Charles and Jon talk with Rodney Jackson the director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, who is widely considered the leading world expert on the snow leopard, having devoted over forty years to researching and conserving this elusive cat in South and Central Asia.
In a wide-ranging chat Rodney describes his journey from a young boy looking for wildlife around his Harare home to the mountains of Nepal and embarking on a lifetime's quest to study one of the world's most enigmatic cats. He describes the difficulty in even seeing a cat in those early years and discusses the vital role well-managed community-based ecotourism is now playing in protecting them. He also describes many of his adventures along the way including perilous hikes and mysterious shamans.
Notes: Rodney mentioned Adam Riley's photos of a Snow Leopard hunt from Hemis National Park in 2013 which you can see here.
There are dozens of trip reports on mammalwatching that feature Snow Leopard sightings. Check out the India, China and Mongolia pages in particular.
Charles talks about the latest bioluminescent mammal that was revealed in this post while Jon talked about this piece he and Charles wrote for the conservation news site Mongabay.
Cover art: Rodney and Snow Leopard, Darla Hillard
Dr Charles Foley is a mammalwatcher and biologist who, together with his wife Lara, spent 30 years studying elephants in Tanzania. They now run the Tanzania Conservation Research Program at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
Jon Hallset up mammalwatching.com in 2005. Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. He has looked for mammals in over 110 countries.
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