| Tony Soper | |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1929 |
| Birth Place: | Southampton, Hampshire, England |
| Education: | Hyde Park Junior School Devonport High School for Boys |
| Employer: | BBC |
| Occupation: | Author and broadcaster |
| Spouse: | Hilary |
| Children: | Two sons |
| Known For: | Ornithology |
Tony Soper (10 January 1929 – 18 September 2024) was a British naturalist, author, and broadcaster.[1] [2]
Soper was born on 10 January 1929, in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Ella (nee Lythgoe), a former shop assistant and member of the local Townswomen's Guild, and Bert Soper, a shipping agent. Soon after Soper's birth the family moved to Plymouth where he attended Hyde Park Elementary School and Devonport High School for Boys.[1] He joined the BBC at age 17 as a "youth-in-training", subsequently graduating by way of studio manager to features producer in radio, then moved into television. Among the radio programmes that he produced were Birds In Britain.
Soper co-founded the BBC Natural History Unit as its first film producer, with Patrick Beech the then South West Controller. Cutting his teeth on the LOOK series he organised far-flung wildlife filming projects. He presented live television programmes, including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals, Beside the Sea, Wildtrack and Nature. Soper also co-presented Animal Magic with Johnny Morris for a few years in the 1960s. He also had a supporter of the RSPB.[3] [4]
As Expedition Leader and a pioneer of wildlife cruising, he spent twenty years between 1992 and 2012 exploring both the North and South polar regions. He held a British yachtmaster's certificate and was a qualified compressed-air and oxygen hard-hat diver.[5]
Soper's wife Hilary is a wildlife painter, and they had two sons. Soper died on 18 September 2024, at the age of 95.
Soper was a recipient of the British Naturalists' Association's Peter Scott Memorial Award.[6] He was awarded the British Trust for Ornithology's Dilys Breese Medal in 2009.[7] [8]
A single 23-minute episode of Wildtrack is available as a bonus feature on the DVD and Blu-ray release of David Attenborough's 1979 series Life on Earth.