Charles and Jon compare notes from their recent trips to China, and talk the joys of travel there, especially the country's superb mammalwatching opportunities. 

Charles and his family spent 10 days in China's Qinghai Province in May, while Jon was in China for a month from mid-April, including almost two weeks in Yunnan Province and a few days in Qinghai.

We discuss the Gouli Valley, and the extraordinary carnivore watching there, due in large part to a guide with superhuman vision. Charles has a close encounter with some Tibetan caterpillar connoisseurs and Jon discovers that seeing any species might be possible with the help of the right friends in China, especially when one is the 'mammal lord'.

Notes: Jon's 2026 reports from China - Yunnan, Qinghai, Tangjiahe, Guangxi and Zhejiang - are already available on mammalwatching's China page. If you are interested in details of the tour he will lead across Qinghai next year, including to the original Valley of the Cats, please email.

The study of Fishers predating Lynxes that Charles discussed at the start is here.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

You can support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee here https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Finally did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: Pallas’s Cat in the Gouli Valley, February 2026. Photograph by Man Fu.

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon talk to conservationists and primatologists Tom Butynski and Yvonne de Jong from their base in Kenya.

Tom and Yvonne run the East African Primate Diversity and Conservation Program and research primates and other mammals in East Africa.

After explaining how their rural childhoods fostered a love for nature, Tom and Yvonne outline very varied career paths that took them around the world and eventually to Kenya - and each other - 25 years ago.

They talk about the importance of citizen science and describe some of the work they are undertaking on a range of species, including the critically endangered Southern Patas Monkey. And they outline the process they have followed to describe the several new primate species and subspecies they have described.

Charles is delighted to hear that if people looking for a new purpose in life then "dik-diks are the way to go", while Jon is shocked when Yvonne claims that she and Tom are not yet "as cool as the birders"!

The episode begins with Charles and Jon taking about their March 2026 weekend in Florida featuring a Florida Mouse and a very lengthy wrong turn!

Notes: Tom and Yvonne's Wild Solutions website is a goldmine of mammalwatching information, including some excellent free pocket guides to African primates, and a sound library of vocal profiles of many galago species (the calls of which are often indispensable to species identification).

Jon and Charles's weekend in Florida report is here.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

You can support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee here https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Finally did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: Tom & Yvonne in the field by Rick Strooper.

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon talk to Joel Sartore, founder of NatGeo's Photo Ark project and one of the world's most preeminent wildlife photographers.

Joel describes his passion for conservation, a passion inspired by parents who cared and a childhood spent in nature. 

He outlines his career, which took him from a cub photographer with the Wichita Eagle, to National Geographic where he now runs the Photo Ark and has photographed more than 18,000 species in human care. 

Joel explains his photographic techniques and the influence of the artist John James Audubon. 

And he offers hope for the future, despite the extinction crisis we are facing, talking about how zoos and ecotourism are helping to save nature. Meanwhile Joel frightens Jon at the prospects of life "in the chocolate factory".

Notes:  You can follow Joel on Instagram, along with almost 2 million other people. There are many articles and videos about Joel online, including this PBS show Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark about his work.

Here's the article about the Banteng recovery in Thailand which Charles discusses at the beginning of the episode. You can find many Thailand trip reports here.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

You can support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee here https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Finally did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: Portrait of Joel Sartore, 2021, by Ellen Sartore.

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon chat with Nick Mcphee, founder of Nick's Adventures Bolivia, from his home in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Nick explains how a childhood love of wildlife - inspired by growing up near Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo - led him to Bolivia after five years in the Australian army and another three working in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. 

He talks about the many - and exceptionally diverse - mammalwatching opportunities in Bolivia that range from what is arguably Latin America's best Jaguar watching through to mega-mammals like Chaco Peccaries, Giant Armadillos and Goeldi's Monkey. Plus Nick describes the many and diverse threats these animals are facing: threats that he is passionate about tackling through the ecotourism he is pioneering.

Nick has more than his fair share of funny stories from running tours. We hear about the time that someone mistook a cup of vinegar for water. And we learn what can happen when a married couple turn up on a jungle trip with wildly differing expectations!

