Rudolph Ernest Mancke III (October 21, 1945 – November 7, 2023) was an American naturalist, educator and television and radio host.
[2] After serving in the U.S. Army, Mancke was a high school teacher before being hired as South Carolina State Museum's first natural history curator in 1975.
[4] The show examined the natural world, and was taped in 50 states and ten countries, with funding from a variety of sources, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
[15] In 2015, Mancke was named Honorary South Carolina Statewide Master Naturalist by Clemson University Cooperative Extension.
[16] The McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina launched the Rudy Mancke Curator of Natural History Endowment, in celebration of its 40th anniversary.