Shining Light - Dr Andrew Jenkins

Raptor biologists comprise a discipline renowned for the dedication of its disciples and Andrew Jenkins is a beacon among even the brightest.

- David Allan

He is an accomplished academic with a lengthy track record in research and student supervision. His influence outside the ‘ivory tower’ is even more impressive and locally he is the preeminent avian specialist in the hard-nosed world of environmental consulting. Less well appreciated is his generosity in lending his expertise to a wide range of raptor conservation causes, essentially pro bono. Andrew also has that rare ability to translate his craft into compelling popular accounts. His photos frequently enliven his writing and his iconic portrait of a Peregrine Falcon contemplating urban Cape Town from the summit of Table Mountain is unforgettable.

Birds of prey have been Andrew’s passion since boyhood. A precocious talent, he was publishing on Verreaux’s Eagles in the Magaliesberg while still a schoolboy. Based at the FitzPatrick Institute, in 1989 he initiated an ambitious study that resulted in his PhD on Peregrine and Lanner falcons. His demographic analysis of the Cape Peninsula Peregrine population continues to this day as one of the longest-running raptor investigations in the world. He’s now a global expert on this cosmopolitan species, so don’t waste time asking what his favourite bird is!