Rodney Jackson, a pioneering snow leopard researcher, has worked across the species’ range — the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.In 1981, he founded the nonprofit Snow Leopard Conservancy, focused on community-based conservation in Asia’s high mountain landscapes, and is one of the field’s most cited researchers. Since retiring in 2022, he serves as the president of the Conservancy’s board, focusing on strategy, mentorship and special projects.Jackson recently spoke to Mongabay about the big cat’s population monitoring technology, human-wildlife conflict in mountain communities, failure to center herding communities’ needs, and limited collaboration between major snow leopard organizations.
KATHMANDU — Rodney Jackson pioneered the radio-tracking study of snow leopards in Nepal’s Langu Valley in the early 1980s and has, since then, worked across the species’ range from Ladakh to Mongolia to the Pakistani Karakoram ranges. In 1981, he founded the nonprofit Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), which focuses on community-based conservation approaches in high mountain landscapes of Asia.
Jackson, who holds a doctorate from the University of London, was featured on the cover of National Geographic in 1986 and remains one of the most cited researchers in snow leopard (Panthera uncia) science. After retiring in 2022, Jackson serves as the president of the conservancy’s board of directors, where he works in refining strategic approach and impact, mentoring the next generation of conservationists, and special projects.
