Event Details
WHAT: "The Leopard Cat: Beijing's Hidden Wildlife Neighbour", an in-person talk by Dr Shu-Jin Luo of Peking University, moderated by Terry Townshend
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7 2026, from 7-8 PM (Beijing Time). Drinks and canapรฉs from 6:30 PM
WHERE: La Maison Lyonnaise 2F, 44 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
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MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: How much do you know about the wildlife that coexists with Beijing's human residents? Since 2018, Dr. Shu-Jin Luo and her team at Peking University have studied the ecology of the wild leopard cat. RASBJ welcomes Professor Luo to share her discoveries regarding one of Beijing's "big 10" wild mammals. She reveals the research behind an article in Science, "The Hidden Olympic Spectator," a story that offers a window into the little-known wild side of the modern capital of China.
Twelve of 40 species of the cat family live in China -โ tigers and leopards once roamed the Beijing region. Now, the leopard cat is the only wild cat proven to be living here still, placing Beijing among few G20 capitals to host wild felines today. Beijing is also home to two types of badger, two types of weasel, a masked palm civet,the raccoon dog, wild boar, Siberian roe deer and Chinese goral. Leopard cats in Beijing show strong ecological resilience, but threats to their survival include retaliatory killings linked to poultry predation, road deaths, and illegal hunting. Having lived alongside humans in China for at least 3,500 years, leopard cats remind us that Beijing's residents still have ancient wild neighbours.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Shu-Jin Luo is a Professor at Peking University whose research focuses on the genomic diversity, evolution, and conservation of wild and domestic animals, with particular emphasis on the cat family (Felidae). She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking University and her Ph.D. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota, USA. After completing an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, she returned to Peking University in 2009 to establish a research group applying molecular genomics to questions of mammalian evolution, adaptation, and systematics. Dr. Luo is the lead author of several landmark studies, including the identification of the Malayan tiger as a distinct subspecies (Panthera tigris jacksoni), the discovery of the genetic basis of white tigers, and reconstructions of the evolutionary histories of multiple felids, such as tigers, leopard cats, domestic cats in China, and the Chinese mountain cat.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Terry Townshend is a naturalist with wide-ranging interests and connections at all levels of China's environmental programmes and issues, including the study and conservation of wild cats. He's a longstanding RASBJ speaker, perhaps best known as the charismatic leader of RASBJ's two popular birding excursions each year, timed to coincide with the migrations in spring and autumn.
HOW MUCH: RMB 250 for RASBJ members, RMB 350 for non-members. The price includes one welcome drink and canapรฉs โ as well as a donation to the Shan Shui Conservation Center. You may find payment by Alipay easier than by Wechat; you can also pay by credit card. Kindly note, RASBJ does not issue fapiao. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships
Please note that RASBJ will contribute any surplus from this event to Shan Shui, a regular recipient of RASBJ's contributions to worthy causes in categories of arts and society, cultural heritage preservation, and the natural world. This will be the first of our Good Causes donations in 2026. https://en.shanshui.org
HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I Will Attend" at least 48 hours before the event, and follow the instructions. After successful registration you will receive a confirmation email. If you appear not to have received it, please check your spam folder. If payment is not received 248 hours before an event, the correlating registration will be suspended.
REFUND POLICY: If RASBJ cancels or postpones the event, registrants will be refunded.
