Chris Packham

Chris was born in Southampton in 1961 and as soon as he was crawling around suburbia ladybirds were being desiccated in matchboxes and tadpoles 'tortured' in jam jars. Husbandry skills improved and the menagerie expanded to large collections of reptiles (inside) and birds of prey, foxes, badgers, squirrels etc (generally outside). A precocious young scientist, swat and nerd- in-training he studied kestrels, shrews and badgers in his teens and undergraduate days at the Zoology department of Southampton University. He also embraced Punk Rock and played in a band, and the DIY ethos and determination to never take ‘no’ for an answer are forcefully retained. Post graduation and a cancelled PhD, (the badgers were getting a bit much), he began taking still photographs and trained as a wildlife film cameraman. The photography continues with exhibitions and invitations to judge prestigious competitions. In 2010 Chris was awarded the Dilys Breese BTO Medal for ‘his outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences’.