India, July 30 -- odney Jackson first visited Nepal in 1976, and was the first to radio collar a snow leopard. At 83, he remains active as the founder of Snow Leopard Conservancy. Environmental journalist Ramesh Bhushal spoke to Jackson when he was in Kathmandu recently.

Ramesh: Bhushal: What first brought you to Nepal in 1976, and how did you end up working on snow leopards?

Rodney Jackson: In 1976, nobody knew anything about snow leopards. My visit to Nepal was just a side trip on my way back to Africa, where I was born. I had wanted to study the common leopard there, but I came to Nepal instead, where I met incredible people. The Himalaya cannot compare with Africa except for holding a large population of wildlife.

George Schaller ...