Paul Rosolie
Paul Rosolie is an American naturalist, explorer, author , and award-winning wildlife filmmaker who has focused for over two decades on protecting threatened ecosystems and species, primarily in the Peruvian Amazon where he documents illegal wildlife trade and leads anti-poaching efforts. He founded JungleKeepers Peru, an organization that safeguards more than 120,000 acres of primary rainforest habitat in western Amazonia through ranger patrols and community engagement.
Rosolie's conservation work extends to fieldwork in countries including Indonesia , Brazil , and India , where he has embedded with poachers to expose the trade in endangered species . His 2014 memoir Mother of God , detailing Amazonian exploration and environmental advocacy, received acclaim for its vivid accounts, with primatologist Jane Goodall describing it as "gripping" and the Wall Street Journal praising its "rare immediacy and depth." In 2013, he addressed the United Nations Forum on Forests upon receiving an award for his short film An Unseen World , which highlights unseen Amazon biodiversity .
A defining and controversial moment in Rosolie's public profile came with the 2014 Discovery Channel special Eaten Alive , in which he allowed himself to be constricted by a large anaconda—wearing a protective suit—to dramatize threats to Amazon wildlife, though he aborted the stunt after sustaining a bite, prompting backlash from animal welfare advocates over the snake's treatment and accusations of sensationalism from producers. Rosolie defended the effort as a calculated risk to amplify conservation messaging amid habitat destruction , aligning with his broader mission through Tamandua Expeditions to fund protections via guided immersions in the rainforest .
Paul Rosolie was born on September 20, 1987, in Brooklyn , New York. His father worked as an English teacher, while his mother taught sign language to the hearing impaired. The family relocated to Wyckoff, New Jersey , where Rosolie spent much of his childhood in a suburban environment.
Despite limited direct access to wilderness —having grown up in an environmentally stressed urban area of New York with nature encounters mainly through local parks—Rosolie developed an early fascination with wildlife . He attended Ramapo High School in New Jersey , where his interests began to solidify around exploration and natural history.
Rosolie's passion for rainforests stemmed from childhood immersion in adventure literature, documentaries, and books depicting remote ecosystems, which he cited as his favorite activities and primary gateways to understanding wilderness. These media influences fostered a deep curiosity about untamed nature, contrasting sharply with his urban upbringing and driving his subsequent pursuit of direct empirical engagement with wild environments.
Rosolie encountered significant obstacles in traditional schooling owing to dyslexia , which impeded conventional academic achievement and prompted him to drop out of high school. With parental support, he enrolled in college thereafter, attending Ramapo College in New Jersey where he studied environmental science and obtained a bachelor's degree .
From childhood, Rosolie demonstrated an innate passion for wildlife and natural environments, often urging his parents to visit forests and observe animals firsthand. This early curiosity extended to informal explorations of ecosystems, fostering self-taught knowledge through direct immersion rather than structured curricula, which aligned with his challenges in formal settings.
Following his eighteenth birthday, Rosolie supplemented his education with practical pursuits, including lifeguarding, which honed physical resilience and outdoor competencies essential for his later endeavors. These experiences marked a shift toward hands-on learning, prioritizing experiential skills in biology and ecology over rote academic progression.
