# Terry Nutkins

Terence "Terry" Paul Nutkins (12 August 1946 – 6 September 2012) was an English naturalist and television presenter for the BBC. The television series Animal Magic featured some popular segments of Nutkins with the female sea-lion Gemini that he reared from infancy. In 2010 he was honoured with a stone carving unveiled at the Royal Horticultural Show at Tatton Park.

## Quotes

* ... Gemini was abandoned by her mother and I had to hand-rear her. Well, I had a choice — either I hand-reared her or else she died. And that was a year ago now. And Gemini now is on the northwest coast of Scotland, and what I want to do is introduce her to the sea. And what I would like eventually is for Gemini to get her own food — get her own fish — to swim freely in the ocean and come back when she wants to.
** (March 8, 2017)"Animal Magic - Terry Nutkins & Gemini - BBC, 1981". Paul Taylor, YouTube. (quote at 2:54 of 6:17)
* The times that I got to know Gavin really well were the times that I was alone with him at Camusfearna. And that Jimmy Watt, the other otter keeper, went on holiday. And sometimes on these dark winter nights, when you had this really strong wind blowing outside and the hiss of the Tilley lamps … Gavin drank a substantial amount of whiskey … and he did ramble on somewhat. And he told the most wonderful stories sometimes.
** (June 1, 2014)"Gavin Maxwell - Terry Nutkins on BBC Radio 4 (Part I)". Phoenix19, YouTube. (quote at 24:22 of 27:55; television programme produced by Karen Gregor & 1st broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009)
* You’re talking about body language with all animals. And it’s body language with all human beings as well. If you watch very carefully the body language of an animal — get to know it — that is the first phase of respecting that animal.
** (September 7, 2012)"Terry Nutkins Full Documentary". (quote at 2:50 of 28:33; half hour BBC documentary from 2010, presented by Cathy MacDonald and broadcast on BBC ALBA with some of her presenter links in Scots Gaelic.)

## Quotes about Terry Nutkins

* In the post-Savile era, an air of unease hangs over aspects of Maxwell’s life; while in Sandaig he hired two adolescent assistants – Terry Nutkins (who went on to become a well-known TV naturalist) and Jimmy Watt – to help look after the otters. Both under-age, they moved into his home and he became Nutkins’ legal guardian. It was a set-up discomfiting to modern sensibilities, though no allegations have ever been made against Maxwell and those who knew him best believe his desire to be around young boys was merely a product of his stunted emotional development.
** Dani Garavelli, (22nd June 2014)"Gavin Maxwell’s love of nature".
* Maxwell became Nutkins's legal guardian. It was while living with him in the remote hamlet of Sandaig, western Scotland, that the young Nutkins was bitten by one of Maxwell's pet otters, losing the tips of two of his fingers as a result. This might have put off many young naturalists from a career with animals altogether, but John Lister-Kaye, who first met Nutkins at Maxwell's home in the early 1960s, recalls a very different reaction: "He treated the injury like a war wound – he would hold his hand up and tell the story to impress people, almost as a badge of honour."
** Stephen Moss, (7 September 2012)"Obituary. Terry Nutkins". The Guardian.
* Speaking about how his passion for animals was born, Nutkins would bunk off school and then climb over the fence of London Zoo. The keepers took him under their wing and allowed him to muck out the elephant enclosure.
** Martin Robinson, (7 September 2012)"Wildlife presenter and father of eight Terry Nutkins, 66, dies after nine-month battle with leukaemia".

## External links

Encyclopedic article on Terry Nutkins on Wikipedia