Into the Wild - Updates from March

Dear Reader,

March was a month of celebrations and renewed commitments to our mission of Rewilding India. From World Wildlife Day to World Rewilding Day, our focus remained on fostering partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders of all sizes to drive impactful conservation efforts.

In this edition of Into the Wild, we bring you the latest updates, including exciting news and inspiring stories from our research and conservation frontlines. Join us as we celebrate the progress made and chart the way forward towards a sustainable future for India's wildlife and natural habitats!

1000 Wild Surakshe Workshops Across the Western Ghats! 

We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone for our public health and safety training program – Wild Surakshe. It was launched in September 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 17th, 2023, we have successfully implemented 1000 workshops across the Western Ghats!

Our program has been a resounding success, reaching over 28,000 participants in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our dedicated and resilient team whose efforts have made this achievement possible.

Meet our 2023 Wild Champions!

On March 18th, the ‘Wild Champions Award Ceremony’ marked the end of our pilot initiative, ‘The Wild Champions Challenge’, created in collaboration with one of our partners, HCL Foundation. The ceremony featured the top 20 projects out of 68 submissions that went above and beyond to create and implement innovative solutions for local conservation issues!

We were joined by Mr. Edison Bernard, the Block Education Officer of Anamalai, who addressed the crowd and later joined representatives from HCL Foundation and our Wild Shaale team to present awards to the students and teachers. A few students also took the stage to share their experiences of participating in the Wild Champions Challenge. Mr. Vineeth, a representative from HCL Foundation, closed off the ceremony by highlighting the importance of taking initiative and empowering ourselves to solve local conservation issues.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our team for their unwavering enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication!

Welcoming Our Newest Affiliate Scientist!

We are excited to welcome our newest Affiliate Scientist, Dr. Gabby Salazar! Dr. Salazar is an author, conservation photographer and an environmental social scientist based in Florida. Her doctoral dissertation was titled ‘Exploring the Relationship Between Conservation Outreach and Pro-Environmental Attitudes’.

At CWS, she was an integral part of the team that developed our award-winning conservation education program, ‘Wild Shaale’. We are thrilled to have her expertise and insights on board as we are designing a new curriculum and evaluation for Wild Shaale!

Congratulating Aritra Kshettry On Successfully Completing His PhD! 

Aritra Kshettry successfully completed his doctoral research at the Centre for Wildlife Studies under the guidance of Dr. Vidya Athreya and Dr. K. Ullas Karanth. His work highlights the challenges and opportunities of conserving wide-ranging species such as leopards and elephants in landscapes shared with people. 

His research in the tea plantation landscape of West Bengal also provided clear management implications on how to reduce human injuries due to accidental encounters with these species, a persistent conservation challenge in areas where people share space with large-bodied wildlife species such as leopards and elephants.

Aritra also used the results of his research to engage with the key stakeholders in the region such as tea plantation workers and management, forest department and district administration to find shared solutions to the conservation challenges and minimize the chance of human injuries due to these two species.

A Conversation with Dr. K. Ullas Karanth about Among Tigers

On Wednesday, March 15th, 2023, The Archives of Contemporary India and Department of Environmental Studies at Ashoka University hosted a book talk on Among Tigers by Dr. K. Ullas Karanth. The talk delved into Dr. Karanth's captivating journey of restoring the population of Asia's big cats, offering an exciting opportunity to learn from one of the world's foremost experts in wildlife conservation.

Media Coverage

Vultures in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve are at risk for poisoning! 

A recent article by The Hindu features a study titled, ‘Assessing accuracy of various vulture population estimation methods and prevalence of NSAIDs in Tamil Nadu part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve,’ which was conducted by our Senior Research Fellow, Dr. S. Manigandan between 2018 and 2021. It sheds light on the increase in dependence of vultures on cattle carcasses, combined with the threat of Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) that endanger the existing population of vultures in the region.  

Click here to read the full article.

