My name is Rhett Ayers Butler. Yes, I’m named after the character in Gone with the Wind. I had no say in the matter.
I live in California and am perhaps best known for Mongabay, which I started in 1999 out of my love for nature and animals.
Mongabay began shortly after I graduated from high school, when I started working on a book about tropical rainforests. That effort eventually culminated the creation of Mongabay.
You can find some of my writing for Mongabay here. I’ve also written stuff outside of Mongabay.
Over the course of my reporting, I’ve done some traveling, mostly in the tropics. Some of my favorite places are Madagascar, Peru, and Indonesia.
I enjoy taking pictures when I travel. Lately, I’ve taken an interest in using a drone to capture landscapes.
Other than LinkedIn, I am no longer active on social media.