Springwatch presenter says she dislikes calling African animals by their English name [Video]

Springwatch presenter Gillian Burke has said she prefers to call animals by their traditional Swahili names rather than their English monikers.

Burke, who was born in Kenya and now lives in Cornwall, joined the Springwatch team in 2016 soon after Martin Hughes-Games claimed he was axed due to diversity targets.

The biologist admitted she found calling animals by their English names uncomfortable but acknowledged naming could be “a useful tool for storytelling”.

Writing in BBC Wildlife magazine, Burke said the English names for east Africa’s “iconic” wildlife” tended to “jar” when spoken aloud. “At least to my ear,” she added.

“In my own writing, I prefer re-introducing these familiar animals by their Swahili names,” Burke said.

“Ndovu (elephant), twiga (giraffe), fisi (hyena) and my personal favourite, because I used to love how …