wildlife expert, veterinarian, speaker, trainer, coach, author

Martine van Zijll Langhout

Lessons from the Wild

In this adapted English version of the Dutch bestseller Over Leven in het Wild, Martine takes you to the heart of the African wilderness. Her compelling and often breathtaking adventures with wild animals demonstrate what these creatures can teach us about being human.

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Trainer/Coach

Personal development and the influence of ‘the stories we tell ourselves’ have fascinated Martine her entire life. As a child, she was anything but brave, but by taking on challenges step by step, pushing boundaries, and persevering, many ‘unreachable’ dreams have come true. Alongside her love for nature, Martine’s great passion is inspiring others to feel good in their own skin and achieve their goals. To better integrate the life lessons from the wilderness into our modern jungle, she completed training as a professional coach. We humans can also flourish, just like wild animals in their natural habitat. The most beautiful things happen when we step out of our comfort zone and connect with ourselves and our environment!

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LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS

Join wildlife expert Martine in the wild and be inspired to look differently at wild animals, your organization, your team, your fellow humans, and yourself. Physically and mentally, we are still exactly the same as when we lived in the wilderness as primitive humans. That is why we can learn an immense amount from wild animals about leadership, collaboration, connection, resilience, and much more!

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"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better"

- Albert Einstein

About Martine

Her passion for wild animals and nature conservation has taken Martine to many corners of the world. Since 2005, she has worked full-time with a wide variety of wild animal species. In the deep rainforest of Gabon, she researched gorillas, and in Cameroon, she worked with chimpanzees. In South Africa, she ran a busy practice and anesthetized more than 10,000 wild animals, including elephants, lions, giraffes, and rhinos. This challenging, dangerous life taught her a great deal; she had to be in peak physical condition, collaborate closely, and lead large groups, just like the wild animals themselves. By living like a wild animal, she managed to feel completely at home in the wilderness and discovered many life lessons for modern humans. As head of the veterinary department at ARTIS, she is responsible for the health of all animal species, from frogs to elephants. She is also a sought-after speaker, trainer, and coach, and regularly appears in the media as a wildlife expert.

Trainer/Coach

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An extraordinary story and a captivating speaker. Perfect for when you want something different. Resilience in challenging times—that was the theme of our networking event. It was a day where we wanted to touch and inspire our guests in a different way. Rather than focusing on technical content, we looked for someone who could build a creative bridge to our professional practice through a theme. It became a bridge from wildlife to human nature—a bridge delivered with great energy, humor, and insight. Captivating, entertaining, and educational all at once.

- Frederike Godron - TKP Pension

Sparkling! With her sparkling personality, Martine is able to capture everyone's attention immediately. She leads the group in a very natural way, using her photos to share her experiences and perspective. She also succeeds in holding up a mirror to the group.

- K.M. Laagland Klaassen - Julianadorp

Inspiring, positive, and engaging. Martine held an incredibly pleasant session tailored specifically to the topic we needed! She speaks with enthusiasm and inspiration. We were very pleased! During the preparations, Martine was easy to reach and contributed a great deal of wonderful ideas.

- Anne van Verre - Netcompany

Great lecture! Martine is a fantastic speaker who took us along on her journey in her own unique, spontaneous way. Her enthusiasm and knowledge about wild animals, and the valuable lessons she draws from them, are very interesting and engaging for any audience. She knew exactly how to strike the right chord for us in the context of Women's Day! Her warm personality makes you feel at ease immediately. We can absolutely recommend her!

- Nadine Wassing - SodaStream International Ltd.

Highly recommended! Martine's enthusiasm was very infectious. Not only does she have a powerful story about her own desire to work with wild animals, she also draws beautiful parallels between how animals deal with difficulties in their lives and how humans do. And what we can learn from the animals. Very inspiring. The audience for International Women's Day wished her story could have lasted much longer. A great success!

- Ingeborg Wind - Twente Library

Very inspirational and unique story for an international audience, illustrating the parallels between living in the wild and risk management: a ten out of ten.

- Bob J Reichenfeld - Gallagher Re

With her infectious enthusiasm, Martine shared her story about wild animals, their unique talents, and how they collaborate in groups to strengthen one another. It was an original and beautiful reflection of how we can achieve the same within our organization and towards our clients.

- Carlijn Backx - Nolost

We enjoyed an absolutely inspiring lecture by Martine during our annual off-site. She taught us about learning from wild animals and provided reflections on teamwork and leadership, while emphasizing the importance of diversity. Furthermore, she highlighted the importance of embracing elders—just as in nature—because they possess the knowledge and experience. In fact, we often behave like animals and navigate an 'office jungle' where, much like animals, we weigh and manage risks every day. In conclusion, we can say that we have much to learn from wild animals, not only in our professional lives but also in our private lives. Thank you very much, Martine, for your fantastic speech.

- Kim Kropff - NIBC Bank

I recently had the pleasure of attending one of Martine's lectures. I thoroughly enjoyed it! What an inspiring woman. Her translation of her years spent alone in the wilderness to the business world was truly thought-provoking. Nature as a wise source of insight. That same nature that is also our source, and from which we have unfortunately become so far removed, yet which is such a necessary connection as a guide for grounded and compassionate action. Highly recommended!

- Linda Dubois - Dubois Coaching

With her infectious enthusiasm and a compelling story tailored to our target audience, Martine took us on a journey into her wonderful world as a wildlife veterinarian. In a striking manner, Martine managed to relate her extraordinary life lessons very concretely to themes such as collaboration and leadership within our own context. A story full of adventure, plot twists, and humor.

- Anne Aantjes – Deloitte

12th

edition

Over leven in het wild

In the bestseller Over Leven in het Wild, you join Martine on an adventure in the wilderness, as if you were there yourself, and learn a great deal about yourself from the wild animals! The book is already in its 12th edition! With every booking, you receive a signed copy as a gift.

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Would you like to order a copy with a personal message? Please contact us.

Wilderness trails

Join Martine in the untouched nature and discover the wilds of Botswana! Learning from the wilderness and wild animals in their natural environment under her guidance is an unforgettable, unique experience. Nothing is more impressive than standing face-to-face with a herd of elephants on foot or sleeping in the wild under a giant starry sky surrounded by many sounds.

Join Martine in the wilderness of Botswana! Learn from the wild animals, discover the wild animal within yourself, and donate to the nature conservation projects of the Timbo Afrika Foundation!

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