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5-Year-Old Sir David Attenborough Fan Draws 99 Animals To Celebrate the Naturalist’s 99th Birthday

By Jessica Stewart on May 13, 2025

Sir David Attenborough turned 99 on May 8, and people around the world celebrated the beloved British broadcaster and naturalist. The nonagenarian received one particularly sweet surprise from a young fan. Five-year-old Max Evans-Browning is a big fan of the Attenborough and has watched all of his documentaries. So, for the occasion, he decided to draw 99 of the naturalist's favorite animals to celebrate the 99 years he's been on Earth.

The work took Max just four days to complete, and after his mom, Samantha, posted the work on Facebook in an effort to reach Attenborough, it was shared hundreds of times.

“Anyone who knows Max, knows that since he could talk, he has been obsessed with animals and Sir David Attenborough,” she wrote. “At the age of 3 he went as him for World Book Day, he’s watched everything to do with him and he talks animals non-stop. He has done litter picking to help the environment and has so many animal encyclopaedias I can’t keep up.”

Samantha went on to explain that she and Max spent hours researching Attenborough's favorite animals to include in the present. The photos show a proud Max standing in front of multiple sheets covered with animals. Individual images of each page not only show Max's wonderful drawings, but the labels on each animal.

In a chat with the BBC, which picked up the story, Samantha spoke about Max's incredible love for animals.

“[Max] watches animals, reads about animals, his bedroom is animals,” she shared. “And he knows the most rare animals. He will say ‘I know that it's a pangolin' and I'm like, what, I don't even know what that is.”

Now Max is hoping that Attenborough will see his thoughtful gift, writing, “Thank you in advance and Mr Attenborough, if you ever see this… Happy Birthday from Max Evans-Browning, age 5 from Pembrokeshire.”