Megan McCubbin: The Family, Fieldwork and Wildlife Career Behind the Springwatch Presenter

Before Megan McCubbin became a familiar face on Springwatch, she spent a summer volunteering with rescued bears in China. When a friend working on a BBC documentary asked for her input, she suggested investigating the illegal bear bile market. McCubbin later reported on the trade herself. Her first steps into television came from a story she wanted to tell about the animals she had worked with.

Many viewers came to know her in 2020, when she presented Springwatch with her stepfather, Chris Packham. By then, she had studied zoology, helped researchers examine shark behavior in the Bahamas and reported on plastic pollution. Those experiences explain the range of her work today. She can follow the story of an endangered animal in one program and help viewers make sense of something they spotted on a morning walk in another.

Table of Contents

Quick Bio

Field	Details
Name	Megan McCubbin
Date of Birth	8 February 1995
Age	31 years old as of November 2026
Nationality	British
Profession	Zoologist, conservationist, author and wildlife television presenter
Education	BSc (Hons) in Zoology, University of Liverpool, 2018
Mother	Jo McCubbin
Stepfather	Chris Packham, British naturalist and broadcaster
Best Known For	Presenting the BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch
Early TV Work	Reported on the illegal bear bile trade for BBC Three’s Undercover Tourist in 2017
Other TV Programmes	Naturewatch, Animal Park, Planet Defenders and Chris & Meg’s Wild Summer
Wildlife Fieldwork	Shark research in the Bahamas, conservation work in Namibia and volunteering with rescued bears in China
Conservation Role	Became an ambassador for Rainforest Concern in 2021
Books	Back to Nature: How to Love Life – and Save It with Chris Packham (2020) and An Atlas of Endangered Species (2023)

Megan McCubbin’s Family and Her Connection to Chris Packham

Megan McCubbin was born on 8 February 1995 and turned 31 in 2026. Her mother is Jo McCubbin, and naturalist Chris Packham is her stepfather. The two have worked together in several formats, from live broadcasts in the New Forest to a television road trip around Britain. They have also co-written a book about the wildlife people can find close to home.

One of their most recognizable projects began during the COVID-19 lockdown. Their Self-Isolating Bird Club streamed on Facebook and YouTube at a time when many people were spending much of the day indoors. The broadcasts gave viewers a shared reason to look out the window and see what was happening outside. For McCubbin and Packham, it was an early chance to build a program together around the wildlife most people could watch for themselves.

Studying Zoology at the University of Liverpool

McCubbin completed a BSc (Hons) in Zoology at the University of Liverpool in 2018. She has said traditional science lessons were difficult for her at school because of dyslexia. At university, she found lecturers who supported her and helped her grow more confident in a subject she cared about. She later encouraged greater support for people with different ways of learning who want to study science.

The degree also helps explain the kinds of questions she asks on television. If a bird keeps returning to the same patch of ground, what is it finding there? If two sharks in the same waters behave differently, what might explain that difference? Observations like these give a presenter something specific to ask a researcher and give the audience something they can look for themselves.

What She Learned From Sharks, Bears and Conservation Work

At the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas, McCubbin helped researchers study differences in shark behavior. Two animals of the same species may react differently in similar conditions. Noticing those differences gives researchers a clearer picture of how individual sharks respond to their surroundings.

Her conservation experience also includes work with the AfriCat Foundation in Namibia and time with rescued bears in China. In 2021, she became an ambassador for Rainforest Concern. Her work has brought her into contact with people who protect habitats, care for rescued animals and study wildlife in the field. Each job offers a different view of what it takes to protect a species.

The Investigative Reporting That Came Before Springwatch

In 2017, McCubbin covered the illegal bear bile market for BBC Three’s Undercover Tourist. The program followed an issue she became interested in through her rescue work. She later reported on plastic pollution for Al Jazeera’s environmental series Earthrise, turning her attention to a problem that involves the products people buy and what happens after they throw them away.

She returned to questions about the wildlife trade on CBBC’s Planet Defenders, looking at protected sharks sold as rock salmon. The story put a familiar menu name at the center of a conservation question. For a young audience, it was a concrete way to talk about where food comes from and why it matters to know which species is being sold.

How Megan McCubbin Became a Springwatch Presenter

McCubbin joined the Springwatch team in 2020 and presented alongside Packham from the New Forest. With travel limited, the series drew on what its presenters could observe from home or nearby. For McCubbin, who had already been talking to the Bird Club audience about local wildlife, it meant bringing a familiar approach to a much bigger audience.

She also presented Autumnwatch and Winterwatch. The seasonal programs give viewers a chance to see how Life changes in a place they recognize. A hedge that gives nesting birds cover in spring may offer food later in the year. Following those changes makes it easier to understand why the same patch of land can matter to different animals at different times.

From Longleat’s Animal Park to BBC Naturewatch

On Animal Park, McCubbin reports from Longleat in Wiltshire, where the story follows keepers’ daily routines. In Chris & Meg’s Wild Summer, she and Packham traveled around Britain in an electric campervan to watch and photograph wildlife. The two programs show different sides of her presenting work. At Longleat, she can ask a keeper what they have learned by caring for an animal. On the road, the starting point is often what she and Packham discover along the way.

In November 2026, McCubbin joined Packham and Kyle Thomas to present Naturewatch, a weekly program available on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Early questions included why deer roar and whether conkers keep spiders away. A familiar sound or a bit of family folklore gives the presenters a starting point for finding out what scientists know and what they are still looking into.

The Books She Has Written About the Natural World

McCubbin and Packham co-wrote Back to Nature: How to Love Life – and Save It, published in 2020. The book looks at examples of wildlife recovery, including the return of lesser horseshoe bats to the Isle of Man. It also asks how people can make space for nature where they live. That gives the book a practical side, whether the reader has a garden, a balcony, or a local street they walk down every day.

In 2023, McCubbin published An Atlas of Endangered Species. The book introduces animals facing extinction and gives space to the scientists, rangers and conservationists working to protect them. Looking at the people doing that work helps put the problem in context. Before they can protect an animal, they need to understand where it lives, how it behaves, and what puts it at risk.

Conclusion

Megan McCubbin brought wildlife television experience that still shapes her work. Volunteering with rescued bears led to an early BBC investigation, and studying animal behavior gave her a way to explain what viewers see on screen. Her work with Chris Packham is a prominent part of her career, alongside the reporting, conservation and writing she has pursued in her own right.

A viewer may first encounter McCubbin on Springwatch, then come across her work on a very different subject, such as the sale of protected sharks or the efforts to bring a species back from the brink. The common thread is a habit of asking what’s happening to an animal, who understands it best, and what a closer look can tell us.