The podcast opens with notes from the field from Jon's February trip to Guatemala and we chat about our 2023 visit to Klalik Village in West Papua that is now in the news.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: There are dozens of trip reports from tours with Nick's Adventures on mammalwatching's Bolivia page. Here's a report of Charles's 2023 trip with Nick to Jaguarland and Kaa Iya and this is Jon's report to Beni and Pando from 2024.

You can follow Nick on Facebook and Instagram. This is his listing on mammalwatching.

Jon's trip report from Guatemala is here (a research tour led by former podcast guest José Gabriel Martinez-Fonseca).

Here's a fun Instagram reel about our visit to Klalik and the scientific and conservation impacts that one night in that forest created. If you haven't heard our podcast episode about that trip then it is one of our most popular.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

You can support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee here. https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: Nick rescues a sloth

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.

Charles and Jon turn the podcast over to three of the youngest mammalwatchers we know: Ellen Linton (20), Bruno Kovacs Gomez (16) and Moses Swanson-Mwamasika (15).

In a lively chat the three share stories about their passion, why they love it and what their friends and family think. We hear stories about pizza with a Caracal in South Africa; close encounters with pouched rats in Zimbabwe; and a quest for a Golden Jackal in Hungary. The next generation also offer advice on how to encourage friends to join a trip. So press play if you want to learn how to sneakily turn a road trip with your bestie into a pocket gopher safari or are contemplating more extreme measures ... 

The podcast starts with 'notes from the field' from Jannico Kelk and Nicolas Rakotopare, recorded live in Darjeeling moments after a spectacular Red Panda encounter.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: All three of our guests have submitted several reports to mammalwatching. See for instance Ellen's road trip through Oregon and Idaho; Moses's goodbye to Zimbabwe report; and Bruno's family trip through Corfu, Vienna and Hungary.

Download Scythebill to manage your mammal list here https://www.scythebill.comhttps://www.scythebill.com

You can find wildlife filmmaker Nicolas Rakotopare and wildlife photographer Jannico Kelk on Instagram. Their notes from the field was recorded on a scouting trip for their upcoming Red Panda photo safaris.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

You can support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee here https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Finally did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: The Next Generation

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon don't have a guest this month. Instead we talk to each about our recent trips to southern Tanzania (Charles) and Tierra del Fuego (Jon).

Charles's adventure coincided with the Tanzanian elections and an outbreak of protests. These may have shut down the country but did not deter its mammalwatchers! In between negotiating their way through road blocks and buying diesel from trucks stuck on the road, they managed to see a ridiculous number of mammal species (almost 80) including the Kipunji, a primate only discovered by scientists a few years ago.

Jon's trip through Patagonia went more smoothly. The highlight was a day looking for Leopard Seals in a remote area of Chilean Tierra del Fuego. He had crippling views of the seal amongst jaw dropping scenery. One of his best days ever.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: Charles's report is here https://www.mammalwatching.com/community-post/rare-mammals-and-riots-in-southern-tanzania/ . He organized his tour through African Pangolin Safaris. The owner, guide, and all round troubleshooter, Mansoor Mohamed can be reached at i[email protected]. Learn more about the discovery of the Kipunji in Season 1 Episode 4 of this podcast when we talk to Tim Davenport.

Jon's Patagonia report is at https://www.mammalwatching.com/community-post/patagonia-buenos-aires-province-december-2025/. He organized his trip with Marcelo Gavensky from Birds Argentina, also a former podcast guest.

If you interested in joining Jon's trips to Brazil or Antarctica the details are here

NE Brazil for primates and porcupines with Jon Hall & Regina Ribeiro, May 27 – June 8 2026

Antarctica with Jon Hall & Naturetrek, January 2027

And if you want to support mammalwatching and buy us a coffee please do! https://buymeacoffee.com/mammalwatching

Finally did you know you can sign up to receive a weekly mammalwatching newsletter here? https://www.mammalwatching.com/subscribe-to-updates/

Cover art: Leopard Seal, Jon Hall.

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 almost 120 countries.

In the first podcast of 2026 we talk with professional bird and mammal guide János Oláh from his home in Hungary. János set up Sakertours in 1994. Initially focussing on birding tours in Eastern Europe they expanded to run hide-based photography tours and now mammal tours.

