Rasmussen was born in London and at eleven years old, his family moved to what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he developed a strong affinity for wildlife. After attending Falcon College, he joined the Merchant Navy and studied in Southampton at the Warsash Naval College. Even on the ships he took an interest in research, and in 1978 he received the Bracknell Award for his work on ocean currents in the Atlantic. In 1988, Joshua Ginsberg offered him a job observing painted dogs in Hwange National Park.
In 2003, Rasmussen was involved in a plane crash which left him severely injured and alone in the African bush. He survived and was eventually rescued. He almost lost his feet but doctors saved them, and as a result of the incident he is 3 inches (7.6 cm) shorter.[1] The story of his survival is featured in season one of I Shouldn't Be Alive, a documentary series broadcast on the Discovery Channel in an episode entitled "Jaws of Death". In the United Kingdom, it was broadcast as "Thrown to the Lions" on Channel 4 where the series is called Alive.[2]
