Mammalwatching

We interview Dr Robert Shumaker, the President and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoo. Rob is a renowned expert on primate cognition (i.e. primate behaviour and intelligence), a widely published scientist, and a leader in the zoo world. He talks to us about his fascinating research on Great Ape cognition and the very fine line between the abilities of humans and other apes. Rob discusses the future of zoos in the US and the rapidly expanding conservation efforts of the Indianapolis Zoo, and tells enthralling tales of orangutans outwitting both him and their keepers.

Notes: You can learn more about the Indianapolis Prize here and the Emerging Conservationist Awards here. The work of the Global Centre for Species Survival, a partnership between the Indianapolis Zoo and the IUCN Species Survival Commission can be seen here. Cover art: Orangutan by Ian Nicholls.

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.

December 25 1914: as World War I is raging, British and German troops along the frontline lay down their rifles, and cross the trenches to play a friendly football match. 

September 2022: the mammalwatching podcast brings a second, arguably greater, testament to the human ability to heal wounds, cross divides and search for peace despite many years of conflict. Yes, Charles and Jon lay down their binoculars to reach out across the barbed wire and welcome a birder onto this podcast. 

And not just any birder: we are joined from the Netherlands by Arjan Dwarshuis who holds the world Big Birding Year record for his epic 40 country and 6852 species trip in 2016. A professional birder, Arjan is an author, very successful podcaster and conservation champion.

In a (worryingly!) enjoyable chat we talk about some of Arjan's favourite mammal sightings, his Big Year and why birding is now officially cool.

It would be crass to put ourselves forward. But if you are inspired there are Nobel Peace Prize nomination forms here. The three of us are ready to share the award https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/

Notes: Arjan's website has links to his popular podcast (in Dutch), his book (coming in English soon) and much more including a trailer to the film about his Big Year. Here is an interview with him just after he broke the record.

Jon's report from his Borneo trip is here. If you would like to join the mamamlwatching meeting in Spain - including joining remotely on Sunday 2 October - some more details are here. A report from Charles's Gabon trip should appear here before too long. Cover art: Arjan Dwarshuis by Friso Boven.

Marc Bozon suggested that we ask Arjan onto the podcast and then made the introduction. Thanks Marc!

You can email us at [email protected]

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.

Charles and Jon interview the original Batman,  Dr Merlin Tuttle, from his home in Austin, Texas. Merlin has spent 60 years studying - and working to help - bats around the world and his photos and research have been featured in multiple National Geographic articles, the journal Science, and many other places. He founded and led Bat Conservation International for nearly 30 years, left BCI, then founded Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation in 2014 where he remains active. He is a true legend.

In a fascinating chat we hear about his skill in training bats (and one bat's particular skill in training Merlin), and how he believes the secret to conservation success is from trying to win friends not battles. He also remembers that time he risked being eaten by a pride of lions so he could photograph a bat with a Mohican haircut. 

Notes: Merlin Tuttle's website has a wealth of bat information. Of course it does! We loved looking through Merlin's stunning collection of bat photographs and most of the species he mentioned can be found by searching in the MTBC Photo gallery. Here are pictures of the Chaerephon chapini in Zimbabwe, during the hunt for which he had to hide from Lions. Here is the little Hardwicke's Wooly Bat which demanded to be fed in Borneo (and this is the video Merlin mentioned). And here is a scorpion-hunting Pallid Bat from the USA. Many other links are here, including one to join Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation (MTBC) or donate to support the very important work they do.

You might be interested in joining MTBC as a member to get updates, or joining Merlin in an upcoming bat research trip to Zambia's beautiful Kasanka National Park this November: a few spots are still available https://www.merlintuttle.org/bats-of-kasanka-national-park-mtbc-2022/. Cover art: Merlin Tuttle calling a Little big-eared bat to his hand for mealworms.

Thank you Teresa Nichta at MTBC for all your support in preparing for and producing the podcast and video.

You can email us at [email protected]

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.

From binoculars to bat detectors, and from thermal scopes to thermarest pillows, we all have our own preferences for mammalwatching gear. We are joined by Charles Hood and Fiona Reid to discuss our kit and share some packing hacks that can make life a little more comfortable on a trip ..... because any fool can be uncomfortable in the bush!

