12 November 2024

New Podcast Episode: Coke Smith & Jirayu Ekkul from Thailand

The latest episode of the mammalwatching podcast is all about Thailand.

Charles and I chat with two Bangkok-based mammalwatchers, Alexander Coke Smith and Jirayu ‘Tour’ Ekkul.

Coke, an American, moved to Thailand a decade ago. He has travelled extensively and many mammalwatchers will be familiar with his superb photos and trip reports. Tour, a Thai citizen, began running trips in the Gulf of Thailand in 2012 to watch the resident Eden’s Whales. His company, Wild Encounter Thailand, has grown to offer birding and mammalwatching trips across Thailand and beyond.

We talk about the rapid growth of ecotourism in Thailand and ask what that means for conservation, before discussing Thailand’s mammalwatching potential in largely unexplored areas. Coke remembers an epic adventure across the Gobi desert in China in search of Bactrian Camels. And Tour describes a strange dolphin – with a very long-beak – from the Andaman Sea which, if indeed a new species, might be named ‘Delphinus pinocchioensis’.

You can stream it here or listen on Spotify, Apple etc. Just search for ‘mammalwatching’.

Jon

 

S3 E8: Coke Smith & Jirayu ‘Tour’ Ekkul (Thailand)

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Jon Hall
Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. I’ve also lived and worked in London, Canberra, Paris and Lusaka, and watched mammals in over 100 countries.
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