Dear First name / friend,

 

This September, we are delighted to share the launch of Tiger Memories: My Life in Wildlife Conservation, the latest book by our Founder, Dr. K. Ullas Karanth, co-authored with Mr. Joshua Mathew.

 

We also bring you highlights from New York City, where our CEO, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth, was invited to speak at The Explorers Club and participate in a panel at Frontiers Science House during New York Climate Week.

 

As India prepares for the potential ecological impacts of the 2026/27 El Niño, nearly 190 ecologists have come together to call for stronger research and long-term monitoring. Scientists from CWS have also signed this Call to Action, and we encourage you to read it and learn more about why continued research and monitoring are so important. 

 

In this edition of Into the Wild, we hope you enjoy exploring the latest scientific publication, stories, insights, and updates from the CWS community.

We are excited to share Tiger Memories: My Life in Wildlife Conservation, the new book by our Founder, Dr. K. Ullas Karanth, co-authored by Mr. Joshua Mathew. 

 

We celebrated the official launch of the book on 19th September 2026 at the Bangalore International Centre. The book brings together six decades of Dr. Karanth’s work studying and conserving India’s tigers, from his early explorations of the jungles of Malenad to his pioneering use of radiotelemetry, camera traps, line transects, and statistical methods in wildlife research. The launch brought together colleagues, conservationists, readers, and supporters, with talks, a panel discussion, and a book signing.

 

More than a memoir of his scientific work, this book is an adventure-filled account of conservation, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges, collaborations, and experiences that have shaped his journey. Tiger Memories is now available through Amazon India and Penguin. Get your copy:

On 28th September 2026, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth spoke at The Explorers Club in New York on “Transforming Human-Wildlife Coexistence in India.” The lecture had over 200 attendees, bringing together members of The Explorers Club, scientists, conservationists, and others interested in India’s conservation story. Dr. Karanth rang the historic bell at The Explorers Club—a long-standing tradition in which the speaker rings the bell to mark the beginning of the presentation, carrying with it a rich history of exploration and discovery.

 

Drawing on nearly three decades of research and conservation work across India’s wild places, Dr. Karanth's talk explored the complex relationship between people and wildlife, tracing the history of wildlife decline in India from the 1850s and the growing challenges of human-wildlife conflict. She also highlighted how science, conservation, and partnerships have shaped CWS’ work on the ground, sharing insights from her work. This was followed by a conversation on some of India’s most pressing conservation challenges and the ways communities, scientists, and conservation organizations can work together to build a future where both people and wildlife can thrive.

Dr. Vikram Aditya, Principal Scientist at CWS, has authored a chapter in a newly released book called Visakhapatnam: A History of Continuity, Change, and Cosmopolitanism. His chapter, "Visakhapatnam: Green Jewel of the Eastern Ghats," delves into the natural history of one of India's most overlooked forest landscapes. The chapter traces how mining, shifting cultivation, dam building, and agricultural expansion continue to reshape the Northern Eastern Ghats, even as it holds deep ecological and cultural significance, from its rivers and coastal wetlands to ancient Buddhist monastic sites nestled in its hills. The book is now available for purchase on Amazon India. 

 

On 21st September 2026, Frontiers Science House hosted an official roadshow event featuring Dr. Krithi K. Karanth, as part of the Science Summit 2026 during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. She joined leading experts from science, policy, and business, bringing diverse perspectives together around some of the most pressing questions shaping our future. She participated in the discussion on investing in trans-national collaboration and new implementation models to advance the future of science, alongside experts from institutions and organizations including MIT, Imperial College London, the World Economic Forum, The Rockefeller Foundation, ARIA, and NRDC. The event included conversations on geoengineering and climate intervention, the energy transition, and how science can be funded and translated into impact, highlighting the importance of creating spaces where science can inform the global policy and business conversations that shape our future.

Following her recognition as the 2026 National Geographic Explorer of the Year, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth was invited to attend the National Geographic Explorer Meetup in New York on 22nd September 2026, as part of Climate Week in New York. Hosted by the National Geographic Society at the Garth Greenan Gallery, the gathering brought together National Geographic Explorers from across the world. The evening provided an opportunity for Explorers to connect, exchange ideas, and learn more about the diverse work being carried out across the Explorer community. The venue was also showcasing a solo exhibition by National Geographic Explorer and 2025 Wayfinder Awardee Cannupa Hanska Luger.

