Joy for 11-year-old Donegal boy as Sir David Attenborough responds to letter

An 11-year-old Donegal boy has been left delighted after receiving a letter from natural history broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough.

Kyle Skeffington, a fifth-class pupil at Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana, wrote to the biologist and natural historian who has been making award-winning television programs on anthropology and natural history since the 1970s, as part of a class project.

Kyle, who wants to be a wildlife photographer when he grows up, told the broadcaster about how much he likes his programmes and his love for foxes - especially Arctic foxes.

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He received a response from the 98-year-old just four days later, which included a signed photograph and the hand-written message: “Thank you for your letter. I am so glad you enjoy my programmes.”

Kyle was totally surprised and delighted with the response. “I wasn't expecting it at all. I was so excited,” he said. 

In his letter, Kyle told Attenborough - who is famous for television series such as The Blue Planet and The Frozen Plant - about seeing Artic and red foxes at the Wild Ireland wildlife sanctuary near Burnfoot. When Wild Ireland owner Killian McLaughlin heard about Kyle’s letter and the response, he invited him and his family on a special visit to meet the foxes. During the visit, Kyle got up close in the enclosure with the Wild Ireland’s two Arctic Foxes, Blizzard and Tundra. He described the visit to Wild Ireland “as the best day”.

Kyle Skeffington meeting Wild Ireland’s Artic foxes along with Killian McLaughlin

Kyle came up with the idea of writing to Attenborough after a discussion with teacher Claire McDaid about wanting to become a wildlife photographer. 

Mrs McDaid said the whole experience of writing the letter and getting the response from David Attenborough has been amazing for Kyle and his classmates.

“The whole class is excited and I have said to them all: ‘This is what happens when you write letters,’ because children don't write letters anymore.  And it is important for me as a teacher that the learning is meaningful for them and it has really generated such excitement.”

Mr McLaughlin said Kyle’s correspondence with Sir David Attenborough reminded him of himself as a child. He still has a postcard from Gerald Durrell - the late zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter - that he received after writing to him. 

Kyle wrote several drafts of the letter before he and his teacher found Attenborough’s address online.

“It’s an amazing thing to get a letter and he handwrote the envelope too,” Mrs McDaid said.

“I said to Kyle, ‘We can be hopeful’, but we did not expect that, especially so quickly -  we really, really didn’t. It’s so exciting. He’s really, really deserving and it couldn’t happen to a nicer child.”