As a boy growing up in Maun, Botswana, Richard Avilino would sit in his grandfather’s field and watch the bushbucks play on the other side of the Thamalakane River. Those quiet encounters in a frontier town surrounded by wilderness sparked Richard’s love of Botswana’s wildlife and his devotion to conservation.

After stints as a chef and safari lodge manager, Richard completed his studies at the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute and began guiding in 1998. Credentialed at the highest level as a professional guide in Botswana and with the prestigious Birding Certificate from Birdlife South Africa, Richard leads groups into the Okavango Delta, Kalahari, Chobe and Linyanti areas. He speaks Setswana, English and German, having completed intensive language training in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 2000. He has a special affinity for observing the behavior of endangered species such as wild dogs and wattled cranes. Besides introducing guests to the wonders of the wilderness, Richard likes to teach them about geology, the origin of the Okavango Delta and Botswana’s history, particularly its heritage of peace.