Call of the Wild

Since earning a doctorate in animal behavior， Briton John MacKinnon has acquired many titles： biodiversity expert， chief technical advisor of the Global Environment Facility （GEF） wetland program， professor， photographer， writer， UN official and adviser to China’s policy makers.

But the common thread linking all of MacKinnon’s wide-ranging efforts is his dedicated love of nature.

Wild Man

When he was a teenager in a boarding school， MacKinnon survived a fire that burned his school to the ground at night. Because of that traumatic experience， he has a hard time sleeping comfortably in the evening and can be startled by the slightest sound. But he has also developed sharp hearing， which always helps him notice wild animals faster than others. “I am not sure if the fire is directly related to my ex- ceptional hearing，” says MacKinnon. “Actually， I was the first one to notice the fire. So maybe my hearing was always sensitive. But I am glad that now I have much more exciting things in my life than a fire.”

MacKinnon isn’t joking： He has been chased by elephants many times. He has been attacked by bears and orangutans. He has met tigers and leopards. His little finger was bitten off by a wild hog. He credits his continued survival to training in the Combined Cadet Force at age 12： “It was army training in school. I took the survival course and learned how to live in the mountains and find water.”

The risks don’t dissuade his passion for nature， and even reinforce it. “I like being alone in the forest，” he explains. “When you are alone and slightly frightened， your ears grow and your senses stretch. You can detect animals from further and further away until you really become part of the forest yourself.”

MacKinnon has loved wild animals from a young age. As a child， he preferred wild animals such as lizards， snakes and eagles over tame dogs and cats. At age 18， he followed Jane Goodall to research chimpanzees in Africa. That experience also helped develop his field survival skills and make him more comfortable in nature. He even learned some photography techniques from Goodall’s husband， a photographer for National Geographic.

MacKinnon first came to China in 1986 to participate in an international protection program for the panda， the first such campaign in the nation. “At that time， bamboo was dying and giant pandas were starving，” recalls MacKinnon. “I was sent to China by WWF to help plan what to do and how. We ultimately produced a report called Master Plan to Save the Giant Panda and Its Habitat. I was the lead author.”

MacKinnon has focused much of his attention on Asia from as far back as 1968. In the early 1990s， while working on a project jointly sponsored by WWF and IUCN in a village on the border of Vietnam and Laos， MacKinnon discovered a species of ox that had never been documented. The ox was eventually named “Saola.”

“It was amazing to me that at the end of the 20th Century， a completely new large mammal could be discovered，” he recalls. “It was incredibly exciting.” The news stunned nature conservation circles at the time.

In fact， over the last century， only ten new mammals have been discovered in the world， of which three were related to MacKinnon’s efforts.

Bird Man

Until he published Guide Book for Birds in China in 2000， MacKinnon’s work for the Biodiversity Working Group of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development（CCICED） and as a senior adviser for Chinese authorities hadn’t made him known to the Chinese public. The first of its kind in China， the book has made bird watching in vogue in the country and become a Bible for Chinese bird watchers， giving MacKinnon thousands of devoted fans.

MacKinnon has always been modest about his contributions to China’s nature conservation， but he is happy to take full credit for the book. “I was particularly struck by the fact that there was not a good bird guide for China，” he explains. “It is very difficult for young people in China to get into birding. I am not an expert on birds. I probably was not the best person to write the book. But I was there and I was willing to write it.” His efforts were rewarded. “Bird watching interest in China is growing，” he continues.“I am happy about that. People now care about wildlife. It is good for China.”

Chinese bird watchers have nicknamed MacKinnon “bird man” because he can mimic many calls and can easily find the birds in a tree or forest. “Birds give you a sort of reflection of what is going on in the natural world，” says MacKinnon. “Birds are the best indicators of the health of a habitat.”

“Last week， my team and I went to a place where the stream looked clear， but there were no birds，” he continues. “I declared to my team that there was something wrong with the stream. We went around a few corners and soon found a gold mine. People use chemicals to extract the gold from the ore. And that river is toxic and stained.”

According to MacKinnon， during the industrial revolution， British miners would attach a bird in a cage to their belt： “When they saw the bird turn upside down， they would run out of the mine， because birds are more sensitive to poisonous gas than humans.”

Reserve Watcher

When MacKinnon first arrived in China， the nation had about 100 nature reserves.“China has created several hundred more since then，” notes MacKinnon. “We made a database of the first 300 nature reserves.”Despite the great development， he thinks management still needs to be improved. “To this day， nobody really knows exactly how many nature reserves there are or where they all are. One problem is the lack of a single reporting or responsible authority. No agency in China has the full responsibility for biodiversity conservation.”

After trekking so many mountains and rivers and seeing amazingly rich wildlife in China， MacKinnon has fallen in love with the country. He has visited every large and medium-sized protected area in the country and can expound on almost all of China’s wild resources by rote.

“There are twice as many species of plant in China as in all of North America and about three times as many plants as in Europe，” he says. “China has 40 percent of the world’s pheasant species and about 60 percent of the pheasant family. China has about 70 percent of the world’s rose finches…”

His love for China inspires even greater concern for its environmental problems. He argues that while it is still developing its economy， China needs to consider its environmental carrying capacity.

He used an example： In Sichuan Province， bees are disappearing. Orchard workers now have to climb ladders up apple trees with a brush to fertilize the flowers.“The situation is ridiculous，” he says. “The services that nature provides are free. And now we have to employ people to do the work of bees. Bees are dying globally. Something is very wrong with our ecosystem. Only when the wildlife thrives can we feel safe that our ecosystem is healthy.”

Over the past 40 years as a senior adviser for Chinese authorities like the the Ministry of Environmental Protection， the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development， the Chinese Academy of Sciences， and the State Forestry Administration， MacKinnon has spoken to Chinese officials and villagers alike.

“I have stayed in China for a long time， and I do want to change things，” he explains.“China is the most dynamic country in the world. It is changing faster and making a greater impact on the planet than any other country. If I can make some tiny improvements in the way China does things， the ripple effects will be massive.”