We had so much to talk about we decided to split this episode into 2 parts, though we didn't make a video.

Notes: Here is a list of some of the gear we about. And here are the exhibitors at the USA's National Rifle Association annual conference in 2022. Cover art - Travelling Light - by Charles Foley.

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 Charles Foley.

From binoculars to bat detectors, and from thermal scopes to thermarest pillows, we all have our own preferences for mammalwatching gear. We are joined by Charles Hood and Fiona Reid to discuss our kit and share some packing hacks that can make life a little more comfortable on a trip ..... because any fool can be uncomfortable in the bush!

We had so much to talk about we decided to split this episode into 2 parts, though we didn't make a video.

Notes: Here is a list of some of the gear we about. And here are the exhibitors at the USA's National Rifle Association annual conference in 2022. Cover art - Travelling Light - by Charles Foley.

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 Charles Foley.

We interview Tony Friend, legendary West Australian mammalogist, from his home in Albany, Australia. Tony talks about almost 40 years of work to save some of West Australia's iconic and wonderfully-named mammals including species like the Chudditch, Woylie and Dibbler. (And if you want to know what they look like you'll need to listen!) Tony talks about the rediscovery in the mid-1990s of Gilbert's Potoroo, a rabbit-sized kangaroo that was thought extinct for 100 years, that was hiding in plain sight. And he describes his role in ensuring that this, the world's rarest marsupial, survives today.

Notes: you can read more here about West Australian mammalwatching. Tony mentions local mammal watcher Jimmy Lamb and his Instagram feed is also well worth a visit. You can learn about Western Australia's Western Shield program to remove foxes and cats here. Cover art: Noolbenger or Honey Possum by Rob McLean.

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 & Charles Foley.

We interview Rob Foster from his home in Ontario, Canada about his work in the Canadian boreal forests and his frequent run-ins with Black and Grizzly bears. He describes an astonishing encounter with a predatory Black bear that he fought off for over 45 minutes in the back-woods with only a single can of bear spray and a pocket knife. He also dispenses good advice on how to protect yourself from bears if you are alone in the woods. 

Notes: Rob has a huge number of entries from his survey work on iNaturalist. The newspaper article highlighting Rob’s fight with the black bear is here. There are many trip reports on looking for Spectacled bears and Mountain tapirs on mammalwatching’s Ecuador page. Cover art – American black bear – by Dr. Rob Foster.

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 Charles Foley.

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.

We interview world famous Danish mammalogist turned wildlife photographer Mogens Trolle from his home in Copenhagen. Mogens talks about the philosophy that underpins his photography and choice of subjects,  as  well as his earlier work as a wildlife guide then researcher in Brazil. He describes greeting a herd of 3000 migrating Saiga on the Russian steppes and coming face to face with a Jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal. And he explains why the most sociable primates have the most interesting faces.

Notes: The major focus of Mogen's photography in recent years has been primates and his photo of a Proboscis Monkey - The Pose - won the Animal Portraits category of the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook and see more of his wildlife portraits on his homepage. He's also published books on the wildlife of Africa, Greenland and the Galapagos (in Danish), as well as several mammalwatching reports including Mandrills in Gabon and Saiga Antelope on the Russian steppes. This is Charles's report on Lynxes in Minnesota, and here is Jon's on his Transylvanian Lynx. Cover art: Mandrill by Mogens Trolle.

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.

Charles and Jon interview Chris & Mathilde Stuart - renowned wildlife researchers and authors - from their farm in South Africa. The Stuarts have had the sort of life many mammalwatchers can only dream of, searching and surveying for wildlife in much of Africa and beyond, including areas which had barely been studied before they arrived. They have written about 30 books and several apps over their long career. During this episode they explain how much work is involved in writing their field guides (answer: a lot!). Chris talks about rediscovering the Arabian Tahr in the United Arab Emirates, and Mathilde explains why her willingness one night to fill her pockets with frogs and small mammals was key to their budding romance.

Here is the YouTube trailer.

For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcast

Notes: Chris and Mathilde's books are available in many book stores worldwide. Several of their books and apps have been reviewed on mammalwatching.com. Todd Pusser, who showed Charles and Jon a Red Wolf, a Golden Mouse and other North Carolinan mammals, takes wonderful photographs too.

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 Charles Foley.