Rhett Ayers Butler

Rhett Ayers Butler

Website

About

Rhett Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay.

Rhett founded Mongabay out of his passion for wildlife and wild places.

He has traveled widely in the tropics and enjoys photography, hiking, and scuba-diving.

LinkedIn Profile | Personal website | Contact

Some background on Mongabay's origin:

RSS
2319 stories
A Williams electric blue day gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi). Image by Rhett Ayers Butler / Mongabay.

Conservation is bringing species back. Governments must help those gains last

Rhett Ayers Butler 19 Oct 2026
Andean Cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus). Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Nearly 90% of countries adopt biodiversity targets, but most remain off track

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Oct 2026
Hoatzin in the Amazon rainforest. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Amazon deforestation falls 42% to a record low

Rhett Ayers Butler 16 Oct 2026
A Peruvian artisanal fisher poses with a jumbo flying squid. Image courtesy of National Society of Artisanal Fishing of Peru (SONAPESCAL).

From paper parks to lasting protection, here’s what works in marine conservation

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Oct 2026
Jaguarundis are sometimes known as the “otter cat” due to their distinctive, uncat-like appearance. They’re unique for their wide range of vocalizations, including “chirping” like a bird.

The jaguarundi is relatively easy to see. That may have hidden its decline

Rhett Ayers Butler 14 Oct 2026
Grauer's gorilla troop in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Photo credit: Strong Roots Congo.

In a first for the DRC, a homegrown NGO will co-manage a wildlife reserve

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Oct 2026
Project team members prepare juvenile bull kelp for transplanting in Clayoquot Sound. Image courtesy of Graeme Owsianski/Redd Fish Restoration Society.

First Nation-led effort replants kelp forests in Clayoquot Sound

Rhett Ayers Butler 12 Oct 2026
Savannah elephants in the Biliquo Bulesa conservancy in northern Kenya. Image by Ashoka Mukpo / Mongabay.

100 conservation projects are looking for funding after USAID’s closure

Rhett Ayers Butler 6 Oct 2026

Sabine Schoppe who built a refuge for Palawan’s forest turtles has died

Rhett Ayers Butler 5 Oct 2026
Jane Goodall in 2024. Courtesy of the Jane Goodall Institute.

A year ago today, Jane Goodall died at 91. Her message is more important than ever

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Oct 2026
Giraldo Alayón García

Giraldo Alayón García, Cuba’s ‘spider man,’ died on Sept. 24

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Oct 2026
Pratap Singh Chundawat via his Facebook page.

Pratap Singh Chundawat rescued a leopard from a well. He died in the line of duty, aged 40

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Sep 2026
Jaco Muller. Image courtesy of the Rhino Momma Project.

Jaco Muller turned his 15-year-old son’s idea into 197 rhino births

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Sep 2026

The mountain lion photo that helped change Los Angeles

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Sep 2026
Tiger cat released with satellite collar in Mirador State Park. Courtesy of Tadeu de Oliveira.

A new cat species was just discovered. Several more may follow

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Sep 2026
Illustration of the clownfish photo taken by Debby Ng.

A clownfish’s last stand

Rhett Ayers Butler 14 Sep 2026
Michael Painter in the Brazilian Amazon. Photo by David Wilkie.

Michael Painter put Indigenous land rights at the center of conservation

Rhett Ayers Butler 2 Sep 2026
Kerexu Laudiceia smoking a petyngua, the Guarani people’s sacred pipe. Image by Fellipe Abreu.

Tiago Karaí and Laudiceia Benites helped reclaim Guarani land. They died with their children in an accident last month.

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Sep 2026
With Dreyk, a member of the Cubeo people from the Venado community, surrounded by the Mavicure Hills in Guainía, Colombia. Credit: Rhett Ayers Butler

Environmental crimes don’t stop at borders. Neither can the reporting

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Aug 2026
A view of the presidential palace in Indonesia's new capital, Nusantara. Image courtesy of Leah Varjacques.

Recording a rainforest before Indonesia’s new capital changes it

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Aug 2026

For 50 years, Philip Fearnside has calculated the costs of losing the Amazon

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Aug 2026
Hà Đình Đức with the great softshell of Hồ Gươm. Photo by ZNews Vietnam

Hà Đình Đức, guardian of Hanoi’s legendary turtle, died at 86

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Aug 2026
Américo Pascuala Tumisha. Photo courtesy of Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)

Ashéninka leader reportedly killed while patrolling Indigenous territory is found alive

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Aug 2026

Daniel Janzen and the long work of bringing back a forest

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Aug 2026
Patricio Segura. Courtesy of Patagon Journal

Patricio Segura, journalist who defended Patagonia’s rivers, died of hantavirus, aged 54

Rhett Ayers Butler 23 Aug 2026
Pete Brosius in Sarawak

Pete Brosius brought Penan forest stewardship in Sarawak into court

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Aug 2026

Why every endangered species needs a champion: a conversation with conservationist Bill Konstant

Rhett Ayers Butler 20 Aug 2026
A Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus).

Only a few hundred Timor green pigeons may remain. There is still time to save them

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Aug 2026
Steve Smit. From his Facebook page

Steve Smit, South Africa’s “Monkey Man,” has died

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Aug 2026
John Salehe. Photo courtesy of AWF

John Salehe helped shape Tanzania’s community conservation movement

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Aug 2026
Cerros de Mavicure at sunset. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler.

Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía

Rhett Ayers Butler 14 Aug 2026
Adam Falk at Jahoo Gibbon Camp within Keo Seima Sanctuary in Cambodia. Photo courtesy of WCS.

What conservation looks like from the outside: A conversation with Adam Falk after his first year as CEO of WCS

Rhett Ayers Butler 11 Aug 2026

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

A collage featuring a Polish soldier and Białowieża Forest.
Videos
Articles
Podcasts

you're currently offline