János explains how he was drawn to birding as a child, and the formative role an aversion to summer camp chores played in the process. He describes how and why he set up his Romania Mammal Tour, on which participants can expect to see over 50 mammal species in 9 days! And he shares a very important life lesson he learned as a boy while looking for a 'Dawn Bird': preferred habitat is far more useful to a successful search than a species' common name!

The podcast begins with a 'live from the field' account of our heroically unsuccessful search for a Sumatran Striped Rabbit, which János was lucky enough to be a part of.

You can stream the episode here or listen on your favourite podcast platform.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: Here is the most recent Romania Mammal Tour report from Sakertours. Details of the 2026 tour and how to join are here. Other Sakertours reports are on mammalwatching's Romania page including the 2025 Mole-rat safari we talked about.

A report of our ill-fated trip in search of Sumatran Striped Rabbits is here.

Cover art: János in Ladakh.

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 almost 120 countries.

The Season 4 opener to the mammalwatching podcast has Charles and Jon talking about their September 2025 expedition to Sulawesi.  

This is a blow by blow - and mammal by mammal - account of a remarkable two week trip that recorded over 80 mammal species. Our story is interspersed with interviews from the field with Carlos Bocos, the trip leader; bat guru Prof Juliana Senawi; and the other participants (Stuart Chapman, Nick Cox, János Oláh, Martin Royle and Ian Thompson). We also include a conversation witth Ating Solihin from Sulawesi's Malenge Island about his role in bringing the Togean Babirusa back from the brink of extinction.

Highlights include:

• Explaining why the initial excitement of seeing species that were likely new to science quickly turned to frustration.
• Hearing why giving a seven year old a mammal book might just dictate the rest of their life.
• Advice for others planning to visit Sulawesi, including the importance of bringing your own sleeping mats and never wearing flip flops into a bat cave!

You can stream the episode here or listen on your favourite podcast platform.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: The trip report from our expedition to Sulawesi should be available here by the end of 2025.

Cover art: Togean Babirusa, Carlos Bocos

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon speak to conservation power couple Nachiket Kelkar and Kadambari Deshpande from their home in Bangalore. for the finale to Season 3 of the podcast.

Kadambari and Nachiket both work to better understand how wildlife and people can co-exist in India, with Kadambari focussing on bats and Nachiket looking at riverine ecosystems and wildlife including the Ganges River Dolphin.

In a fascinating interview they discuss some of the threats facing the species they are working to protect as well as some of the facets of Indian society - and its sometimes striking tolerance for living alongside wildlife - that help to allow  wildlife and people to co-exist.

They describe a recent trip in search with Bob Pitman (a 2022 podcast guest) in search of India's remaining two Indus River Dolphins and also explain how Indian Flying Foxes are a cashew-farmer's best friend!

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: Jon's recent Borneo trip report - during which a few seconds birding almost cost him his binoculars - is here:

Details of the IUCN-approved splitting of the Giraffe into four species is here.

Cover art: Kadambari & Nachiket

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 almost 120 countries.

Charles and Jon talk with carnivore conservation expert Laila Bahaa-el-din.

Laila studied the near mythical African Golden Cat for her PhD in Gabon from 2010 - 2015 and was the first to study the species for a PhD.

She explains how her grandfather inspired her to follow a career in conservation and how a chance encounter with a mislabeled photo of an African Golden Cat saved her from studying raptors and took her to Gabon.

Laila describes how she studied the cats using camera traps and how a bird flying into a tent led to her one and only sighting during four years in the field. 

She also recounts some of her very many adventures in Gabon that range from pleading with a female gorilla to keep quiet so as not to alert the silverback, to fleeing from an elephant while trying to get out of a poncho.  No wonder she turned to poetry for solace!

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: Here is an African Geographic artlce from Laila about her work with the Golden Cat. And here is the video she mentioned of an African Golden Cat hunting Red Colobus in Uganda.

Jon's report of his recent trip to Japan in search of Sato's Beaked Whales is here. And hs report of a weekend in China is here.

Cover art: African Golden Cat, Laila Bahaa-el-din

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 110 countries.