Dear First name / friend,

 

October was a vibrant month of conservation initiatives and observance days, spotlighting species that are often overlooked. Our annual Doctoral Fellow Fundraiser kicked off at the beginning of National Wildlife Week, supporting the crucial efforts of our dedicated CWS researchers. Global observances like International Gibbon Day, Migratory Bird Day, and Reptile Awareness Day, underscored the vast diversity of species our scientists work toward conserving.

 

In this edition of Into the Wild, we share stories of progress and passion. We invite you to celebrate milestones across our programs, read our latest publications and see how our community engagement efforts continue to inspire positive change. Here is to another month of making a difference!

Dr. Krithi Karanth was invited to the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Annual Summit 2024 held at Singapore from 21st to 23rd October. She participated in a session titled, ‘Thinking Ahead: Securing the Future of Nature and Climate’. Dr. Karanth shared insights from CWS programs across the Eastern and Western Ghats of India. Celebrating 20 years of impactful leadership and over 1600 Young Global Leaders, the Forum welcomed the Class of 2024, a diverse group of more than 80 exceptional individuals. To know more, click here.

 

A WINGS Fellow since 2019, Dr. Krithi Karanth, was invited to attend the 2024 WINGS Women of Discover Awards Gala in New York City on 24th October. Dr. Karanth introduced and presented the award to Dr. Paula Kahumbu, CEO, WildlifeDirect. The WINGS Women of Discovery Awards were established in 2003 to recognize extraordinary women making significant contributions to world knowledge and science through exploration. The 2024 Awardees, Prof. Adriana Verges, Dr. Paula Kahumbu, Dr. Jessica Ware, Ruthmery Pillco and Dr. Patricia Medici, are five pioneers being honored for their remarkable achievements. To know more, click here.

 

Dr. Krithi Karanth was invited to celebrate 30 years of the X-Prize from 25th-27th October 2024 to help ideate and design the Biodiversity and Conservation XPRIZE. The event gathered 250 accomplished scientists, technologists, and philanthropists to debate, discuss, and prioritize which grand challenges XPRIZE should tackle next. Over the last 30 years, there have been 30 prizes given totaling over 500 million dollars.

 

The Brain Trust is a group of world-renowned innovators, thought leaders, industry experts, and entrepreneurs that together shape the design of what could become the next revolutionary moonshot prize competitions in the Grand Challenge Domain of Biodiversity & Conservation. For more information about the Biodiversity and Conservation XPRIZE, click here.

 

We are delighted to share that Mr. H. S. Sudheer Kumar from our Conservation Team was felicitated for his contributions to wildlife conservation during the valedictory ceremony of the 70th Wildlife Week on 8th October 2024, organized by the Madikeri Wildlife Division. The event was attended by notable guests including Mr. Sanketh Poovaiah, Member of the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife, Mr. Bhaskar, DCF, Madikeri Forest Division, Mr. Nehuru, DCF, Madikeri WL Division, Dr. Ragava, Principal of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa First Grade College, and others.

 

Yogesh joined us as a Research Fellow in 2023 as part of our Wildlife Hunting & Trade Research program. In his new role, he will be coordinating the implementation of several key wildlife conservation initiatives, working closely with the project teams across various landscapes. His work will also involve organizing and analyzing data on wildlife and contributing to important field surveys.

 

An article titled "Protecting Ranger-Reliant Sumatran Tigers," published by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), quotes Dr. K Ullas Karanth on the importance of utilizing camera traps in combating poaching. He states that by capturing images of poachers without alerting them and enabling authorities, poached tiger skins can be traced back to previously captured living tiger photos.

The article discusses the challenges facing Sumatran tigers and emphasizes the need for strengthened ranger networks in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem for effective conservation. It also highlights Dr. Karanth’s latest book which documents how strict enforcement of wildlife laws played a significant role in tiger recovery. To read the full article, click here.

 

'Guardians of the Gibbons', a documentary by Ragini Nath and Chinmoy Sonowal for The Guardian, features Ishika Ramakrishna, Doctoral Fellow at CWS and her research studying gibbons in Barekuri, Assam. For over a century the villagers of Barekuri, north-east India’s biodiversity hotspot, have coexisted with the country’s only ape species, the hoolock gibbon. But this harmony stands in fragile ecological balance. Mohit Chutia, a 55-year old farmer and father, has been taking care of one gibbon family while raising his own. When Ishika arrives to study human-gibbon interactions, she joins forces with Mohit and the villagers to tackle the gibbons' urgent population decline, endangered by habitat loss, deforestation, and industrial catastrophe. To read more, click here. To watch the documentary, click here.

 

In an article in The Economic Times, Dr. Ullas Karanth emphasizes the necessity for grassroots-level studies of the Western Ghats to ensure effective conservation. Highlighting growing local resistance, he points to the importance of community involvement in environmental efforts, criticizing broad reports that neglect localized, on-the-ground assessments. To read the full article, click here.

 

An article in Star Tribune titled, ‘How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia', quotes Yashendu Joshi, Doctoral Fellow at CWS. The article talks about the use of captive breeding programs to increase crocodile populations in Cambodia. A similar captive breeding program was also instrumental in bringing back crocodile populations in India, after they were nearly wiped out by the early 1970s, said Yashendu. In the wild, fewer than 1 in 20 crocodile hatchlings make it to adulthood. Their chances of survival increase exponentially if they're released after they grow to a meter (3.4 feet) long. That's why these captive breeding programs have been working across the world,'' he says. To read the article, click here.

