Charlotte Uhlenbroek

Charlotte Uhlenbroek, born in London, and after spending only 10 days there, she moved to Ghana with her parents. Her father was a Dutch agricultural specialist with the UN who brought his family with him around the world. From the age five to fourteen they lived in Kathmandu, Nepal which sparked her love of animals. She would walk the streets of Kathmandu to rescue stray dogs as well as other animals like cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and parrots which the family let her keep.

To further explore her interest she took a degree in Zoology and Psychology, at the University of Bristol. Charlotte spent four years in the forests of Gombe, Tanzania studying the communication of wild chimpanzees, with the support of world-famous Jane Goodall for her PhD. She lived in a small hut on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and spent her days in the forest with the chimps.

Charlotte loves animals, but one of her greatest nightmares are killer bees – after having been chased through the African jungle by swarms of them. She’s wary of crocodiles too – “you can’t negotiate with them!” Her favourite animals are elephants, wolves and of course, chimps

Charlotte made her debut on the screen with the BBC Natural History series, Dawn to Dusk, appearing in a programme on Gome and its Chimps. She then went on to present BBC2’s Chimpanzee Diary in 1998-1999 as part of the Animal Zone. Other appearances include the series Cousins, Congo’s Secret Chimps, and in 2002 with the acclaimed Talking with Animals, a series that listened in on the communications of creatures as diverse as cuttlefish and wolves. Charlotte’s most recent television project saw her team up with Gethin Jones to host The Adventurer’s Guide To Britain for ITV1.

In addition to her TV work and writing the books Animal Life, Talking with Animals and Jungle, she has written numerous articles for magazines and newspapers. She is respected and admired by her peers, and in a recent interview, Sir David Attenborough named Charlotte as his potential successor believing she has the knowledge and the skills required.  She also supports various organizations including the Ape Alliance, Fauna and Flora International, Compassion in World Farming, and the Jane Goodall Institute.