Duncan Butchart
Duncan Butchart is an all-round naturalist who has worked in conservation and ecotourism projects in eleven African countries. He has authored and illustrated several books on wildlife and has written numerous popular articles for periodicals such as ‘Travel Africa’ and ‘African Birding’. In 2014, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Witwatersrand for his interactive work with African safari guides and his contribution to the conservation of vultures and other species. He never goes anywhere without his camera, notepad or sketchbook, relaying his observations through illustrated articles and blog postings.
Under Vulture-less skies
2 Aug 2016 - Duncan ButchartEveryone knows that vultures are scavengers, feeding on the dead, but one of the things that mystifies many people, is how so many vultures can arrive, so suddenly, at the motionless carcass of a wildebeest or zebra that might have lay undiscovered for hours. Duncan Butchart, co-author and illustrator of The Vultures of Africa, explains this mystery.
How the Mara got its Spots
18 Dec 2015 - Duncan ButchartIn Swahili, the word ‘mara’ means ‘spotted land’ – and when you are flying above the Maasai Mara in a small aircraft or gazing out across the plains from Angama Mara lodge, it’s easy to see why. Like the coat of a cheetah, the grassland is dotted with hundreds of thorn trees, widely spaced, their…
Blue Blood – Peter Beard and the End of the Game
31 Aug 2015 - Duncan ButchartBeing interesting is a bit like being beautiful. More often than not, it’s in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I find most of the washed-up shells I see on the beach more beautiful than a highly polished cut-diamond, but a whole lot of people are going to disagree with me on that. In the…
Simply Superb
5 May 2015 - Duncan ButchartWhat’s in a Name? . . a bird’s name, that is . . . Nothing seems to get a birdwatcher more ruffled than when he or she finds out that a bird’s name has changed. In days of yore (i.e. about five years ago) this news would only come to light when a new edition…
Mara Mambo
24 Mar 2015 - Duncan ButchartDuncan Butchart is an author, illustrator and all-round naturalist and shares his fascination with Africa’s exquisite Grey Crowned Crane, including the intense courtship rituals and extraordinary mating dance
Majestic Hunter – The Martial Eagle
17 Feb 2015 - Duncan ButchartWhen a Martial Eagle – perched on top of one of the lonely thorn trees in the Mara – looks down at you with its piercing ambers eyes, you can feel its presence and power. ‘Majestic’ is an adjective tossed around all too frequently when describing birds of prey, but it is difficult to come…
Kiboko the Hippo
6 Jan 2015 - Duncan ButchartMention the Maasai Mara, and images of wildebeest herds desperately trying to avoid the snapping jaws of crocodiles spring immediately to mind. And thanks to Jonathan Scott and the legion of photographers and cinematographers that have followed him, the Mara is also recognised as offering unparalleled viewing of lions, cheetah and leopards. Elephants are here…
The Closest Shave
18 Nov 2014 - Duncan ButchartDuncan Butchart gives an exciting account of a lion hunt, an extremely close shave and what must surely be the luckiest little warthog in all the Mara
Strictly Come Bobbing
16 Oct 2014 - Duncan ButchartDuncan Butchart writes about the extraordinary mating dance of the Jackson's Widowbird and compares it to the traditional jumping dance of the young Maasai warriors
Spot the Cats
18 Sep 2014 - Duncan ButchartDuncan Butchart ponders about what animals people really want to see when on an African safari and decides that the ultimate prize is in fact spots on the coat of a leopard or cheetah