Rhett Ayers Butler

Rhett Ayers Butler

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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.

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Some background on Mongabay's origin:

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2254 stories
An indri lemur (Indri indri). Image by Rhett A. Butler.

Indigenous stewardship plays a key role in protecting imperiled primates

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Apr 2025
Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler. Image by Mongabay.

Reflections on 20 years of Mongabay News (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Apr 2025
Split shot in the waters of San Benedicto, Mexico. Credit: Enric Sala/National Geographic Pristine Seas

Protecting coastal waters may be the best investment you’ve never heard of, says Kristin Rechberger

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Apr 2025

We can’t plant our way out of climate change

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Apr 2025
Ex-captive orangutans at Camp Leaky in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler

An interview with orangutan conservationist and advocate Gary Shapiro

Rhett Ayers Butler 25 Apr 2025
Elephants move across the African savannah. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay

The wisdom of the elders: Why the oldest animals matter

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Apr 2025
A Chinese pangolin. Image by Sarita Jnawali of NTNC – Central Zoo via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Pangolins help biodiversity recover after fires

Rhett Ayers Butler 23 Apr 2025

Indigenous women in Peru lead wildcat conservation initiative

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Apr 2025
Auyán-Tepuí in Venezuela. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

In the shadow of Angel Falls: How Auyán-Tepuí sparked my reverence for nature

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Apr 2025
Canopy platform in Amacayacu National Park, Colombia. Photo: Rhett A. Butler.

Ecologists are spending less time in the field. That could be a problem.

Rhett Ayers Butler 21 Apr 2025
A young orangutan grasps and hangs on to a woody liana.

Nature on the move: How conservation must adapt to survive

Rhett Ayers Butler 18 Apr 2025
Ochieng Ogodo

Ochieng’ Ogodo, science journalist, mentor, and editor, died on April 17th, aged 64

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Apr 2025

Even in death, Indigenous Fijians protect the sea

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Apr 2025
The temperate Hoh rainforest in the U.S. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Proforestation: The case for leaving trees alone

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Apr 2025
Crested black macaque. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay.

Why conservation research findings are rarely surprising

Rhett Ayers Butler 16 Apr 2025
Daripalli Ramaiah. Image courtesy of Ministry of Jal Shakti, India

Daripalli Ramaiah, India’s tree man, died April 12, aged 87

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Apr 2025
Blue dart frog. Image by Rhett Butler.

The currency of impact: Why nonprofit models might be the future of serious journalism

Rhett Ayers Butler 14 Apr 2025
Kanzi, the bonobo, died aged 44 in March 2025. Image ©️Ape Initiative.

Kanzi the bonobo redefined what it means to be human

Rhett Ayers Butler 4 Apr 2025

Forest restoration is booming but biodiversity isn’t

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Mar 2025
Two Sumatran rhinos. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Life on Earth is changing — not just in numbers, but in essence

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Mar 2025
Elisabeth Vrba. Photo by J Play.

Elisabeth Vrba, the woman who timed evolution, died February 5th, aged 82

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Mar 2025
An archival image of Satish Bhaskar holding a hawksbill turtle. Image courtesy of Satish Bhaskar.

The Turtle Walker: Satish Bhaskar, sea turtle conservationist

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Mar 2025
A mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Virunga National Park. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay.

The untold environmental toll of the DRC’s conflict

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Mar 2025

Vincent van der Merwe (1983-2025), champion of the cheetah

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Mar 2025
(left) Endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus), Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. by David Hinkel. (right) Manatee. Photo courtesy of NOAA's National Ocean Service

Manatees in peril as human pressures push gentle giants toward the brink

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Mar 2025
David Myers. Courtesy of the Wildlands Conservancy.

David Myers, conservationist and land broker for nature, dies at 73

Rhett Ayers Butler 25 Mar 2025
Dr. Ajith Kumar. Photo by Ishwar Narayanan

Indian wildlife biologist Ajith Kumar has died

Rhett Ayers Butler 2 Mar 2025
Randy Borman. Courtesy of the Cofan Survival Fund

Randy Borman (1955-2025): An unlikely guardian of the Amazon rainforest

Rhett Ayers Butler 19 Feb 2025
Gerry Flynn

Statement on Mongabay journalist Gerald Flynn’s blacklisting from Cambodia following his reporting on illegal logging

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Feb 2025
Greenpeace Brazil conducted an aerial survey in southern Amazonas and northern Rondônia to monitor deforestation and fires in July 2024. Photo © Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace.

Drop in Amazon deforestation confirmed, but degradation soars 497% in 2024

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Jan 2025
Mikkel Larsen

Carbon exchange leader and sustainability advocate Mikkel Larsen dies at 50

Rhett Ayers Butler 27 Jan 2025
Jane Goodall in Japan in June 2023. Photo taken by Kaori Nishida

Jane Goodall awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Rhett Ayers Butler 6 Jan 2025

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

Collage, Fritz Pinnow, contributor, and a soldier
Videos
A leafy sea dragon among seagrass in South Australia. Image by Jayne Jenkins / Ocean Image Bank
Articles
Bay near Pulai Rayo, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett Butler.
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