Professor Kris Helgen spoke to Ali Clarke, on ABC Radio Adelaide this morning ahead of his inaugural public lecture tomorrow night, Wednesday 2 August.
Prof Helgen talks about being inspired by animals and specifically mammals in very early on, and he has continued this passion in his quest to find out new species.
He speaks about conducting his research in over fifty countries, and his most notable recent discovery of the Olinquoto, which is related to the racoon family. Prof Helgen was involved in discovering this species in then montane forests in the Andes of western Colombia and Ecuador. The naming and discovery of the onlinguito was the first carnivore described in the New World continents north of South America in thirty years.
So far this year, Prof Helgen has published the discovery of two new species: the endangered Hoolock gibbon from eastern Myanmar and southwestern China and a bat called M. attenboroughi in Trinidad and Tobago, named after Sir David Attenborough.
Listen to Kris’ entertaining interview in full here.
