Page 46 - Great Elizabethans

The TV presenter Chris Packham is a much-loved wildlife expert, author and campaigner, who has educated both adults and children about animals and the importance of conservation for the whole of his career.
LOVING THE NATURAL WORLD
Chris was born in Southampton in 1961. From the moment he could crawl, it was clear Chris loved wild creatures and the natural world more than anything. He kept ladybirds and beetles in jam
jars in his room, and studied the dinosaur pages of encyclopaedias. He loved tropical fish and reptiles and spent hours in the local pet shop, staring into cages and tanks.
He thought all the time about the ways that animals lived, behaved and died. When he was 14, Chris found a wild kestrel chick. He called it Kem and cared
for it as it grew up, letting it out every day. When it became ill and died, he was heartbroken. He still remembers the kestrel, and remains
fascinated by birds of prey.
As a little boy, Chris desperately wanted a bat – so much so that he called his pet mouse Batty!
SEEING THE WORLD IN DETAIL
Chris has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, which means that he sees, hears and feels the world differently to some other people. At secondary school, he was badly bullied when he said things straight out, exactly as he saw them. But Chris sees his Asperger syndrome as a good thing – it allows him to see the world in incredible detail and sharpness. He believes it is an important part of who he is.
One of his teachers taught Chris how to preserve and stuff dead animals – a skill called taxidermy.
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