The Wild Saakshi team held a capacity building workshop on ‘Wildlife Law Enforcement’ with the Division Staff of Achampet, Telangana, on 8th September 2026. The session was conducted by Ramindla Thirupathi. In attendance were 40 forest officers. The team discussed the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, search and seizure procedure, legal documentation and legal gap analysis.

 

"One day, while walking through the forest, a mongoose darted out from near a fallen log. It paused for a moment and looked at us with bright, curious eyes before disappearing into the undergrowth. Someone in the group turned to me and said, almost matter-of-factly, “You asked about other animals with whom we have a relationship, didn’t you? We are related to the mongoose through the maternal side. The mongoose is our maternal uncle.”

 

The statement carried no sense of metaphor or imagination. It was offered as a simple explanation of how the Kaman understand their relationship with the animal. The mongoose is not merely a creature that moves through the forest or visits village homes. It is a member of the wider social world with whom people must maintain respectful relations. This relationship becomes particularly meaningful when mongooses enter household spaces and prey on domestic animals. If a Kaman person kills a mongoose, they believe that other mongooses will retaliate by killing their chickens. The danger is therefore not only the loss of one animal, but the possibility of provoking a wider and more serious response. I asked what happens when a mongoose kills one or two chickens. The answer came immediately: “We still do not kill it. We say, ‘You killed a few; please do not take any more.’”

 

The response was striking. Rather than treating the mongoose as a pest to be removed, the people described a form of negotiation. The loss of chickens was acknowledged, but retaliation was not considered appropriate. The mongoose was addressed almost as one would address a troublesome relative: with complaint, restraint, and an appeal for moderation. In this exchange, the mongoose emerged not simply as wildlife, but as kin. The Kaman relationship with it is shaped by obligation, caution, and mutual recognition. Their belief does more than explain why the animal must not be killed; it creates an ethic of coexistence in which even predation can be met with dialogue rather than violence."

 

For 40-year-old farmer Basavarajappa of Ethige village in Sargur Taluk, farming is how he supports his family and builds a future. Living close to Bandipur National Park, his village falls within an area where encounters between people and wildlife is a recurring challenge. On 20th September 2026, a herd of elephants entered Basavarajappa’s farmland and damaged a large portion of his tomato crop. The tomatoes had been carefully grown, harvested, and packed into boxes, ready to be transported to the market the very next day. Instead, the elephants consumed some of the produce and scattered the boxes, leaving Basavarajappa facing a significant financial loss. What made the loss even harder was the fact that he had taken a loan to cultivate the crop and was relying on the upcoming sale to recover his investment.

 

In the aftermath, the Wild Seve field assistant provided guidance and helped Basavarajappa prepare and submit documents to the Forest Department to apply for government ex-gratia compensation. For a farmer already carrying the weight of a crop loan, navigating the aftermath of such a loss can feel overwhelming. Basavarajappa expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Wild Seve team for their reassurance that he did not have to face the loss alone. To know more about Wild Seve or support our work, visit the link here.

 

Dusk and dawn belong to the leopards. A new camera-trap study from Telangana's Boath Forest Range shows leopards and people coexisting in the same areas, just not at the same hours. With moderate leopard densities (6–9 per 100 km²) persisting outside any protected area, the research highlights how small, unprotected forest patches can support big cats across their range. To learn more, read our blog here.

How do leopards and people share space in high-density plantation landscapes? A study on the Valparai plateau explores leopard occurrence, wild prey availability, and human-wildlife conflict patterns. The findings reveal how India's leopards are highly adaptable, frequently occurring in human-dominated landscapes outside protected forests. To know more, read our blog here.

As we look ahead, we remain deeply grateful to our supporters and readers who make this work possible. Next month, we will be turning the spotlight on our doctoral fellows across India. Through a special campaign kicking off on World Wildlife Week, we hope to introduce you to their work, share the stories behind their research, and invite you to support the next generation of conservation scientists.

 

Thank you for being part of the CWS journey. 

 

Warm Regards,

Dr. Krithi K. Karanth

Chief Executive Officer

Centre for Wildlife Studies