 

From the 21st to the 24th of October, CWS participated in the 2024 Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. As part of the ‘Who’s Who in Conservation’ session, our kiosk provided a platform to showcase CWS' work and connect with the conservation community.

 

Our booth featured an interactive art activity—a collaborative canvas of a pangolin in a forest—where participants added their creative touch, resulting in a vibrant, community-created artwork.

 

Our Doctoral Fellows led engaging workshops for participants, including ‘Inking Nature: A Nature Journaling Workshop’ by Sikha Hariharan, and ‘Preparing Documents in R’ by Chandan Pandey. Each session offered practical skills and fresh perspectives for attendees! Our Doctoral Fellow, Ishika Ramakrishna was also part of the organizing team that brought together a wonderful conference for the conservation community. To know more, click here.

 

On October 4th, Dr Vikram Aditya, Principal Scientist & Faculty and Aneesh Sankarankutty, Senior Project Coordinator, led an engaging online conversation celebrating National Wildlife Week with over 200 participants from across all offices of Tata Steel.

Their talk titled "Know Your Neighbour - Awareness about Elephants" delved into the fascinating world of elephants, exploring their family dynamics, population structures, and the threats they face, including human conflict, land-use change and deforestation from mining.

 

Ishika Ramakrishna, Doctoral Fellow at CWS was invited to speak at ATREE's Intersectionality Series on 25th October 2024.. The talk focused on the multifaceted interactions between people of Barekuri in Assam, India, and the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon by tracing people’s emotive and affectual geographies, and collecting individual gibbon ethnographies. The session also actively engaged with the more-than-human perspective through guided activities.

 

Dr. Vikram Aditya, Principal Scientist and Faculty, CWS, was invited as a guest lecturer at ATREE for their National Wildlife Week celebrations. He talked about hunting, wildlife trade and its impact on wildlife in the Eastern and Western Ghats of India.

 

At the Art for Conservation Fair on 21st and 22nd September 2024, hosted at The Clusters Media College by Zoo Outreach, Ishika Ramakrishna, Doctoral Fellow, CWS, had the opportunity to bring the western hoolock gibbons of Assam to the school children and general public of Coimbatore through a series of magical artworks created by Dr Sambita Modak. The exhibited work and interactive art pieces were built upon four years of research that Ishika has been doing about gibbon-human relationships in Assam. This was the start of a long journey of science communication through art for Ishika and Sambita.

"Our time in the field was a vibrant experience, filled with exhilarating and adventurous memories. As we traversed the landscapes of the Western Ghats, my team and I embarked on a quest to connect with individuals who could share their experiences about the majestic wild elephants that roamed this terrain.

 

In a village near Bandipur National Park in Karnataka, we encountered a farmer who warmly welcomed us into his home. Over steaming cups of tea and some biscuits, he recounted the recent encounter that had both thrilled, and dismayed him. Just a few nights before, an elephant had wandered through his fields, trampling the horsesgram crop he was growing, and leaving a damaged trail in its wake. Despite the loss, he described the exciting moment he spotted the elephant from his machan—a guard tower where he often watched over his crops.

 

As we engaged in conversation, a growing group of people gathered around us, eager to share their own tales. Each person brought a unique perspective, adding to a rich narrative of both the challenges and awe elephants brought to their lives. As we continued to hear these fascinating stories, we were captivated by their resilience and the deep respect they held for elephants, even in the face of adversity.

 

During our time working in the area, we began to understand the complexities that underpin the relationship between people and elephants, and the wealth of local knowledge that exists, nestled in the villages of the Western Ghats."

 

- Simran Prasad, Doctoral Fellow

 

The Wild Surakshe Program conducted workshop sessions in Marathi at the Forest Training Institute in Chikhaldara, Amravati, Maharashtra for a group of 36 Round Officers on 17th October 2024. Facilitated by Neha Bhandare and Ravishankar Derekar, the content for the sessions were adapted to the local context. The participants, who brought with them substantial field experience, displayed strong interest in topics such as hunting and wildlife trade, and zoonotic diseases. Their familiarity with these issues enabled them to engage deeply with the material, finding the content relevant and thoroughly engaging. To know more about Wild Surakshe, click here.

 

Did you know that reptiles and amphibians are unsung heroes in pest control? Explore how herpetofauna contributes to sustainable farming and why conserving their habitats is crucial for effective pest regulation. Let’s unlock the potential of nature’s pest controllers! To read more, click here.

 

The Chambal River Basin is a hidden gem in north-central India, home to rare creatures like the Gharial and the Gangetic River Dolphin. A study by Nair & Krishna (2013) showcases the incredible variety of life found in this sanctuary - 147 species of fish, 308 types of birds, and many more. But this natural treasure is under threat from harmful activities like sand mining, overfishing, and farming expansion. The balance of life here is fragile, and we must act now to protect this unique and endangered ecosystem. In our latest Wild Science Blog, explore why the Chambal River Basin is essential for the survival of multiple species. To read more, click here.

Our 2024 Doctoral Fellow Fundraiser began with National Wildlife Week and ran through the month of October 2024. Nine of our doctoral fellows shared glimpses of their exciting and impactful research.

 

In partnership with Manipal University, we offer PhD’s in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Currently, our program empowers 12 innovative students who are exploring a wide range of interdisciplinary topics — from the behavioral ecology of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles, to the complex human dimensions of wildlife conservation. Their research enhances our understanding of biodiversity and contributes towards critical solutions towards wildlife conservation. To know more or support their work, click here.

As we wrap up October, we hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of Into the Wild. Our commitment to conservation inspires everything we do, and we hope it resonates with you as well. Here is to a wonderful November filled with joy and inspiration!