Is India’s Project Tiger going off script? Big cat deaths from Corbett to Pench to Kanha

In an article by The Print, which explores if India's Project Tiger appears to be straying from its original objectives, as evidenced by the rising number of big cat deaths across various tiger reserves in the country, including Corbett, Pench, and Kanha. Dr. K. Ullas Karanth explains that a higher number of tiger deaths can actually be a sign of successful conservation efforts. However, he also notes that the lack of reported deaths in certain regions is due to a low tiger population and reproduction rates in those areas.

Click here to read the full article.

Stories from the field

Elephant Program

“Our field work in the Nilgiri foothills was a joyous experience, filled with admiration for the stunning landscape that surrounded us. We trekked through the lush greenery, taking in the sights and sounds of this beautiful region. One day, we ventured to survey the area around the Nilgiri Mountain Railways. We encountered countless signs of wildlife including bear digs, gaur and sambar tracks, when suddenly, our field assistant Mani froze in his tracks, gesturing towards something in the distance. Intrigued by his urgency, we followed him quietly, unsure of what he had spotted, until we caught a glimpse of what had caused his excitement.

A majestic Makhna, calmly grazing on bamboo shoots on the other side of the railway track, safely nestled within the estate bordering the forest. We watched in awe as it fed, the thick foliage of the forest providing a perfect backdrop to his grand stature and beauty.

We were later greeted by the magnificent sight of great Indian hornbills roosting. We couldn't help but stay in complete wonder at the breathtaking beauty of the Nilgiris.”

– Aneesh Sankarankutty, Project Coordinator, Elephant Program

Wild Seve

Shanthamma and Devarasaiah reside in the Eregowda Hundi village, which falls within the Bandipur Tiger Reserve limits.

“Having limited land, our family has been involved in agriculture for years, supplementing our income with wages. For several years, we were unable to grow bananas due to the rampant destruction caused by wildlife, making it difficult for us to sustain our livelihood.

With the installation of railway tracks along the forest boundary, we resumed banana cultivation with the hope that it would reduce the damages caused by wild animals. Unfortunately, our farm was once again destroyed, leading us to reconsider our situation. We have had to increase the price of our bananas to pay off our debts, but it is disheartening to witness the suffering of our crops before they can even be harvested.”

Shanthamma called the Wild Seve toll free number, and recounted the incident with a heavy heart. One of our field assistants immediately reached the site and collected all the evidence and documents and assisted them in filing for ex-gratia compensation with the Government.

Wildlife Chronicles

Hunting, wildlife trade and the risk of zoonotic spillovers

On 3rd March 2023, we celebrated World Wildlife Day with a special edition of our webinar series with Dr. Rajkamal Goswami, Fellow at ATREE, and our Principal Scientist, Dr. Vikram Aditya, as they discussed the drivers of hunting, trade, and spillovers, as well as possible solutions! Check it out as they discuss approaches to better understand and tackle challenges such as hunting, trade, and spillovers!

Click here to watch!

Wild Science

Bearable Interactions: Managing human-bear relationships through predictive models

When people and large carnivores like the sloth bear interact, there could be negative consequences. Hence, it is essential to understand ecological and social factors that could help identify high-risk regions for human-sloth bear conflict. This study by Dr. Mahi Puri looked at Sloth bear distribution through direct ecological surveys.

Click here to read more.

In the company of bears: factors affecting distribution in India and the Malenad landscape

Despite their widespread distribution, there are major gaps in our understanding of sloth bear habitat preference and occurrence. In a study led by Dr. Mahi Puri, a team of researchers used multiscale occupancy models to decode bear presence across India and in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. 

Click here to read more.

We extend our thanks to all the stakeholders involved in our mission to Rewild India, as the theme for this year's World Wildlife Day, "Partnerships for Collaboration," highlighted the invaluable contributions made by individuals and organizations in conserving wildlife and wildlands. We hope you enjoyed reading this edition of Into the Wild, and we wish you a happy and hopeful April ahead, abounding with adventures and awareness!