Terry Nutkins

"... Gemini was abandoned by her mother and I had to 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."

"The times that I got to know really well were the times that I was alone with him at . And that Jimmy Watt, the other 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 s … Gavin drank a substantial amount of whiskey … and he did ramble on somewhat. And he told the most wonderful stories sometimes."

"You’re talking about 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."

"In the post- era, an air of unease hangs over aspects of ’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."

"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 , 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.""

"Speaking about how his passion for animals was born, Nutkins would bunk off school and then climb over the fence of . The keepers took him under their wing and allowed him to muck out the elephant enclosure."