Being told you have only 10 minutes to interview one of the world's leading field biologists, who has not only discovered two mammals new to science but worked out just about every Asian country's grand conservation plan, throws up a daunting prospect.
Founding director of the Asian Bureau for Conservation, a non-profit-making organisation based in Hong Kong, Oxford-educated Dr MacKinnon worked with chimpanzee expert, Dr Jane Goodall, and completed pioneer field studies before branching into the development of conservation policy.
Adviser to many different international organisations and governments, particularly in Asia, he has developed innovative methods for assessing populations and ranking in terms of conservation importance.
His work in Vietnam and Laos led to discoveries of the Vu Quang ox and giant muntjac, two new genera of mammals.
Considering the international attention which followed, his wariness of the press is hardly surprising. When news of his remarkable discoveries - the first new genera of large mammals to be found in 50 years - broke in 1992, the interest was immediate and enormous.
'I must admit that because we discovered these animals and they got a lot of publicity, zoos and collectors want them, people have gone looking for them, animals are being killed as a result of our discoveries,' he said.
