Stanislav Mikhailovich Kudryavtsev was born on November 24, 1930, in Moscow. He lived not far from the Moscow Zoo and since his childhood, spent every day there, from morning till evening. Observing the life of animals, he remembered their appearance, behaviors, and voices and could distinguish animals by sight, noting individual features of each of them. His memory was like that of the computer where information about all species of animals kept at the zoos of the world was stored. He could determine the sex of any bird when no apparent features of sexual dimorphism were seen and served as a consultant for the Zoocentre of the Main Directorate of Hunting and Nature Reserves of the Russian Federation. Stanislav treated all living creatures with reverence and kept fishes, birds, amphibians and other animals both at home and in his office. Willows grown from the stem cuttings that he brought back from his trips still grow around the ponds of the Zoo. Nobody called him by his full name; he was Stas or Stasik for everyone who was lucky to know him well. Not having advanced knowledge of any foreign language, he communicated freely with any foreigners when it came to animals. Like no one else, he could raise abandoned chicks taking them out from under his jacket when it was time to feed them. As Stas walked through the zoo, the animals recognized him and strived to attract his attention with their poses, behavior, and vocalizations.
During his trip to England where he went for accompanying a giant panda, Stas captivated the staff of the London Zoo with his knowledge. He became a member of the London Zoological Society and was appointed to the editorial board of the International Zoo Yearbook as a representative of the Soviet Union. He was also an active member of the EEP Species Committee for the Amur tiger.
Stas was involved in the preparation of the Czech Encyclopedic Atlas of Animals, as well as of the book Systematic of Birds by N. N. Kartashov, and many other publications.
Over two hundred people gathered at the memorial service at the Zoo to honor Stanislav Kudryavtsev in his final journey. For almost two years, condolences have been coming to the Moscow Zoo from abroad where people expressed their deep respect to Stas’s memory. Ray Pawley from Brookfield Zoo in the USA noted Stanislav’s “rare talent, essentially close to the talent of a composer”.
In 1997, EARAZA Annual Conference made a decision to name the EARAZA top award after Stanislav Kudryavtsev.