FRIDAY HARBOR -- A fierce crusader who fought for decades to save animals has lost his battle to save his own life.

Surrounded by family and friends on San Juan Island, Ben White, 53, died Saturday afternoon after a six-month struggle with an aggressive form of abdominal cancer. Never one to back down from a challenge, he said recently that he faced death with curiosity, not fear. "It could be a whole new adventure."

White was renowned internationally for his passion and his daring feats. He swam under cloak of night to cut open dolphin-holding nets in Japan, scaled New York buildings to hang anti-fur banners, jumped in front of naval ships in Hawaii to stop sonar emissions, and slept atop old-growth trees to protest logging in the Northwest.

In Seattle, he protested the capture of sea lions at the Ballard Locks by locking himself to the cage used to hold them, then did what he always did -- called in the media to press the cause.

Ironically, his most famous action was one of his least dangerous. In 1999, he marched as head turtle at the 1999 World Trade Organization protests, standing on a truck bed and declaring, "Welcome to the revolution."

White, an arborist by profession, masterminded the turtle costumes, scrounging cardboard and latex paint, organizing work parties. He warned his turtles they would be "shelled" if they misbehaved. The costumes became the international emblem of opposition to the WTO.

A well-read man of wry humor, White called the turtle protest "a stupid publicity stunt that worked."

Those costumes will resurface at White's memorial procession later this week, when they will be worn by eight members of his honor guard. The young men and women he trained as arborists for his "Natural Guard" will be pallbearers. Helping escort his coffin to the San Juan Island community cemetery will be marimba players and drummers.

Fellow animal activists say White brought imagination and an independent spirit to the cause.

"He was a source of inspiration and courage," said veterinarian Dr. Elliot Katz, president and founder of In Defense of Animals. Katz and White once planted themselves in front of Japanese tourist buses to block their entry into Marine World.

White compared keeping whales and dolphins in captivity with shutting a human inside a closet for life.

On July 11, the veterinarians organization awarded White a lifetime achievement award for his work saving animals. Previous recipients include environmental activist David Brower and primate researcher Jane Goodall.

White was born in Virginia, son of an Air Force officer. He protested the Vietnam War, even as his father served in it. His animal activism took fire after an eye-to-eye encounter with a dolphin off the Kona Coast decades ago. "I was suddenly aware that the entire world is conscious," White said.

White lay in grace yesterday on San Juan Island in a custom coffin of cedar, yew and juniper made by local friends.

He is survived by his ex-wife, Ann; his daughter, Julia May; his son, Benjamin Lewis White III; his brother, Wesley; his sister, Beverly Mefford; his mother, Jean, and his father, Benjamin Lewis White Sr.

Donations can be made to the Ben White Fund at Islanders Bank, P.O. Box 909, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, or to the Animal Welfare Institute, P.O. Box 3650, Washington, D.C. 20027.