Life Lessons with Springwatch’s Lucy Cooke
Lucy Cooke, Springwatch presenter, natural historian and zoologist, tells us about her dream job and why she loves sloths...
I wanted Sir David Attenborough’s job!
When I was growing up, I was obsessed with Sir David Attenborough and when I left Oxford, if you’d asked me what I wanted to do, I would have said ‘to have his job’! But how would you get that kind of job? It’s not advertised in the paper! It’s funny how things end up happening.
Make impromptu decisions!
I was working as head of content behind the cameras. It was a really good job but all I wanted to do was make a programme about frogs. Nobody was interested and so I decided to quit my job and go to South America to find out why they were so endangered. I travelled by myself for six months and wrote a funny blog about my adventures. The National Geographic society read the blog and offered me a TV job. It turned out to be the most amazing thing ever.
My most amazing moment
I have travelled all over the world and one of the standout moments for me was teaching a baby elephant to swim. It was scared and I taught it. That was an amazing feeling. I do get emotional at times because I get overwhelmed by just how extraordinary nature can be. I burst into tears for very little reason because I find it all so overwhelming.
My inspiration
My dad, David, sadly died last year but I know he was very proud of me. He was really into wildlife and he really knew his onions. He knew every bird, every seed, every flower, but I didn’t know nearly so much. And so he used to laugh and say ‘you are so jammy!’ He did get to see me on TV and I know he was really proud.
Wild animals can be scary
When I come face to face with animals in the wild, I do occasionally get scared. I remember once being in a pen with some boisterous baby rhinos and that was quite an experience! They are meant to be really cute but they nearly broke the nose of the woman who rescued them the previous day! The director assured us we would be fine but I just remember feeling quite scared.
My animal favourite!
I am a secret fan of sloths. I actually run the Sloth Appreciation Society! I am going to be writing a book about them and will be going to Costa Rica to take some photographs. I love them; they have the most amazing faces. It makes me laugh that my calendar about Sloths last year outsold Taylor Swift’s!