Dear First name / friend,

 

Each June, World Environment Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the people, partnerships, and ideas that drive our work forward. This year, the month was especially meaningful for CWS as Dr. Krithi K. Karanth received the 2026 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year award.

 

Alongside this celebration, our teams continued to learn and build collaborations while contributing to national conversations on conservation through events such as 'The Hindu Huddle.'

 

In this edition of Into the Wild, we bring you highlights from the Explorer of the Year ceremony, updates from our training programs, news of a new partnership, and more stories from across CWS.

A proud milestone for CWS unfolded across three remarkable days in Washington, D.C., as Dr. Krithi K. Karanth, was honored as the 2026 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

 

On 16th June, Dr. Karanth was part of the exclusive unveiling of the new National Geographic Museum of Exploration, home to the Rolex Explorers Landing, a permanent installation honouring all 16 Rolex National Geographic Explorers of the Year. CWS' work now has a place among them, with our Wild Shaale activity-based learning materials and children's books, Will You Play With Me? and I Wonder Who That Is, featured as part of the exhibit. The Museum opened to the public on 26th June, and we hope you will get the chance to visit.

 

The following evening, 17th June, marked the formal recognition at the National Geographic Society's Explorers Festival. Following a tribute by National Geographic Society CEO Dr. Jill Tiefenthaler, who introduced Dr. Karanth as a ‘force for nature’, and a film highlighting her work, Dr. Karanth addressed the attendees for the evening. She reflected on nearly three decades of working at the intersection of wildlife and people in India, and the evolution of CWS into an organization driven by science, conservation, education, storytelling, and partnerships. 

 

On 18th June, Dr. Karanth closed the Explorers Symposium with a talk, a tradition reserved for the year's honoree. In her introduction, Dr. Tiefenthaler noted that because of Dr. Karanth, the Society's "footprint and purpose in India have grown exponentially," and that she continues to mentor the next generation of explorers. In her talk, Dr. Karanth spoke of family, collaboration, leadership, and resilience, reflecting, “We have six conservation programs. I don't think it's enough. There are many more conservation programs we need to design to make the lives of people better. Programs like these have allowed us to build community and play the long game of conservation. Shout out to my amazing team. And I think this is the culture that we have built at CWS. It is deeply personal.”

 

To watch highlights of her talk at the Explorer's Symposium, click here. To know more about the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, click here.

As the Wild Shaale Program expands across the Western Ghats, CWS welcomed a new cohort of educators and team members from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu for a six-day training held from 31st May–5th June 2026. Through interactive sessions, field-based activities, and collaborative exercises, participants explored the program's principles and methodologies while building relationships and a shared understanding of how environmental education fosters curiosity, connection, and stewardship towards nature.

 

Sessions were led by CWS staff and faculty, along with external facilitators Dr. Jibrael Jos, professor and theatre actor, and National Geographic Explorers Dr. Gabby Salazar, Alicia P. Pressel, and K. Ramnath Chandrasekhar.

We are thrilled to announce that CWS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth, England. This partnership presents an exciting opportunity for us to collaborate on research, training, capacity building, and joint workshops. As we work towards safeguarding India’s wildlife and wild spaces, this knowledge-sharing across international borders creates pathways for us to strategize against wildlife crime, and develop scientific, evidence-based methods for species conservation. We look forward to working together in the coming years! If you are interested in working with us, email us at pm.muthanna@cwsindia.org.

Photo by Elman Studio for National Geographic

 

This June, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth was honored at the Explorers Festival at Washington D.C. as the 2026 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year. Her work and this prestigious recognition was spotlighted by many media houses across the world. You can explore a few of the featured articles here:

Meanwhile, members of our team authored and were also featured in many articles. Explore them here:

 

 

On 5th June, World Environment Day, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth was part of a panel with Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Congress Member of Parliament, at The Hindu Huddle. The conversation was moderated by NDTV's Consulting Editor, Ms. Gargi Rawat. During the session, Dr. Karanth reflected on India’s conservation journey since Independence, noting both the progress made in protecting wildlife and the urgent challenges that remain. She also spoke about the need to think more carefully about the balance between development, biodiversity, and the landscapes that sustain both people and wildlife. Watch the panel discussion here or read more about it here. 

 

"We had just finished the day's transect through the forest. Boots muddy, datasheets full, and shoulders pleasantly tired, we walked along the access road toward the vehicle waiting to pick us up. The road passed through a plantation and the workers' quarters before opening into fields and a broad clearing.

 

There, standing in the middle of the grass, was a peacock.

 

When I pointed him out, one of the local field assistants shrugged, almost amused, and said in Malayalam, "There are plenty... they are everywhere here."

 

And he was right.

 

For the people who lived here, Indian Peafowl were as ordinary as chickens. They wandered through fields, called from rooftops, perched on compound walls, and crossed roads with the confidence of birds that had long learned to live alongside people. Seeing one hardly warranted a second glance. For me, however, they always stopped time. A loud, ringing call drifted across the clearing. It was the peacock.

 

Not far away, a peahen wandered through the grass with several tiny chicks tumbling after her in a fuzzy procession. She seemed completely absorbed in the business of finding food. The peacock, however, had other priorities.

