David Attenborough sends adorable letter to young fan who named insect after him

Father of the child described Attenborough as a ‘national treasure’

A fan of Sir David Attenborough has shared the heartwarming letter he sent to his child.

The young girl had named her new pet Sir David Stickenborough, in honour of the famed nature documentarian.

“She wrote to tell him this,” revealed the girl’s father on Twitter. “Obviously he responded.”

Darren Logan, the head of research at The Waltham Petcare Science Institute, shared a picture of the letter his daughter had received in response.

On headed paper, Attenborough had written: “I am so glad you’re interested in stick insects. I am too and, when I was your age I also kept some. They are indeed fascinating.

“There are at least 2,500 different species worldwide. Most come from tropics and only a few species ever reach this country. Scientifically speaking they belong to a group called the Phasmatoidea which contains two main groups – the leaf insects and the stick insects.”

Attenborough continued to relay facts about stick insects, explaining that the creature named after him was in fact part of different species: the leaf insect.

“Sir David is getting renamed, apparently, but my daughter’s fascination with nature has been reinforced,” wrote Logan. “#NationalTreasure.”

Attenborough’s latest series, Frozen Planet II, premieres on BBC One at 8pm on Sunday 11 September.