India’s Conservation Challenges

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Wildlife conservation at crossroads

An interview with Dr. K. Ullas Karanth

Dr Ullas Karanth, a Senior Scientist with the international NGO, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), is a world-renowned wildlife biologist.  In a wide-ranging interview with wildlife and conservation filmmaker, Shekar Dattatri, he outlines the basic problems that beset wildlife conservation in India’s human dominated landscape, and shares his views on preserving these last wild places.

(This is an updated version of an interview that was first published under the title … Read More

Understanding Sloth Bears — An Interview With Dr. K. Yoganand

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CI: Tell us about your research on sloth bears

I conducted intensive field research on sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) between 1996 and 2000 in Panna National Park (Madhya Pradesh), a partly degraded, dry deciduous forest habitat in Madhya Pradesh, central India. I captured and fitted radio-collars on several sloth bears and followed them to observe their behaviour and learn more about their secretive lives, such as, when did they sleep, what did they eat, how far did they … Read More

Mongabay’s Interview with Krithi Karanth, Wildlife Scientist

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Mongabay has published an interview with Dr. Krithi Karanth. She talks about her new study which looks at the likelihood of extinction for 25 of India’s mammals. The study finds that seven species are at risk of extinction. This list includes the Bengal Tiger, Wild Dogs, the Asiatic Lion and Asiatic Elephants. The study recommends that increasing protection in existing areas and innovative conservation programmes for areas surrounding the parks are key to saving India’s wildlife.

Read full interview … Read More

Tribute — Fateh Singh Rathore, India’s ‘Tiger Man’ Dies

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The Tiger Man, Fateh Singh Rathore, died at his home in Sawai Madhopur on March 1st, 2011. He had been suffering from lung cancer. He was 72. Fateh Singh Rathore’s legacy is the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve which he helped create in 1973 and spent almost forty years protecting and campaigning for. He was Field Director of Ranthambore and made the park world famous for its tigers. He was a vocal critic of India’s conservation policies and made enemies in the … Read More

Human – Tiger conflict: Cause, Consequence and Mitigation

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Dr. K Ullas Karanth, Senior Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Dr. Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) explain how conflict between humans and tigers can be reduced.

Wherever wild tiger populations survive and come into contact with landscapes dominated by humans, they pose a threat by preying on livestock, and, less commonly, on people. In most parts of India, people are remarkably tolerant of wildlife damage compared with elsewhere in the world, but sometimes, in … Read More

Wild India’s Grim Reapers — Interview with Belinda Wright, WPSI

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In an interview to CI, Belinda Wright, Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India, talks to Prerna Singh Bindra about the growing illegal trade in wildlife.

Belinda Wright, tiger conservationist and wildlife campaigner, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Born in Kolkata, she has spent her entire life working with wildlife in India. She was a internationally renowned wildlife photographer and Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker before turning to full time … Read More

No Two-bit Crime This

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Belinda Wright has been crunching some numbers: between 1994 and 2009, out of 691 cases of crimes against tigers filed in Indian courts, 10 cases have resulted in conviction of a total of 30 persons.

“Statistics are so important to get the bigger picture,” says the 57-year-old wildlife conservationist and executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India or WPSI, an NGO.

Interpol estimates global illegal trade in wildlife products is worth around $20 billion. “It is significant that the

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