S3 E12: Sid Francis, China

We talk to legendary mammal guide Sid Francis from his home in Sichuan.

Sid runs through a career as geographically diverse as it is professionally. After studying agriculture in the UK, he worked as – among other things – a shepherd in the Falkland Islands shepherd and a school teacher in Denmark before moving to China and becoming a wildlife guide.

We talk about how much China – and the public’s interest in wildlife there – has changed over the past few years.

Sid describes the current mammalwatching scene in Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces, both packed with a set of mouthwatering mammals.

And in a world exclusive we learn that mammalwatchers are almost ‘normal’ … at least compared to some birders!

You can contact Sid at chengduuk@hotmail.com or through his website https://sichuanbirding.cloudaccess.net/.

There are dozens or reports from Sichuan and Qinghai on mammalwatching’s China page https://www.mammalwatching.com/gd_place/china/

Charles and Jon spoke about their trip to Sax-Zim Bog: a report is here.

There are several reviews of thermal scopes at the bottom of the mammalwatching gear page.

Cover art: Sid Francis.