Megan McCubbin

Meet the zoologist trying to change people's views of animals with a bad rep.

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Wildlife expert, TV presenter and podcast host Megan McCubbin describes her job as “mainly talking people’s ears off about wildlife and why we should love and protect our planet”. She told The Week Junior Science+Nature that she “talks about everything and all kinds of animals – marine, terrestrial, things that fly, and things that crawl”, but one of her favourite things is meeting specialists who have spent years researching the natural world. “I love it,” she said, “because I can really nerd out and soak up their enthusiasm.”

A personal museum
Growing up near Royal Victoria Country Park near Southampton, England, meant wildlife was always a big part of McCubbin’s life. She says that when she was younger, her bedroom was like a mini zoo, filled with snakes, tarantulas and praying mantises (the tarantulas were particularly useful whenever she didn’t want her mum to come into her room).

When she wasn’t studying the wildlife in her bedroom, McCubbin was exploring nature outside. There were always lots of animals to look out for, such as badgers tramping through her garden, foxes down the lane and lots of hedgehogs snuffling about. Spending a lot of time outdoors, she has lots of good advice for people who want to spot more wildlife. Her top tip is to “just stop and sit, allow your senses to become tuned to what’s going on around you”.

Protecting chalk streams