More Fun Than Fun: David Wake, Salamanders and the Origin and Loss of Species 07/07/2021 L-R: the author, David Wake (1936-2021), Marvalee Wake and the Canadian botanist John McNeill, on the occasion of the centenary of the International Union of Biological Sciences, Oslo, July-August 2019. Photo: Geetha Gadagkar On April 29, 2021, I received the sad news that David Wake was no more. Despite being somewhat numbed by the relentless news of death and destruction caused by the pandemic, Wake’s passing on raised my lugubriousness much more above the background noise. Fond memories rushed into my consciousness. I first met David Wake in October 1994, when I visited the University of Berkeley to give a seminar at the invitation of my friend and colleague Wayne M. Getz, a distinguished multi-disciplinary scientist with his deft fingers in many pies, including honey bee kin-recognition, wildlife in Africa, conservation science and mathematical modelling.