeae

References

• Niethammer, G. (1974): Maria Koepcke geb. Mikulicz-Radecki. Journal für Ornithologie 115(1): 91-102. doi: 10.1007/BF01647319

• Rea, Amadeo M. & B. León Kostritsky (1973): Obituary: Maria Emilie Anna von Mikulicz-Radecki Koepcke. Auk 90(3): 735-736. PDF fulltext
• Vuilleumier, François (1995): Five Great Neotropical Ornithologists: An Appreciation of Eugene Eisenmann, Maria Koepcke, Claës Olrog, Rodulfo Philippi, and Helmut Sick. Ornitología Neotropical 6(2): 97-111. PDF fulltext