 

Slowly, almost ceremoniously, he lifted his enormous train and spread it into a shimmering fan. Hundreds of iridescent eyespots flashed bronze, emerald and sapphire in the morning light. Then the performance began. He shuffled, pivoted and turned until the back of his magnificent train was squarely in the peahen's field of view. Rather than trying to impress her face-to-face, he seemed determined to present his feathery backside. Then came the famous booty shake. He vibrated the train so rapidly that the feathers shimmered and rustled together, sending ripples across the fan. Watching him, I couldn't help smiling. It seemed that nature had invented the booty shake long before humans ever took it to the dance floor.

 

The peahen continued foraging, pretending not to notice. Every now and then she stole a quick glance before returning to breakfast. He kept dancing. She kept pretending not to look. Whether she was genuinely unimpressed or simply taking her time to assess him, I couldn't tell. I, on the other hand, was completely captivated.

 

Standing there, I found myself thinking about how much effort nature asks of love. The colours, the choreography, the persistence, the sheer determination of a bird who had probably spent the better part of his morning trying to convince one unimpressed female that he was worth choosing. Yet he danced anyway.

 

Watching him, one would wonder why evolution would favour such an extravagant display. Growing that magnificent train must take time and energy. It makes moving through dense vegetation awkward. Evolution is supposed to favour efficiency, yet here was a bird carrying what looked like the biological equivalent of an elaborate evening gown through the forest.

 

This very question troubled Charles Darwin. He once admitted that the sight of a peacock's tail made him feel "sick," not because he disliked the bird, but because such an extravagant ornament seemed impossible to explain through natural selection alone. Why would evolution favour something so impractical?

 

The answer he eventually arrived at transformed evolutionary biology. Darwin realised that surviving isn't the whole story. Animals also have to find mates, and sometimes that changes the course of evolution. He called this idea “sexual selection”, the simple observation that some traits evolve not because they help an animal survive, but because they help them find a mate.

 

Darwin suggested that the quiet preferences of peahens, repeated over countless generations, could gradually shape increasingly elaborate displays. Modern research has shown he was remarkably close. Peahens don't simply choose the biggest or brightest train. They seem to pay attention to many things, including the way a male dances, the condition of his feathers, and how well he performs. Thus, female choice, repeated over countless generations, has helped sculpt one of nature's most magnificent displays.

 

As I watched, none of that science felt abstract anymore. It was all happening quietly in front of me. The hopeful calls, the shimmering fan, the rustling feathers, the patient peahen pretending not to look, and the determined male refusing to give up were all part of the same story Darwin had tried to understand more than 150 years ago.

 

Eventually, it was time for us to leave.

 

We climbed into the waiting vehicle and drove on. Long after the clearing had disappeared behind us, I could still hear the peacock calling across the fields.

 

It was a sound so full of hope."

 

- Dr. Swapna Nelaballi, Principal Scientist and Faculty

 

On the morning of 9th June 2026, Chandrakant let his cattle roam the area nearby, when something unexpected took place. Chandrakant is a smallholder farmer in Karnataka. He was not a stranger to seeing wildlife near his farm as his village was located close to Anshi National Park. While he and his family members were engaged in their daily work, they did not notice that there was a leopard nearby. One of his calves wandered further away, heading towards the lake at the edge of his farmland to drink water. The leopard that was camouflaged nearby suddenly pounced on the calf, dragging it nearly 20 metres away. The loss of the calf was a major setback to Chandrakant’s family, and in his distress, he called Wild Seve. Upon arrival, the Field Assistant immediately arranged a veterinary post-mortem examination of the calf, and coordinated with the Karnataka Forest Department to document the issue. The Wild Seve Field Assistant’s support proved useful in filing the ex-gratia compensation claim. To know more about Wild Seve, and support the program, visit the link here.

A forest with recovering prey, improved protection, and the ecological capacity to hold tigers, yet no breeding population. This blog covers a recent scientific paper led by Imran Siddiqui, Senior Field Conservationist at the Centre For Wildlife Studies, and reflects on Kawal Tiger Reserve to ask a broader question: what does it really take for large carnivores to return, beyond just rebuilding prey? To learn more, read our blog here.

Have you ever wondered how scientists accurately track individual Asian elephants without confusion? A fascinating study shows that focusing on stable features, like tusk shape, ear folds, and lobe patterns, delivers trustworthy population counts, while changeable traits often lead to mix-ups and overestimates. This smart, efficient approach helps conservation teams monitor these gentle giants more effectively, guiding better protection against poaching and habitat loss. Discover the simple science that’s making elephant monitoring faster, clearer, and more impactful by reading our blog here. 

 

The stories in this edition reflect both moments of celebration and the steady, everyday work that makes conservation possible. As we look ahead, we remain committed to generating the science, partnerships, and long-term solutions needed to secure a future for India's wildlife and the people who share these landscapes. Thank you for following our journey and supporting our work. We look forward to bringing you more stories, research, and updates from across CWS in the months ahead.

 

Warm Regards,

Dr. Krithi K. Karanth

Chief Executive Officer

Centre for Wildlife Studies