CELEBRATING THE SNOW LEOPARD
We hope you enjoy this engaging conversation with famed conservationist George Schaller, who, in the autumn of 1973, accompanied Peter Matthiessen on a life-changing expedition to Nepal, later recounted in Peter’s 1978 classic, The Snow Leopard.
The two traveled high into the remote Dolpo region of the Himalayas to study blue sheep with hopes of catching a glimpse of the rare, beautiful and elusive snow leopard. For Peter, the expedition was not only a naturalist’s dream but a Zen pilgrimage, during which he would attempt to crack “the burdensome armor of the ego” in order to perceive his ”true nature.” The Snow Leopard went on to win two National Book Awards–making it a seminal book for naturalists and spiritualists alike.
The recording is hosted by Peter's son, Alex Matthiessen, a professional environmentalist who had the opportunity to travel to Dolpo with George following the same core route that he and Peter had traveled over four decades before. Joining them on their 2016 voyage was travel photographer Beth Wald, who has journeyed extensively across the globe documenting important human interest and wildlife conservation stories.
Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1933, George Schaller studied at the University of Alaska and later the University of Wisconsin, quickly becoming the world’s preeminent field biologist–an honorific he still holds today. Currently the Wildlife Conservation Society’s 'senior conservationist' on account of having spent much of his time during the past six decades traveling in Asia, Africa, and South America, George has conducted conservation research in an impressive 32 countries. A zoologist, naturalist, conservationist and author, he has studied and helped protect species as diverse as the Tibetan antelope and blue sheep, while encountering tigers in the wilds of India, mountain gorillas and lions in Africa, jaguars in the swamps of Brazil, and snow leopards in the Himalayas. These studies have been the basis for his scientific and popular articles, as well as 22 books, including The Year of the Gorilla, The Serengeti Lion, The Last Panda, Tibet Wild, and Into Wild Mongolia. George has helped establish more than 20 animal reserves around the world, including Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and China's Chang Tang Nature Reserve. He is the recipient of the National Geographic Society's Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Cosmos Prize (Japan), the Indianapolis Prize (USA), and the World Wildlife Fund's Gold Medal. It is an honor to call him a friend of the PMC.
BETH WALD
Beth Wald’s award winning photography documents cultures and environments at risk; she is particularly interested in telling stories about how traditional cultures around the world are struggling to survive as they face environmental degradation and rapid social change. Her twenty-five year career has taken her around the world from the mountains of Tajikistan and Nepal where she photographed remote mountain tribes, to the Amazon documenting threats posed to Indigenous people and fragile ecosystems. Her work has been published in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Outside Magazine and many others. Beth has also partnered with organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society, Panthera, Tompkins Conservation, Fundación Rewilding Argentina and others to produce photo stories and videos for use in outreach, education and local empowerment efforts.