Yussef Rafik

Yussef Rafik studied BSc Zoology at the University of Reading, where he travelled to South Africa to study leopard population dynamics, studied western lowland gorillas alongside Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and investigated the factors affecting urban hedgehog population decline for his undergraduate dissertation. 

After graduating in 2017, Yussef went on to work as a zookeeper and used to present daily educational talks and handling sessions. 

In early 2020, Yussef landed a main presenter role on the brand-new online children’s channel, BBC Earth Kids. Working alongside BBC Studios, he hosts his very own show called Bugface and also narrates another show on the channel, Wild Bites. He’s has also made various television appearances, including on Good Morning Britain and the BBC Bitesize Daily show. 

Yussef works closely with The Wildlife Trusts helps them to raise awareness for their environmental campaigns, presenting on their web series, Skomer Live, and writing in their youth magazine, Wildlife Watch. 

Most recently, Yussef has been working with Off The Fence Productions, where he is presenting a film on their brand new platform, WaterBear, which has been described as a ‘Netflix for wildlife documentaries’.