Meet Leo Sordello-Savale, Born Free’s newest Junior Ambassador

Nine-year-old Leo is creating an online storm for wildlife!

Leo has been sharing his passion for wildlife and nature through his YouTube Channel, Leo’s Animal Planet, since he was just six-years old. What started as a lockdown project to connect with others who share his enthusiasm for wild animals, has become a labour of love for Leo. With support from his mum, he creates fun yet informative videos, podcasts, and songs, all based around wildlife, environmental issues, and animal welfare. He now has over a thousand followers on YouTube and his videos have been viewed over 100,000 times by people all over the world.

Through this channel, Leo has even helped to support the Free Shankar Campaign, founded by Born Free’s Youth Ambassador, Nikita Dhawan. Leo’s video raised awareness about the solitary male African elephant, Shankar, who is confined in Delhi Zoo, helping to add thousands of signatures to the campaign.

Leo’s dedication to wildlife and the environment have earned him numerous awards including a Points of Light Award in 2021, and a Young Animal Hero Award in 2022. He has even received recognition from his hero, Sir David Attenborough, who replied to a letter Leo had sent him, saying he had seen Leo’s YouTube Channel and to ‘keep up the good work’.

Living in London, Leo is also keen for young people to have better access to nature. He takes part in local rewilding projects, including creating and distributing wildflower seed bombs and bird boxes, to help give nature a home. He is even running a rewilding project at his school, to enable his classmates to get close to and appreciate nature.

Leo says: “I am so honoured to be a Junior Ambassador for Born Free. My late grandmother was a Born Free supporter, and it makes me so happy to be supporting Born Free too! My aim is to inspire children to take action to protect endangered animals, to stop captivity and animal cruelty. Let’s all make a world where animals can run wild and free! Rewild!”

Born Free Education Officer Charlie Smith added: “We are so excited to welcome Leo as one of Born Free’s Junior Ambassadors. His passion and drive at such a young age to stand up for and protect wildlife is nothing short of inspirational. Through his new role with Born Free, we hope Leo can reach even more young people and inspire them to follow in his footsteps to take action to protect our planet and its wildlife.”

Find out more about Born Free’s Junior and Youth Ambassadors