Founder Deniz Dalkilic tells how leaving Turkey, a hard stretch in the Netherlands and a camera led him to nature, and to creating Untold Wildlife.
How a hard chapter became a project
Deniz Dalkilic, founder of Untold Wildlife, tells the personal story behind the project. He grew up in Ankara, played high-level basketball and worked as a software engineer in defense and space before deciding to leave Turkey and rebuild his life in the Netherlands.
Starting over was hard. He felt isolated and homesick, and he spent almost two years dealing with physical nerve problems that doctors could not solve. He began looking for comfort outdoors, walking and cycling through green spaces.
At 25 he picked up a professional camera for the first time. Street and car photography did not click, but photographing urban wildlife did, and it helped him stay present. He recalls standing near a European bison in Zuid-Kennemerland National Park as a humbling moment.
The name began as a private way to write about his own life, then grew into a shared, volunteer-led project celebrating overlooked stories of people, animals and places.
_This story was written by Deniz Dalkilic for Untold Wildlife, our partner in bringing overlooked conservation stories to more people._