‘Climate change is a much bigger concern than terrorism,’ says conservationist John MacKinnon

On the wild side I was born in Leeds (in northern England) in 1947 to Scottish parents. I was the grandson of Britain’s first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, though he died before I was born. I can recall some furni­ture and paintings that had belonged to him but I was never much interested in politics and his legacy didn’t affect my early years. Only when my first book was pub­lished did I attract attention as his grandson. However, I’ve always had a socialist streak as I dislike unfairness and will fight injustice if need be.

My parents were both busy doctors and I had four elder sisters so I became quite a wild little boy. Eventually, it was decided that I would be sent to boarding school to be “tamed”, as it were. I was packed off to Bramcote School, in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, and that’s where I really discovered nature. We would walk along the beach and there were rock pools brimming with bugs, fish and other wonderful things. I discovered geology and soon accumulated a huge collection of fossils, which I stored in the loft, worrying my parents, who thought the weight might collapse the house.

Head boy I went to secondary school in Winchester, in the south of England. With my Yorkshire accent I was initially deemed an outcast so I became a wanderer and spent my spare time alone in the water meadows, which were lovely. There were a lot of fish, grass snakes, water voles, king­fishers and otters. I eventually became secretary of the natural history society at school. I relished it. When I look back I realise how privileged we were. Somehow the school offered the freedom for everybody to find out what they were good at and excel. It enabled me to overcome any social issues I initially had, as I ended up as head boy.

Monkey business I left Winchester and got the chance to go to East Africa to work with (world-renowned prima­tologist) Jane Goodall on a project funded by National Geographic. I thought Jane was doing some very interesting science, making discoveries, making beautiful films and books and making a bit of money as well. I soon thought, “That’s what I want to do.”

Age 19, I was accepted to study zoology at Oxford University. I remember (evolutionary biologist and author) Richard Dawkins, who was a bit older than me, had just returned from the United States. He was interested in rigorous controlled experi­ments. I felt he was doing great work answering meaning­less questions but in retrospect he has had an impact on science and even in the way I think. He probably regarded me as a bit of a weird wild man. As soon as I got there I worked on getting money to finance field research and expeditions. It took me about a year before I could disappear into the jungle again.