\n Desmond, who was born in Swindon and rose to fame in 1967 when his book The Naked Ape became an international bestseller, died in April aged 98.\n<\/p>\n
\n During his career, he hosted the popular show Zoo Time, which ran on ITV Granada for over a decade, and Life In The Animal World and other shows for the BBC.\n<\/p>\n
\n Since his death, quotes from what would turn out to be Desmond\u2019s last interview have resurfaced.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speaking to the Sunday Times, he revealed that the company of his pets, including a chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier, was vital for him during his final years.\n<\/p>\n
\n Desmond said: \u201cWhen we’re very old the company of a pet can stop you focusing on your infirmities and draw your attention to another living being.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201c’It’s better than pills,’ someone once said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI made a TV programme about people who took pet animals into care homes, where the terminally ill were so excited.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Swindon-born Desmond Morris (Image: PA)\n<\/p>\n
\n Desmond told the Sunday Times that responsibility for caring for these pets was divided between himself and his late wife Ramona.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added: \u201cShe was always in charge of our dogs and I was in charge of our cats. Although biased in the feline direction, I also love dogs and have written about both.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Desmond reflected on the difficulties of caring for pets as people grow older, but added that he had his family around him to help.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cAt 98, and barely able to walk, I don’t feel I’m fit to be a pet owner any longer, with all the care, feeding and treatment needed.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI live next door to my family in Ireland and we have two rescue dogs: a chihuahua called Penny and a Yorkshire terrier called Benji who loves jumping up to watch television with me.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cPenny watches me eat dinner in case scraps fall.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n After Desmond\u2019s death, tributes from across Swindon and further afield poured in for him and many took the opportunity to remember his extraordinary life.\n<\/p>\n
\n Desmond\u2019s son Jason told the Press Association: \u201cHis was a lifetime of exploration, curiosity and creativity.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cA zoologist, manwatcher, author and artist, he was still writing and painting right up until his death.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe was a great man and an even better father and grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Desmond, who was born in Swindon and rose to fame in 1967 when his book The Naked Ape…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-590616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}