Dr John Sale is a consultant on biodiversity conservation in Africa and Asia, both as an academic and as advisor to several non-profit organisations including Plateau Perspectives. He has served as UN Chief Technical Adviser to national governments on post-graduate training and research on wildlife. He also is the author of numerous papers on mammal biology and technical aspects of the conservation of tropical species and their habitats, ranging from elephants and rhinos to orangutans. Dr Sale also is one of the founders of the John Ray Initiative and presently serves as its International Secretary.