Dale Lott, 70; Author and Wildlife Behavioral Ecologist at UC Davis

Dale Lott, 70, a UC Davis wildlife behavioral ecologist who wrote the book “American Bison,” died of pulmonary fibrosis Monday in Davis, Calif.

Lott called his 2002 nonfiction book “my gift to myself in retirement.” He was born on the National Bison Range in Montana, where his grandfather was superintendent and his father also worked. From childhood, he studied the animals and worked to reintroduce them into a natural ecosystem that he hoped to re-create on the Great Plains.

A Times reviewer called his book “a rich and enthusiastic narrative” in which “Lott uses exuberant humor and great passion for his subject to elicit reader interest, illuminating the biological and mythical bison -- popularly known as the buffalo -- and what they tell us about nature, human and otherwise.”

At UC Davis, Lott taught conservation biology, and in 1973 was founding chairman of the campus’ Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology.

Lott studied animal behavior all over the world, including the interaction of nomadic herdsmen and their cattle in Kenya, animals’ behavior before earthquakes and the effects of tourists on wildlife. He also led research and vacation trips to every continent, including Antarctica, and on his 60th birthday organized a 60-mile hike for friends across Baja, California.