We interview British economist turned conservationist Terry Townshend from his home in Beijing. about the work he has done over the past 12 years in China and some of the mammals he has encountered along the way. Terry describes stumbling on the Valley of the Cats, and its Snow Leopards, thanks to two students who overslept their alarm. He explains why he thinks Tibetan people are some of the happiest and wealthiest on earth. And he recalls a mesmerizing encounter with a family of Pallas’s Cats was the best birthday present ever.

Notes: You can read more about the work of the Paulson Institute here and the ShanShui Conservation Center here or on Facebook. More information on the Valley of the Cats is here. Terry also runs the Birding Beijing site which also includes information on mammals.  Don’t forget the very many reports from China on mammalwatching.com. Terry also mentioned Sid Francis, a mammalwatching guide in Chengdu, as the best source of advice on Giant Pandas. You can email him here. Cover art: Pallas's Cat by Terry Townshend.

Here is the YouTube trailer.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

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 Hall set up mammalwatching.com in 2005. Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. He has looked for mammals in over 100 countries.

Produced and edited by Jon Hall.