texts and language, to study the lives of Buddhist hermits in the mountains. Retiring early, he began practising Zen Buddhism in intensive retreats taught at Dharma Drum Retreat Center in New York by Chan Master Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan, who in 1993 transmitted to him the authority to teach Chan Buddhism. Forming the Western Chan Fellowship with colleagues, Crook developed a programme of retreats adapted to Western Zen practitioners. Crook published around a hundred scientific papers in ornithology, ethology and evolutionary psychology, and several books focussing on consciousness and Zen practice. His last work was World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism (New Age Books, Delhi 2009). He died on 15 July 2011, shortly after a gathering of many former students and colleagues in Somerset to celebrate his life. Dr Innes Cuthill, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at Bristol University, described him as "a pivotal figure in the rise of British primatology and socio-ecology". Honours Osman Hill Medal. Primate Society of Great Britain. 1992. Fellow. Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University. 1968–69. Honour plaque. Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. 2003. Publications John H. Crook (Editor), Social behaviour in Birds and Mammals: Essays on the Social Ethology of Animals and Man. Academic. 1970. R. P. Michael and John H. Crook (Editors), Comparative Ecology and Behaviour of Primates. Academic Press Inc, 1973. John H. Crook, The Evolution of Human Consciousness. Oxford University Press, 1980. John H. Crook, Catching a Feather on a Fan: Zen Retreat with Master Sheng Yen. Element Books, 1991. John H. Crook and David Fontana, Space in Mind: East-West Psychology & Contemporary Buddhism. Thorsons/Element, 1993. John H. Crook and Henry Osmaston, Himalayan Buddhist Villages: Environment, Resources, Society and Religious Life in Zangskar, Ladakh. Bristol Classical Press, 1994. John H. Crook and James Low, The Yogins of Ladakh: A Pilgrimage Among the Hermits of the Buddhist Himalayas. Motilal Banarsidass, 1997. John H. Crook, Hilltops of the Hong Kong Moon. Minerva. 1997. John H. Crook, Illuminating Silence. Watkins. London. 2002. John H. Crook, Simon Child, Zarko Andricevic, Max Kalin, and Master Sheng-yen. Chan Comes West. North Atlantic Books, 2005. John H. Crook, The Koans of Layman John. Lulu. 2009. John H. Crook, World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism. End Games: Collapse or Renewal of Civilisation. New Age Books, 2009. References External links Dr. John Hurrell Crook, 1930 to 2011, SweepingZen.com John Crook obituary, theguardian.com Ethologists