A Tribute to Terry Nutkins

It was announced just hours a go that Terry Nutkins has sadly passed away at the age of 66 from cancer. Terry, a naturalist and TV presenter dedicated his life to teaching the world about wildlife through TV shows such as The Really Wild Show, Brilliant Creatures, Growing up Wild and Animal Magic. Terry fought acute leukaemia for the past nine months but succumbed to the disease at his home in Scotland yesterday.

Our own Ben Fogle commented today, 'Very sad to hear the sad passing of Terry Nutkins. He was one of my childhood inspirations.' and many more sentiments like this have followed in the wake of Terry's death.

Terry's passion for animals started at a very young age and he was known to miss school in order to help our at London Zoo in his early years. From London, aged eleven, Terry was moved to Scotland where he helped care for wild otters with author, Gavin Maxwell, his legal guardian. The passion for wildlife continued throughout his life and Terry went on to work with many conservation charities and in television to help educate the public on animal welfare. 

For many of a certain age, memories of Animal Magic, which ran for seven years, and later the Really Wild Show will be forthright in their minds today as a legend dies. Terry starred in several series on the BBC until 2006 with a brief return in 2009 on the My Life as an Animal show on BBC3.

Here are some of the Adventure Company team's memories of Terry Nutkins:

Rebecca, marketing executive, "He was a childhood legend, he brought animals to life well before the internet ever could."

Tim, family product guru, "Terry encouraged my passion for animals. He was a passionate and enthusiastic man always driven by his love of animals."

Greg, graphic designer, "Terry made wildlife interesting and exciting. He made animals cool when i was a kid, he opened your mind to new places and exotic animals."

We thank Terry for bringing aniamls and their natural abilities to our attention as children and now as adults, we at The Adventure Company, hope to carry on supporting animal conservation and preservation through our responsible toursim programme. Terry, we salute you.